Review Semi Final, 2021 - Brisbane Lions vs. Western Bulldogs [Moratorium on negative opposition posting]

[jackess]

Rhys is looked upon negatively for a few reasons:

1. He’s the competition’s worst ducker. Lots of players do it …. he is the undisputed king.
2. He is disrespectful to his opponents. The way he carried on earlier this year in the face of Richmond players when the game was won and Lions were well on top was embarrassing. He hasn’t achieved a thing and felt the need/desire to be a sore winner. Again, many players are competitive beasts, but he clearly gets ahead of
himself based on his ability/achievements.
3. After that win he called himself Brisbane’s barometer. So he has no awareness of his place in the game (currently) which rubs people up the wrong way.

He reminds me of Richmond’s Jake King from yesteryear …. the sort of player to be a sore winner or start a fight when 10-goals down. Just no awareness of appropriate emotions/actions.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

That barometer thing is totally taken out of context by idiots (commentators include). He’s referencing bringing energy to the group which he clearly does

Brisbane have a nice guy tag and he just brings a bit of aggro. When it works we get a few frees out of it which is great.

 

[M Malice]

IIRC Matho was not the one to first bring up the barometer tag, I think it was Fages.

 

[LionsMaw]

Rhys is looked upon negatively for a few reasons:

1. He’s the competition’s worst ducker. Lots of players do it …. he is the undisputed king.
2. He is disrespectful to his opponents. The way he carried on earlier this year in the face of Richmond players when the game was won and Lions were well on top was embarrassing. He hasn’t achieved a thing and felt the need/desire to be a sore winner. Again, many players are competitive beasts, but he clearly gets ahead of
himself based on his ability/achievements.
3. After that win he called himself Brisbane’s barometer. So he has no awareness of his place in the game (currently) which rubs people up the wrong way.

He reminds me of Richmond’s Jake King from yesteryear …. the sort of player to be a sore winner or start a fight when 10-goals down. Just no awareness of appropriate emotions/actions.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

No surprise to see a tigers fan triggered by Matho.

 

[Tom14]

That barometer thing is totally taken out of context by idiots (commentators include). He’s referencing bringing energy to the group which he clearly does

Brisbane have a nice guy tag and he just brings a bit of aggro. When it works we get a few frees out of it which is great.

Paragraphs long post and fails to even mention the one obvious thing you can legitimately criticise Matho for.

 

[Hojuman]

Any consolation Lions 1994 prelim with the kick after the siren to win by 6 points by Ablett snr.
One of the great hard fought finals games. Free kick count was 32 - 13 in the Cats favour if you can believe that.

Sweetener ? Them getting absolutely belted by 80 points in the grand final a week later.

 

[RedWhite&Blue]

Well done on a cracking game guys and gals.
From every neutral supporter the general consensus is that it was an epic game and a real toss of the coin as to who would win.

For those of you seething about the umpiring you might want to read this - written by an experienced neutral umpire:

 

[martinson]

Well done on a cracking game guys and gals.
From every neutral supporter the general consensus is that it was an epic game and a real toss of the coin as to who would win.

For those of you seething about the umpiring you might want to read this - written by an experienced neutral umpire:

Total BS put up by someone trying to cover the embarrassment of what was a one after the other unnecessary bias which no doubt swung the game.

Neutral I doubt.

 

[jackess]

Well done on a cracking game guys and gals.
From every neutral supporter the general consensus is that it was an epic game and a real toss of the coin as to who would win.

For those of you seething about the umpiring you might want to read this - written by an experienced neutral umpire:

If anyone thinks only 15 frees are missed per game then they are ******* stupid. Especially if they consider those 3 examples as missed bulldogs frees

 

[martinson]

If anyone thinks only 15 frees are missed per game then they are ******* stupid. Especially if they consider those 3 examples as missed bulldogs frees

How many htb's were missed Saturday night ? Scragging ,blocking, haven't even got around the the blatant throws.

 

[twhowler]

Well done on a cracking game guys and gals.
From every neutral supporter the general consensus is that it was an epic game and a real toss of the coin as to who would win.

For those of you seething about the umpiring you might want to read this - written by an experienced neutral umpire:

It's an interesting exercise and one worth at least attemping.

My main issue having also looked at it is how black and white it is. Everything is either RIGHT or WRONG. EG the free kick against Linc off the ball. Pretty poor view on the telly. Looked like a bit of wrestling / retaliation. He just ticked it off as correct. I'd like to see a UNSURE column and then it might have more value. Think of the holding the ball NOT paid against the dogs in the last quarter when it was dragged in. It was blatant. The mark paid to Bontompelli went Oscar had hands on it so clearly. I don't think it's fair to compare those to some of the non-paid free kicks you have highlighted. The rules hard to interpret so you need to assess it on a) how many clear frees were missed / paid when should not have been and b) how many borderline decisions went to each team.

The count is of course not supposed to be level. But 10-2 in the last quarter is quite lopsided. And what happens in a last quarter in such a close final matters.

Also you mentioned neutral supporters. I have seen a LOT of them suggest the Lions were dudded.

Anyway appreciate you are raising this in a reasonable manner but I think it's more nuanced than your numbers above.

 

[The Zork]

Can I just say that I’m truly embarrassed.
Turns out we overreacted this whole time.

An experienced umpire not only ran his eyes over the game and has reassured the bulldogs they weren’t lucky on the night but they were in fact unlucky to not receive more.

 

[jackess]

And vandermeer wasn't even lifted. It was all him as he was trying to kick.

 

[ZoBlitz]

Well if you can't believe some rando on reddit...

 

[martinson]

Well if you can't believe some rando on reddit...

If you wanted an impartial opinion the last person you would ask is an umpire.

We saw their neutral opinion on Saturday night

 

[royboys4eva]

No Bulldog supporter ever mentions the 5/6 blatant throws they get away with every match. Libba got called for one and then proceeded to abuse the umpire! It's a blight on the game.

 

[dlanod]

Well if you can't believe some rando on reddit...

I'll quote this whenever I add a post from there to the trade news compendium now.

 

[Tassie4ever]

I feel like our coaching staff could have been the difference in this one:

Lester for Payne - loved Payne's competitiveness. But Lester looked so much more assured when he came on. Has played 150 games, plenty of those forward, has been a Fagan favourite, but he plays Payne forward instead for his first ever game out of defence? That was a really poor move and doesn't make any sense, apart from being so obsessed with having 3 talls that you think you have to play a 197cm player instead of a 192cm player.

Ah Chee for Cockatoo - Cockatoo well worth the risk and could come good. But was so far short of it in the first final with four possessions, and had 5 in the semi final.

Birchall for Anyone - so many of their goals were ground balls. Put in someone with pace and mobility for Birchall and surely some of them don't happen.

Even umpiring would also have meant we would have won it. 10-2 in the last quarter and some of the ones they paid. Still livid. But we can't do anything about that.

And Berry going down hurt a lot i thought. He didn't start well but appeared to be clamping Libba well. And he's our best defensive mid in terms of running patterns.

Just such a frustrating thing to wake up on a Monday and we are not in a prelim. That would have been a win this year - another finals win, good experience for players to get the win, withstand the pressure. Free hit at Port.

Fine line between something that hurts and makes you want it more, and starting to feel like chokers.

Was I the only one worried when Fagan said 'this game won't define us, win or lose?' Of course it was going to. Would you say that before a grand final? Really odd stuff. Say it after the game. Players need to be able to cope the pressure of a knockout final, not think there is always next year. Love the bloke but I don't think he has had his best year.

I was dismayed when I read this on Saturday morning. It sounded like it was making up the excuse in anticipation. Amazing stuff really.

And it's not the first time. The other angle is it's like Fagan is covering his back, just in case.

What's needed is an open confession that the Birchall gamble was a very bad one. And to compound it, Birchall didn't in any way return the favour by approaching full fitness. Even at season's end he is noticeably overweight.

We simply lack the depth.

 

[adey115]

I've found much of the talk in relation to the game on the weekend and the Lions position ongoing, to be utter utter utter nonsense.

It reeks of non-Lions fans not actually paying any attention to us or watching us for the entire season other than when we play them or during finals.
It reeks of the AFL media not will to say out loud that the umpires were absolutely farcical. Calling out the Caleb Daniel

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Caleb Daniel

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27

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171cm

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72kg

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M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

21.3

5star

K

11.5

4star

HB

9.8

5star

M

3.5

4star

T

2.9

4star

CL

1.4

4star

D

19.5

4star

K

11.1

4star

HB

8.4

4star

M

3.6

4star

T

2.0

3star

CL

1.0

3star

D

16.4

4star

K

7.2

3star

HB

9.2

5star

M

3.4

4star

T

2.6

4star

CL

0.2

2star

deliberate as the one example of poor umpiring is a cop out - what it doesn't do is address the fact that the umpires affected the result of an AFL Finals game. Don't mention decisions that didn't go the Lions way, because that might insinuate you think the umpires affected the result. Its a soft copout by the Media.

I challenge any Finals side to function without two of of three Tall Forwards and a Big Bodied Medium forward. Then when forced into putting in a Tall Backman (who has not played week in week out) as your replacement Forward, watch him get knocked out in the first Term forcing you to play a Medium Back up forward, while having two out of three of your Tall Backman clearly playing injured.

That isn't a depth issue. No Team can cover that without being seriously challenged - in a Final. A Final! Shall I say it again... A Final.

So take Cameron and Rohan and a third forward out for Geelong. Move Henderson up forward and watch him get knocked out. Have Henry and another Backman playing injured. Do Geelong get through?

So take Marshall and Rozee and a third forward out for Port.... and add in the rest of the issues.
Take Fritsch and McDonald and a third forward out for Melb... and add in the rest of the issues.

Then, add in a 10-2 final term free kick count not in your favour. And you're not playing Carlton or North. You're playing a Final.

The sky is not falling. Fagan is not a dud coach. We do not have a dud list. Things have not gone our way this year. Sheesh.

 

[LittleG]

It's an interesting exercise and one worth at least attemping.

My main issue having also looked at it is how black and white it is. Everything is either RIGHT or WRONG. EG the free kick against Linc off the ball. Pretty poor view on the telly. Looked like a bit of wrestling / retaliation. He just ticked it off as correct. I'd like to see a UNSURE column and then it might have more value. Think of the holding the ball NOT paid against the dogs in the last quarter when it was dragged in. It was blatant. The mark paid to Bontompelli went Oscar had hands on it so clearly. I don't think it's fair to compare those to some of the non-paid free kicks you have highlighted. The rules hard to interpret so you need to assess it on a) how many clear frees were missed / paid when should not have been and b) how many borderline decisions went to each team.

The count is of course not supposed to be level. But 10-2 in the last quarter is quite lopsided. And what happens in a last quarter in such a close final matters.

Also you mentioned neutral supporters. I have seen a LOT of them suggest the Lions were dudded.

Anyway appreciate you are raising this in a reasonable manner but I think it's more nuanced than your numbers above.

At the end of every game, as a poster on Bigfooty one of 3 things happen:
1. Happy with the umpiring, as the team you wanted to win won. Laugh at people complaining about umpiring on Bigfooty.
2. Unhappy with the umpiring as the team you wanted to win lost. Complain about umpires on Bigfooty.
3. Realise that both teams supporters WILL be unhappy with the umpiring. Both teams will find multiple instances of injustice. Instead, be Happy to have watched a good game of football.


The media make umpiring the scapegoat, as actual game analysis in Australia is exceptionally poor. So they blame umpires to get more clicks. Being an umpire is a sh!t job, constant criticism, even when elite at your job. IF neither team is happy with your performance, you have probably done a good job.

 

[dlanod]

At the end of every game, as a poster on Bigfooty one of 3 things happen:
1. Happy with the umpiring, as the team you wanted to win won. Laugh at people complaining about umpiring on Bigfooty.
2. Unhappy with the umpiring as the team you wanted to win lost. Complain about umpires on Bigfooty.
3. Realise that both teams supporters WILL be unhappy with the umpiring. Both teams will find multiple instances of injustice. Instead, be Happy to have watched a good game of football.


The media make umpiring the scapegoat, as actual game analysis in Australia is exceptionally poor. So they blame umpires to get more clicks. Being an umpire is a sh!t job, constant criticism, even when elite at your job. IF neither team is happy with your performance, you have probably done a good job.

I tend to go off supporters of other teams in scenarios like this. If it's only Lions supporters complaining, fair enough. If others are giving similar opinions, maybe there's something to it.

 

[M Malice]

I was still feeling a bit of residual angst about the game on Saturday night but the Lachie Neale

9

Lachie Neale

Age

30

Ht

178cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

27.0

5star

K

11.5

4star

HB

15.5

5star

M

4.0

4star

T

3.7

5star

CL

5.9

5star

D

28.3

5star

K

13.9

5star

HB

14.4

5star

M

4.6

4star

T

4.0

5star

CL

5.9

5star

D

12.0

3star

K

4.6

2star

HB

7.4

5star

M

2.0

3star

T

1.0

3star

CL

0.4

3star

news has distracted me enough now that I'm completely over it and ready to move on to Trade, Draft and broader Lions talk.

 

[LittleG]

I tend to go off supporters of other teams in scenarios like this. If it's only Lions supporters complaining, fair enough. If others are giving similar opinions, maybe there's something to it.

Everyone has an inbuilt bias. There are neutral supporters who thought the dogs were hard done by too.

Once you break down all the decisions and non-decisions, you usually work out it was as close to fair as the umpires could do. You could site 5 terrible umpiring decisions and so could I. Some could be of the same incident…. Our bias is what makes us not agree.


Anyway. Let’s hope Lamar and the Ravens give us some joy.

 

[dlanod]

There are neutral supporters who thought the dogs were hard done by too.

But those ones are wrong.

Anyway. Let’s hope Lamar and the Ravens give us some joy.

Traded Kyler Murray for him straight up in my cash fantasy league last night, so I'm putting my money where my mouth is - should be a great year.

 

[LittleG]

But those ones are wrong.

Are they? Oh sh!t!!!!

Traded Kyler Murray for him straight up in my cash fantasy league last night, so I'm putting my money where my mouth is - should be a great year.

Now that is a good trade. You must have had to add something good to get the other guy to agree.

 

[WhiteLionFeva]

Everyone has an inbuilt bias. There are neutral supporters who thought the dogs were hard done by too.

Once you break down all the decisions and non-decisions, you usually work out it was as close to fair as the umpires could do. You could site 5 terrible umpiring decisions and so could I. Some could be of the same incident…. Our bias is what makes us not agree.


Anyway. Let’s hope Lamar and the Ravens give us some joy.

Name them