Toast Tom Lonergan

[Poetic Justice]

I believe some of you can eat your words after Tom Lonergan put in a very servicable effort last night.

Can only recall one incident where he gave away a free kick which I believe resulted in a goal, but I would be confident to say his positive efforts far out weighed the negative.

Keep it up Tom, hope you can repeat the turn around Shagga Byrnes had in 2009 and be yet another good news story for the Geelong Cats!

 

[cancat]

I like Tom Lonergan and his beard

 

[della]

this is a joke isnt it, he played on a kid that hasnt played in 2yrs, lonergan tries hard but hes not the guy u want come sept, thats already proven, as for Blake geez Mumford will be a big loss, he just gets worse by the game.

 

[thrillhouse]

He'll need to continue to play better games to keep his spot. I still think he's a weak link. I honestly don't rate him much as a player..

 

[Poetic Justice]

It's no joke at all. Say all you like about his opponent but for those who were keeping a close eye on his game would have noticed that his disposal was a hell of a lot cleaner, he got some pretty solid grabs as well as a few crucial spoils without being pinged for holding anyones jumpers etc.

Also a couple of his quick thinking handballs etc rebounding out of defence were just plays that I am not used to seeing out of this man.

Good work!

 

[cynical]

what game were you watching?

some of his possession was decent, but this is AFL, you should be able to handball and kick

to me he still looked nervous around the ball, he dropped a few marks that he should have taken

dont get carried away cos he played on someone worse than himself

 

[Poetic Justice]

Living up to your nickname it seems.

Guess you could say that Tom Hawkins is still a useless hack then by your standards... but then you probably do, right?

 

[Hinkley29]

this is a joke isnt it, he played on a kid that hasnt played in 2yrs, lonergan tries hard but hes not the guy u want come sept, thats already proven, as for Blake geez Mumford will be a big loss, he just gets worse by the game.

Thank the lord, my world is complete again.......Della is back

 

[winty]

The thing I hate about this board is no matter how well a BF whipping boy plays, there are always people who like to concentrate on the negatives rather than the positives. You just need to look at the thread started about Shannon Byrnes mid-game for proof of that.

Yes, Lonergan might have been "only" playing on Gumbleton, but the role of a key defender is to limit his direct opponent's influence on the game. The fact Gumbleton only had 3 possessions and kicked a point means that he did his job. Would he be able to back up next week and do the same to Buddy or Roughead? No, but then again, he won't have to, as that's why Harry and Scarlo are there.

Yes, he did drop some marks, but then too, so did Hawkins. Did he make some disposal errors? Yes, but then too, so did Enright, and two of his errant handballs resulted in goals to Essendon. Where are the people bagging them? Oh, that's right, those two aren't our whipping boys on here, so they tend to be forgiven for it. Why isn't Lonergan given the same latitude?

I know I was one of the people bagging his inclusion in the side on Thursday, but his performance last night, coupled with the praise he received from his coach post match, was reason enough IMO. Don't know about anyone else, but I think Bomber would know more about what he wants his players to do in a game than John Citizen sitting in the stands, or on the couch in front of the TV.

 

[Reg Hickey]

Well said winty.

I have been a critic of Lonergan in the past, but I thought he did OK last night. Sure he didn't have much opposition, which is why we should wait and see how he goes over the next few weeks, but I thought he did all that we could have asked of him last night.

 

[Greg Brady]

Im eating humble pie. He was really good last night and looked like the player he was in 06, which IMO was better than his forward efforts. Positioned himself well to be able to always provide a contest and didnt look rushed with his disposal as he has in the past.

If he can keep this up, im more than happy for him to stay in the team on a regular basis, just not as a forward.
A question however, who could/would he play on next week against the hawks?

 

[catempire]

He had a good game. Save your criticism for when he has a poor one.

TOM LONERGAN is the man to replace former skipper Tom Harley in Geelong’s back six, Cats veteran Darren Milburn says.

...

“I thought Tom Lonergan played a very good game. He came in for Harles and played his role very well. I thought his opponents didn’t get sighted. He was a very good player for us tonight,” Milburn said after the game.

Link

"Lonergan has had a fantastic summer, the best summer he's ever had, he looks stronger and he earnt a game tonight," Thompson said. "I thought he was outstanding."

Link

 

[year of the cat]

The thing I hate about this board is no matter how well a BF whipping boy plays, there are always people who like to concentrate on the negatives rather than the positives. You just need to look at the thread started about Shannon Byrnes mid-game for proof of that.

Yes, Lonergan might have been "only" playing on Gumbleton, but the role of a key defender is to limit his direct opponent's influence on the game. The fact Gumbleton only had 3 possessions and kicked a point means that he did his job. Would he be able to back up next week and do the same to Buddy or Roughead? No, but then again, he won't have to, as that's why Harry and Scarlo are there.

Yes, he did drop some marks, but then too, so did Hawkins. Did he make some disposal errors? Yes, but then too, so did Enright, and two of his errant handballs resulted in goals to Essendon. Where are the people bagging them? Oh, that's right, those two aren't our whipping boys on here, so they tend to be forgiven for it. Why isn't Lonergan given the same latitude?

I know I was one of the people bagging his inclusion in the side on Thursday, but his performance last night, coupled with the praise he received from his coach post match, was reason enough IMO. Don't know about anyone else, but I think Bomber would know more about what he wants his players to do in a game than John Citizen sitting in the stands, or on the couch in front of the TV.

Lighten up. The thread was started with my tongue planted very firmly in my cheek. I thought the title may have given that away but obviously not in your case.

 

[True Blue Cat]

He did put in a good performance probably a bit better than i myself expected. Still has things to work on but improvement is improvement and he should be applauded for it.

 

[Turbocat]

I think he played pretty much as I thought he would.He was quite reasonable and was not alone muffing stuff under pressure , the thing is others like Enright and Mackie will get better. The question is can Tom?

I think he can. As a replacement of sorts for Harely I'd like to see his hands be better in over head marks , and hold his ground a little better , perhaps slip forward a little more but for the time being I think he will improve if he holds his spot purely with the confidence gained of being regularly selected.

He is lucky in a way there is a spot there for someone and although Gillies and Drum are alternatives I see them being there for other roles. Gillies>Scarlett and Drum>Milburn. Lonergan probably has a huge chance of establishing himself due to the strength of the players around him , if he fails I doubt he will be at KP next year so , I say good luck to him.

 

[alfy!]

Yeah, he was good last night. I was wrong, but is this just a once off? Hopefully not. Would like to see him play on a decent forward.

 

[BONG RIPS MKII]

he seemed to read the play well

i'd like to see him get roughead next week

that will show where he is really at

also, he really needs to work on his marking

he should just go for the spoil 100% of the time, because there were a few times he dropped the mark and gave opportunities to the essendon crumbers

all up he was pretty solid

 

[jimmy.h]

I'm in two minds about Lonners last night.

He did some very good things and some not so good things. Used his body very well, which he will have to to make it as a key defender. At the end of the day he had 17 possies and kept his opponent to 3 playing CHB which is a very good return.

That being said, Gumbleton was about as bad a forward as I can remember seeing at AFL level. If Lonners repeats the performance against some good forwards he may well find himself in the best 22 at the season's end.

 

[rizzo]

Did all he could do. I've never been a massive Lonergan fan, but if he continues to play like that then he will hold his spot.

It will be interesting to see what happens when we play against a smaller forward line. Think Lonners could very well cement his spot in the team come finals.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Lonners played well. However in saying that let's not get carried away, he was playing against a kid who's just starting out, so you need to judge the quality of the performance against the quality of the opposition. When he can blanket a class forward that well, then he may really convince in terms of the long term.

He did well and his courage can't be faulted, and in that sense he could play the 'Harley' role well. I do feel that in the longer term he may be overtaken by Gillies, Drum etc, but certainly he's earned his spot for next week and we take it from there. Given it's probably his last year if he can't put some regular senior footy together, I really hope he keeps playing as well as he did last night

 

[cats2rise]

You are kidding, right?

Tom Lonergon was not in our best. He had a HORRID first half... He lead to 6 of Essendons scoring shots in the first half.... all mistakes by disposal/decision making.

Look, I am no Tom Lonergon basher but he was pretty bad in the first half last night, and decent in the second.

 

[LankyCat]

Did all he could do. I've never been a massive Lonergan fan, but if he continues to play like that then he will hold his spot.

It will be interesting to see what happens when we play against a smaller forward line. Think Lonners could very well cement his spot in the team come finals.

I said in the preview thread i was willing to give Lonergan another chance if the coaching staff thought he deserved it but one game is not enough to go on no matter who he plays on. If he is still holding his spot by round 5 that will be enough for me.

Not sure about next week as the hawks will have a short forward line. Roughead may be the ruck man. does that mean buddy is the only tall down there? even if he isn't I don't see how there will be three talls as well as Roughead. I recon for Lonnergan to find a match up he can actually handle he will have to send Taylor onto buddy and Scarlo onto a small. can anyone see that happening?

 

[winty]

You are kidding, right?

Tom Lonergon was not in our best. He had a HORRID first half... He lead to 6 of Essendons scoring shots in the first half.... all mistakes by disposal/decision making.

Look, I am no Tom Lonergon basher but he was pretty bad in the first half last night, and decent in the second.

Enright gave up two goals last night by missing a target 5m away with errant handballs, Josh Hunt gave one away by giving off a no-look handball at the top of the square, and I think Milburn might have cost us a goal in a similar fashion too. Simply put, Lonergan wasn't the only one who coughed up disposal in defence last night which Essendon capitalised on, yet he seems to be the only one who is being crucified for it.

 

[Ricketts]

Didn't think he was that good last night. Sure, he beat Gumbleton, but Gumbleton was easy pickings last night.

He's still slow when he gets the ball and his handballs usually put teammates under pressure.

 

[Sydney Cat]

The thing I hate about this board is no matter how well a BF whipping boy plays, there are always people who like to concentrate on the negatives rather than the positives. You just need to look at the thread started about Shannon Byrnes mid-game for proof of that.

Yes, Lonergan might have been "only" playing on Gumbleton, but the role of a key defender is to limit his direct opponent's influence on the game. The fact Gumbleton only had 3 possessions and kicked a point means that he did his job. Would he be able to back up next week and do the same to Buddy or Roughead? No, but then again, he won't have to, as that's why Harry and Scarlo are there.

Yes, he did drop some marks, but then too, so did Hawkins. Did he make some disposal errors? Yes, but then too, so did Enright, and two of his errant handballs resulted in goals to Essendon. Where are the people bagging them? Oh, that's right, those two aren't our whipping boys on here, so they tend to be forgiven for it. Why isn't Lonergan given the same latitude?

I know I was one of the people bagging his inclusion in the side on Thursday, but his performance last night, coupled with the praise he received from his coach post match, was reason enough IMO. Don't know about anyone else, but I think Bomber would know more about what he wants his players to do in a game than John Citizen sitting in the stands, or on the couch in front of the TV.