What do we need

[Quigley]

Okay everyone chip in one thing you think we need to get back to winning premierships and how do you think or who do you think will address the need?

One thing I think we need is a midfield hardman. Someone with class but who is willing to do the hard things, attack the ball furiously and someone you know is going to make the opposition think twice about taking the Lions midfield on. I don't mean an old fashioned enforcer but someone like Vossy or the Scott boys who opposition players flinched when they saw then coming into a contest. There is a little bit of hardness missing at the moment I think.

Who will address - Proud and Adcock are two guys who I think are most likely to step up and play that role. Both have some class about them but will attack the ball with vigor. As the young bodies in our midfield start to fill out as well you will probably see a lot of teams start to flinch. The current tackling is very good and when they are winning the attack on the ball is very good.

 

[Raav]

Time is all we need.
We have things in place just have to hope for the natural development to occur as expected.
Rischitelli is another one I can see becoming a hardman in the mould of Vossy. Only when he gets some more muscle on him though.

 

[blynd_freddie]

I agree, I also believe all the physical ingredients are there with the current squad. Add a finals appearance or two to the confidence that seemed to be around during the last part of the season and I think we could be there about.
2008 could be a tad early for Grand thinking but the club has pleasantly surprised me in the past, why shouldn’t they be able to do it again.

Bring it on.

 

[Sherminator.]

The class of '06 to mature.

Time.

Confidence.

 

[lion_gooner]

experience and a geelong 2007 like run of luck and injurys is all brisbane really need and they will be back at the top

 

[Dylan12]

Basically the second tier players to be more consistent and hold their own without relying on the Browns, Blacks, Powers etc to do the bul of the work - i thought towards the end of last year that was happening with the emergence of Adcock, Merrett, Brennan, Patfull and Richitelli.

We need the like of Sherman, Roe, Clark etc to step up and become more consistent, obviously, but it is Clark that really needs to get a minimum of 15-16 games into him to compliment our other new recruit Daniel Bradshaw. Also would like to see the emergence of last season's lesser known draftees; Schmidt, Hawksley, Sheldon. I would be satisfied if Leuey and Proud play full seasons and my sentimental must see for 08 is for big Beau to play 9 games and make the 100 - he deserves it!

My gripe is that after reading the article about how highly Vossy rated Ebert, I still will take some convincing that we made the right decision with repsect to Henderson. And after speaking to a few contacts in the inner sanctum at the Eagles, all of whom rate Ebert amazingly high, he would have definately fitted in and played many games if drafted by the club next year, but hey that is only my opinion.

Apart from that I still believe we are in for an exciting year nonetheless, and there is a strong sense of 1999 all over again - IIRC we had a 8-10 game winning streak and would be satisfied even making the 8, so can't wait for next season.

 

[acuguy]

Good run with injuries, confidence, cohesion and above all RUTHLESSNESS

 

[BigCat2]

We need toughness and skill all over the ground, and I believe the latter is helped by the former.

By being tough and beating your man, you create time and space for yourself and teammates, while rushing the opposition into mistakes. We looked very ordinary in both games against Adelaide last year because we were smashed at the contested stuff.

While some players are gifted with excellent skills, it is an area that can steadily improve over time. It's not just about the technique - good awareness, decision making and team plan can make you a lot better.

We looked good in our 5 game winning streak, as well as our round 2 win vs St Kilda. We need to achieve that standard on a more consistent basis, and that'll be done by second tier players stepping up so you still win even if a few of your stars have quiet ones.

I believe we have the right coach and game plan to succeed. Controlling the corridor like the 93 point thrashing of Collingwood is a good example. No matter what the other team is capable of, if you dominate that much you're always going to win. You'll find the Lions of the past era did not shy away from a series of short handballs or switching of play, but that is to achieve the purpose of opening up a path to attack. This was vastly different to the (unskilled) chipping around and looking slow we did in the middle of the year.

I look for Sherman, Rischitelli and Harding to really step up and become dominant midfielders. I think run provided by Begley, JMac and Corrie will be very important. Next I'd like to see some of the younger squad to step up and play more than a handful of matches: Clark, Proud, Schmidt chief amongst them. And of course the addition of Travis Johnstone will provide a lot of immediate class and experience.

We have the ingredients. We just need everybody (apart from perhaps some senior players) to step up that notch and we'll be consistent around the mark.

 

[The Flying Belgian]

Self-belief. Nothing more. I'm of the opinion that almost any side with it's list could have won last year. It took a Geelong side and it's players to get into a mindset where they owned the ball before they took possession of it - they made it theirs though a willingness to attack the footy.

 

[notting18]

We need the two things that you can't buy...Experience and Luck.

 

[Snuka]

Agree with the sentiments Quigs about the real physical mid. I was hoping that Hadley could fill that role but another smokey may be Joel Mcdonald. I think we were all amazed not only at his improvement but also his bulking up. Looks very strong and seemed to break tackles with ease at times. Definitely a guy that could be made into that bully type who can not only use his muscle when he has the ball but also when it's in dispute.

As for what we need...Major improvement in the basic skills...disposal & kicking for goal. Of ALL the players last year IMO only Black, Power, Brown & perhaps Adcock could claim to have consistently disposed or kicked at goal well throughout most of the year. And i'm not talking about flashy stuff, just the basic 30 to 40m pass, handball into the path of a teammate and shots from 30 to 45 out (especially on the run). Too often the team was let down by silly kicks to the opposition or cute handpasses. And the stats probably contradict me somewhat with the kicking for goal but it could be pretty bad at times even from the reliable guys. And when that young 2nd tier group had a bad day, we really noticed it.

Something i'd suggest the guys could work on in the off season.

 

[Warwick]

Michael Voss.

 

[konstas_87]

A rock hard, set in stone, same every week back 6.
good premiership teams have great a defensive 6.

we need bigger bodies too, Leuey in the ruck, Clark, brennan etc up forward all need to bulk up a fair bit more.

mids need more preseasons in the legs to run out matches/seasons better.

ALL IN ALL: time is the common ingredient in the above 3 things.

 

[The-Spanner]

Self-belief. Nothing more. I'm of the opinion that almost any side with it's list could have won last year. It took a Geelong side and it's players to get into a mindset where they owned the ball before they took possession of it - they made it theirs though a willingness to attack the footy.

If ever there was a post that needed to be quoted for truth, it was that one. That's what turned potential into greatness in 2001-4, and right now we got potential in droves.

 

[Grimreepah]

What do we need

We need to regain our aura at the Gabba.

 

[Jubair]

Experience and Time

 

[Vidman]

Experience and Time

injury free preseason would help.

 

[choco123]

We need to regain our aura at the Gabba.

can't agree more. this has been a key ingredient for the non-melbourne teams' dominance of this decade: they hav all established a substantial home-ground advantage which has translated into one or maybe two losses at home for the whole season.

 

[Hollow Knight]

The return of the Gabbatoir is vital to our premiership chances.

 

[blackpowerlappin]

The return of the Gabbatoir is vital to our premiership chances.

We need to develop the next Leppitsch. I see Roe and Patful as third talls, Merrett as the full back. The drafting of Collier and Henderson highlights the importance of the Key CHB position and hopefully one or both of these two will be able to hold this position down in the next two to three years when the next premiership tilt is on.

We need to win clearances. We have been bottom 3 or 4 since 2005. In our premieship years we were top two. Need, JMac, Rischitelli, Harding, Proud, Selwood to take another step and support Black, Power, and Lappin.

More goals from the midfield. Johnstone was recruited to make this happen and create mismatches for opposition teams. We have also missed the run of Sherman and Corrie. Both can break lines, both are linkmen and both can finish.