Review Semi Final, 2022 - Melbourne vs. Brisbane Lions

[Nathan Barley]

100% agree on Rich, he looked good at the game live but watching the replay Richy was sensational.

Rich had 5 clearances. For us only Neale had more

 

[Son of Superboot]

100% agree on Rich, he looked good at the game live but watching the replay Richy was sensational.

As much as we are all great admirers of Richie's kicking, it was his hand-balling, all 5 of them, in traffic and sometime only over a meter or less which were weight in gold.

but Lachie's underground, rolling, with pike handball, whilst diving between Petraca and Oliver was gold medal worthy!

 

[p4p1]

As much as we are all great admirers of Richie's kicking, it was his hand-balling, all 5 of them, in traffic and sometime only over a meter or less which were weight in gold.

but Lachie's underground, rolling, with pike handball, whilst diving between Petraca and Oliver was gold medal worthy!

Richie was great. I have been critical of him because of his lack of speed but he stood up in a big way and was a huge reason for our win. I don't think I put him in the top 5 when I voted but that was the toughest weekend I have had of picking a top 5 personally. Berry, Neale and Fort were huge in the middle, Hippy was massive up forward as was Harris down back. Zorks was massive and stood up in some pivotal moments. We could probably have a top 10 this week and it would still be hard.

Amazing moment. I know we did a who breaks into the 3pete teams a while ago and I personally named Lahcie on the bench because of the depth but while I wouldn't ever put him above Voss because of Voss' intangibles, his performances are starting to make him look like our second best ever player.

 

[KissKiss]

After watching the replay a couple of times I changed my votes a bit. First time around, I hadn’t clocked how important Zorks and Rich were for us. Richie’s stats get bumped up a bit from kick-in play ons but he also won hard balls and defended very well. I thought Dan McStay’s game, apart from a couple of lace-out passes to opposition, was really good too. His early errors were induced by taking the game on but he kept taking risks and was excellent. Also, Dev’s last quarter effort was terrific and he went pretty well when he was on Oliver in the first half.
Live, I thought we were awful in the first half but after repeat viewings I don’t think we were too far off the mark. Had Cam not missed a sitter and McStay’s kick off the ground crossed the line a millisecond earlier, we’d have been very close. Also, many of their behinds were kicked under intense pressure or were rushed. We absorbed their best like a patient boxer would and when they’d tired we unleashed some stinging blows and didn’t let up. By the end, the only behinds we were kicking were clad in dark blue shorts.

I agree I was more impressed by McStay on replay. He had a couple of shockers but apart from that was really impactful (even without the ball). Had some impressive tackles and things that impacted the game without him directly scoring. He's clearly the best Key Forward for providing pressure

 

[M Malice]

Love this photo, check out Matho in the background.

 

[On the quiet]

Be very afraid,” David King said. “Melbourne are going at about 70 per cent of last year, and they’re already proving they are 50 per cent better than the rest of the competition.” Quote after 10 rounds.

Just love it when this bloke is wrong, and for a so called expert it is frequent.

 

[Kevvo]

Be very afraid,” David King said. “Melbourne are going at about 70 per cent of last year, and they’re already proving they are 50 per cent better than the rest of the competition.” Quote after 10 rounds.

Just love it when this bloke is wrong, and for a so called expert it is frequent.

David King tipping against you is as good an omen as you’ll find

 

[McIvor]

Saw this on AFL Tonight which i didnt see on the night was Harris running and pointing to someone in the crowd after the game and then embracing him - circled in yellow - is that ex-Lion Zac O'Brien

Zac O'brien

Age

33

Ht

183cm

Wt

78kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.9

4star

K

6.8

3star

HB

7.2

4star

M

2.5

3star

T

4.0

5star

CL

2.5

4star

No current season stats available

D

15.4

4star

K

6.2

3star

HB

9.2

5star

M

2.6

3star

T

3.2

5star

CL

2.0

4star

?

 

[PattyKwasagun]

Saw this on AFL Tonight which i didnt see on the night was Harris running and pointing to someone in the crowd after the game and then embracing him - circled in yellow - is that ex-Lion Zac O'Brien?

View attachment 1506453

I thought it might have been Hugh Beasley.

 

[McIvor]

I thought it might have been Hugh Beasley.

That's who - he looked familair and couldn't place who

 

[Brett C]

Be very afraid,” David King said. “Melbourne are going at about 70 per cent of last year, and they’re already proving they are 50 per cent better than the rest of the competition.” Quote after 10 rounds.

Just love it when this bloke is wrong, and for a so called expert it is frequent.

You’re seriously bagging the guy for an opinion that 99% of commentators and fans had at that point?

Anyone who didn’t agree with David King after 10 rounds hadn’t watched any footy.

 

[M Malice]

 

[The Flying Belgian]

You’re seriously bagging the guy for an opinion that 99% of commentators and fans had at that point?

Anyone who didn’t agree with David King after 10 rounds hadn’t watched any footy.

I disagreed and I've watched at least 40 seasons of footy.

 

[The Flying Belgian]

I thought it might have been Hugh Beasley.

Pretty sure you're correct.

 

[On the quiet]

You’re seriously bagging the guy for an opinion that 99% of commentators and fans had at that point?

Anyone who didn’t agree with David King after 10 rounds hadn’t watched any footy.

Yeap I don't like him. Seeks a headline, absolutely bagged Harris and wrote us off well before r23 game against Dees.

 

[Nunez]

Yeap I don't like him. Seeks a headline, absolutely bagged Harris and wrote us off well before r23 game against Dees.

To be fair, I think we are not playing a prelim if it weren't for the changes Fagan made to the team. It changed the way we play. Throw in the right guys hitting form in finals and genuine belief we can beat anyone and here we are.

Not enough credit has been given in the media to Fagan for his changes.

 

[cmt26]

Leading into the game, I had a weird feeling that it would be close and we were better than a 50-50 shot to beat them. Chucked $50 on us at $4.40 with Sportsbet. Even when Joe Daniher went out - I thought it would help us as Fullarton is more mobile and could provide more defensive pressure. (Joe hasn't been the same since he hurt his shoulder - not a knock on him, just bad luck as he isn't physically able to contribute the way he would want).

Game starts and there's a little bit of deja vu back to round 23 when the Dees half chances are going through. Take a look at round 23 and the Dees first quarter, they kicked them from everywhere, it created a false narrative around the game and bad luck for us that it put the game away before it even got started.

Halfway through the second quarter - the game starts to shift a bit. We start to move the ball from half back on our terms and I thought, gee Fages has a bit to work with here at half time. The stats are even although the scoreboard doesn't show it. We keep playing like this and we are a big chance.

Big turning point was Max Gawn

11

Max Gawn

Age

32

Ht

209cm

Wt

110kg

Pos.

Ruck

Career

Season

Last 5

D

14.1

4star

K

7.4

3star

HB

6.7

4star

CL

2.8

4star

HO

35.3

5star

D

18.5

4star

K

11.5

4star

HB

7.0

4star

CL

3.5

4star

HO

29.2

5star

D

8.4

3star

K

3.6

2star

HB

4.8

4star

CL

1.0

3star

HO

15.6

5star

going back with the flight for an uncontested mark on the wing and dropping it.

Hugh kicks "that" goal and I turned to my GF and said "holy s**t, the players think they can do this. I think we are going to win"

From that point onwards, you just felt like it was inevitable. You could feel it in the stadium.

Vic based supporter - been to 3 games this year before this one (Cats at GMHBA, Dees at MCG & Tigers at MCG - talk about three s**t ones). My GF had never seen a Lions win live prior to Friday night. We had the best experience we have ever had at a game of footy. Thank you to everyone on ground level at M16. It was made that way due to the Lions fans around us and the team's performance. Huge kudos to every Lions fan out there on Friday night and those watching at home. Will see you all again Friday.

Looking ahead: We match up poorly against the Dees because they are a midfield dominant line up. I think we match up well against the Cats and if you look at recent results, we have pushed them very close down at GMHBA. I give us a better than 50-50 shot on Friday night. They have played twice in 31 days and have a poor history off the bye. They use GMHBA well to cover their lack of leg speed, I think we can expose them on the bigger ground.

Final Note: Eric f******g Hipwood has some pair of plums on him. He has played two exceptional finals and deserves every bit of credit. In both finals he has kicked goals at absolutely crucial times that have kept us in reach.

 

[ZoBlitz]

The only difference between David King and every other pointless ex-player "analysing" football today is occasionally he's fed stats by Champion Data that he doesn't understand.

 

[Elixuh]

The only difference between David King and every other pointless ex-player "analysing" football today is occasionally he's fed stats by Champion Data that he doesn't understand.

What do you mean occasionally

 

[ZoBlitz]

What do you mean occasionally

That was poorly written. I should have written that he's occasionally fed stats by Champion Data that he never understands.

 

[Jubair]

I'm not a fan of his punditry but Whateley's commentary along with the GOAT Anthony Hudson's is spine chilling, love it.

Jesus I got a bit of tear in my eye from listening to that and picturing those moments in my head from the coverage

 

[Brett C]

Yeap I don't like him. Seeks a headline, absolutely bagged Harris and wrote us off well before r23 game against Dees.

Cool I understand not liking the guy but you're acting like at round 10 that Melbourne weren't the best team in the comp by a big margin which is when he made the comment.

They all seek a headline as that's how the media works nowadays, I think most of agree that Harris hasn't been to his usual standard this season. He's still had a good season but I don't think he's even close to where he was in 2020.

I reckon most supporters wrote us off well before round 23 as well.

 

[Tom14]

What do you mean occasionally

 

[Elixuh]

#neverforget

 

[Viceregal]

Jesus I got a bit of tear in my eye from listening to that and picturing those moments in my head from the coverage

I watched it again just now but this time watching the guys in the second row - I really enjoyed the evolution of the body language of Jones is it?