Review v Saints Reviews and Views

[John]

Just been through the entire game again.....

I came away from the ground last night thinking he went OK but came on here and thought I must have missed something. Same with Polkinghorne. Old Dens stats when comparing Banfield to McRae somewhere around here were enlightening to say the least. Our sport has it fair share of people who have this thing about "playing youth" and enjoy the cheap gratification of high draft picks but are then unable to except that some players do have an upside as those stats of Old Den proved. Banfield is tracking better than an all-time great small forward at the same time in their careers yet we expect more. Has me shaking my head.

 

[luthor]

Browny still can't buy a free kick to save himself.

All night Brown was getting scragged/held/arms chopped by Fisher with no help from the umpires. Was also blatantly blocked from getting a run at the marking contest on numerous occasions, no whistle. I normally don't say anything because it is par for the course with Browny, but that soft one Riewoldt got set the benchmark of inequality.

BD, I thought Browny was pretty ordinary ....carrying an injury perhaps?

Brown has never been a speed merchant but I thought he looked particularly out of sorts and really slow last night.......the Saints fed off him a few times and made us pay at the other end at least once.

Having said that, the point you make about the inequitable treatment meted out by the umps is indeed a valid one IMO.


Maybe if Browny were to shed a tear once in a while................

 

[cjwalkley]

I am excited by our defenders, Yeo and Harwood have unbelievable promise. Add Golby and Docherty and we have scary depth and promise. Yeo looked much more composed and settled, which is only natural after a previous senior game.

Also thought Banfield and Polkinghorne were a long way from the worst. Banfield will improve from that outing, and Polkinghorne took a step in the right direction. Both still a long way from commanding a spot in the 22 every week, but shouldn't be dropped.

Maguire was sensational, as was Hudson and Raines. Top notch recruiting there.

Frustrating to lose a game we should have won. McBurney was deplorable, missing the hands in Brown's back in the last sums up how incompetent he was. We lost because of skill errors, turnovers moving forward and dropped marks.

The amount of times the Lions grafted hard with the ball, only to turn it over and then have St Kilda make a quick transition was gutting. They kicked way too many easy goals with players running forward of the ball as the knew chances were the Lions would cough it up.

In regards to Riewoldt, he was pantsed by Patful all night, but was continually gifted free kicks. If Brown got paid the frees that Riewoldt received he would have about 1500 goals to his name. The fact he has the pain tolerance of a gnat, makes it appear the umpires believe they need to look after him. He's just lucky he punches about as hard as my dead grandmother, otherwise even the AFL couldn't overlook his effort on Adcock. Of course the umpire didn't reverse it though. He is the correct choice as captain of St Kilda though, a club that embraces being the victim and satisfied with nearly have that embodied in their skipper. I do feel for blokes like Hayes and Goddard destined never to know ultimate success because of their club and team mates.

 

[BrisbaneLion9636]

I am excited by our defenders, Yeo and Harwood have unbelievable promise. Add Golby and Docherty and we have scary depth and promise. Yeo looked much more composed and settled, which is only natural after a previous senior game.

Also thought Banfield and Polkinghorne were a long way from the worst. Banfield will improve from that outing, and Polkinghorne took a step in the right direction. Both still a long way from commanding a spot in the 22 every week, but shouldn't be dropped.

Maguire was sensational, as was Hudson and Raines. Top notch recruiting there.

Frustrating to lose a game we should have won. McBurney was deplorable, missing the hands in Brown's back in the last sums up how incompetent he was. We lost because of skill errors, turnovers moving forward and dropped marks.

The amount of times the Lions grafted hard with the ball, only to turn it over and then have St Kilda make a quick transition was gutting. They kicked way too many easy goals with players running forward of the ball as the knew chances were the Lions would cough it up.

In regards to Riewoldt, he was pantsed by Patful all night, but was continually gifted free kicks. If Brown got paid the frees that Riewoldt received he would have about 1500 goals to his name. The fact he has the pain tolerance of a gnat, makes it appear the umpires believe they need to look after him. He's just lucky he punches about as hard as my dead grandmother, otherwise even the AFL couldn't overlook his effort on Adcock. Of course the umpire didn't reverse it though. He is the correct choice as captain of St Kilda though, a club that embraces being the victim and satisfied with nearly have that embodied in their skipper. I do feel for blokes like Hayes and Goddard destined never to know ultimate success because of their club and team mates.

I have found my new signature. Absolutely brilliant!

 

[The Golfing Lion]

Struggling to get a grip of the use of Rocky. He was hardly in the middle last night and so his influence on the game for a naturally clever footballer is limited IMO. I wonder if it is to further the development of the other midfielders or that they are planning on him playing more as a forward full time.

Apart from the disappointment of losing, I am really encouraged by the development of the team as a whole. They all seem very keen to play for each other which is great as a supporter.

 

[Grimreepah]

Game plan seemed to be to stack the forward line with marking players and get the ball in there as often as possible. Didn't really work as well as hoped, with kicks into the forward 50 being too haphazard, and the forwards getting in each others' way. Across the whole game we seemed to lack composure, which meant we didn't capitalise on the periods when we were on the front foot. Perhaps this was because we have upped our intensity and are adapting to a new pace of game.

Some interesting games from players:

Black - handballing out of traffic was brilliant. He manages to hit targets behind him and you wonder how he knew he was there.

Maguire - a masterclass on how to read the ball coming into the defensive 50. An errant handball late was his only mistake, albeit a costly one.

Hudson - great at ground level. Probably his best game for us, and I think a few of the mids could learn a thing or two from him in terms of his intensity and repeat efforts.

Zorko - was terrific in the first half and then Dempster kept him quiet. His long kicking can be a bit hit and miss. I don't think he should be discouraged from going long, just needs to refine it.

Bewick - his contested work was good, but his disposal was sporadic. Overall I thought he had an encouraging game, but some of his kicks into the forward 50 were very ugly.

Raines - didn't give away any free kicks this game. He played as well as one could reasonably expect.

Yeo - was actually encouraged by his composure. And his disposal was fairly solid. From memory he got caught holding the ball once in the defensive 50 but overall I thought he was pretty good for a second game player. He hasn't got the body to win contested possession yet though.

Merrett - really liked his game, bowling people over and providing a presence. Took some good marks, kicked a couple of goals, and was lively when he went into the ruck. Had much more of an influence than Brown.

Drummond - His form was only so so in recent weeks, and this week he had a shocker.

Adcock - well beaten by Milne, which was probably more to do with Milne's class, than Adcock's poor play.

Patfull - was great but gave away two costly penalties inside 50.

Banfield - was reasonable. Provides a lot of pressure defensively and kicked a good goal. Needs to get more of it, but offers more than Green.

Cornelius - hardly did anything either in attack or defence. I think the coaching staff would have been quite disappointed with him in terms of the things he has been trying to work on. I'd be surprised if he keeps his spot next week.

Karneizs - looked good in the midfield. I wouldn't be surprised to see him replace Green as the designated sub, because he offers some quality but only in short bursts. Plus he offers some versatility depending on which player comes off the ground.

 

[Haso]

Merrett - really liked his game, bowling people over and providing a presence. Took some good marks, kicked a couple of goals, and was lively when he went into the ruck. Had much more of an influence than Brown.

I love how well Merrett plays this role. The space he creates and the impact that he has on the opposition is huge for us. Opposition supporters are starting to dislike him as well, which is a good sign.

 

[Grimreepah]

Regarding Tony Shaw's comment that he's seen Merrett shank a few kicks at goal. Technically that is right if you last saw him play in 2005. But this year he has been a dead eye dick.

 

[Tairy Greene]

Maguire - a masterclass on how to read the ball coming into the defensive 50. An errant handball late was his only mistake, albeit a costly one.

On that handball it looked like he was dishing it up for Adcock to run onto and Adcock thought it was meant for someone else; as you see him stop running and move out of the way of the ball.

 

[Lace Out]

E

I love how well Merrett plays this role. The space he creates and the impact that he has on the opposition is huge for us. Opposition supporters are starting to dislike him as well, which is a good sign.

Exactly,the more brutes and pests we have in our team the better we are travelling.

 

[Cousin Jed]

Careful, over on the Saints board every one of our players is a grub and deserves to be suspended for the rest of the year

 

[Sanchez365]

I was disappointed that Cornelius didn't have as much of an impact as I had hoped. Perhaps he needs to adjust from being the only target in the reserves (virtually) to the 3rd in line in the seniors. Can anyone at the game let me know what they thought the problem was? Was he not in the right spots? Not working hard enough? On the TV it just looked like he wasn't getting to any marking contests really.

 

[Haso]

Careful, over on the Saints board every one of our players is a grub and deserves to be suspended for the rest of the year

That thread is good fun to read.

 

[Football Pope]

Regarding Tony Shaw's comment that he's seen Merrett shank a few kicks at goal. Technically that is right if you last saw him play in 2005. But this year he has been a dead eye dick.

Tony Shaw just mouths off without thinking....


Tony Shaw: " Brown is the spiritual leader of the Brisbane Lions."

Football Pope shouting at the Television..."FFS...spiritual nothin'....Brown's is the leader...he's the captain, Dickhead!!."

 

[Grimreepah]

In all of Polkinghorne's games this year he has never had less than 10 possessions, and never more than 20.

 

[BrisbaneLion9636]

In all of Polkinghorne's games this year he has never had less than 10 possessions, and never more than 20.

Never doing anything spectacular, but not badly enough to get dropped.
Just enough to keep his spot.
Next Stiller?

 

[Haso]

Never doing anything spectacular, but not badly enough to get dropped.
Just enough to keep his spot.
Next Stiller?

Strong beginning, before petering out, which does resemble Stiller. I don't agree that they are alike, though. Polks is capable of more than he is currently producing (and more than Stiller is producing), but he isn't. I think that Stiller, on the other hand, is getting the most out of himself now and is performing at the highest level that he can.

 

[PattyKwasagun]

The Polks dilemma is an interesting one. I think when he was needed to step up he did, but now that Rocky, Reddo, Rich and Zorko seem to be carrying the reigns in roles that he used to fill, he struggles to get into the game and doesn't really need to. As has been suggested, the best way to fix this really would be a few games in the reserves just to rebuild his confidence and remind him that he can be a very good player.

He played more in the midfield on Saturday night than he has in a long time which interested me. Especially towards the end, I think he started in the middle 4 more often than not. Perhaps Voss was hoping his experience would prove valuable in the really tight contest. Either way, he's being carried by a few others at the moment, and just is nowhere near what he can be. Make him fight for his spot in the 2's and I could almost guarantee he'd be a better player for it.

To those saying he may never be better than an average player, I don't really buy that. I've seen him be more. The amount of publicity the club gives him (weekly dreamteam article, weekly segment last year, and regular coverage on the website) show that the club think so too. It's just about him finding his role and settling in it. At the moment I'm not sure him or the coaching staff know the best place to play him. In saying that, I doubt he'll be dropped this week. A game against younger/weaker opposition could be just what's needed to play him back into confidence.

 

[Grimreepah]

I wonder if maybe we missed Lester a bit. He's not a big possession winner, but the other midfielders seem to play better when he's around.

PK, perhaps that's why Polkinghorne played more in the middle, taking over Lester's role?

 

[PattyKwasagun]

I wonder if maybe we missed Lester a bit. He's not a big possession winner, but the other midfielders seem to play better when he's around.

PK, perhaps that's why Polkinghorne played more in the middle, taking over Lester's role?

I thought maybe Crisp took over from Lester, as he spent much more time in the middle 4 than he did against the Swans. Possibly Polks did too though, not sure. I think Lester, being the tallest of the mids, is a more imposing force when blocking and getting the ball out. Definitely makes it easier for our other mids. I'd say he's pretty much a definite in for this weekend.

 

[Grimreepah]

I thought maybe Crisp took over from Lester, as he spent much more time in the middle 4 than he did against the Swans. Possibly Polks did too though, not sure. I think Lester, being the tallest of the mids, is a more imposing force when blocking and getting the ball out. Definitely makes it easier for our other mids. I'd say he's pretty much a definite in for this weekend.

I don't think Lester played with the reserves, so maybe he was rested rather than omitted.

 

[chopperduck]

I don't think Lester played with the reserves, so maybe he was rested rather than omitted.

Pretty sure he wasn't named for the 2nds, so i would agree, probably rested, or he has picked up a niggle. Has been a few times this year where players have been dropped with a minor injury that doesn't get listed.

 

[RU_]

Hoping Brown has a day out against the Suns, hasn't impacted much in the last two weeks.

 

[Jorgo]

Can anyone at the game let me know what they thought the problem was?

While I didn't specifically watch him to know where & how well he was leading I think the problem was our forward entries. It was so consistently bombed in without thought that you'd think it was part of the game plan.

Also seemed to be, like we haven't done for a while, bombing it to wherever Brown was.

Again there might still have been issues with where he was leading etc but I thought our chosen method of getting the ball forward was part of the problem for Ace.

I don't think Lester played with the reserves, so maybe he was rested rather than omitted.

Wasn't named & didn't play.

 

[Skoob]

Pretty sure he wasn't named for the 2nds, so i would agree, probably rested, or he has picked up a niggle. Has been a few times this year where players have been dropped with a minor injury that doesn't get listed.

I thought he was left out (of the 2s) so we had a fresh emergency if required.