Who replaces Leon?

[rand corp]

A plethora of options up forward in my opinion from Krak, Blair, a fit and firing Didak, a fit and firing Caff, Elliot, Yag, Ugle all newbies with a shot.

Sweeper, Line breaker in defence, few have Leon's kicking skills but Heater, Toovey, Harry all already play that role from time to time.

 

[blaze036]

Lets not forget we won the 2010 premiership without a "leon"... so do we really need to replace him?

 

[Chief Ten Beers]

Hmm...

Leon was a small forward who played terribly in the grand final...

And Jarryd Blair is a small forward who played terribly in the grand final...

Maybe?

Hey only about 11 years difference of experience between the two, besides Blair played an alright game in the '10 GF.

 

[Ed D]

Hmm...

Leon was a small forward who played terribly in the grand final...

And Jarryd Blair is a small forward who played terribly in the grand final...

Maybe?

Davis played well in the GF. Did you watch his game?

 

[Swooop]

Davis played well in the GF. Did you watch his game?

Think he was referring to when Leon played a GF as a small forward ( you could pretty much take your pick which GF - 02, 03 or 10 )

Personally, I don't think we have a direct like-for-like replacement.

Reid is probably best bet to do most kick-ins.

Will be interesting if Bucks tries for a like-for -like or if we go back to 2010 style where Leon didn't exist as a back.

The role would entail vast experience reading the play, so I think Yagmoor, Blair etc may struggle.

 

[Krueger]

Reid is probably best bet to do most kick-ins.

Will be interesting if Bucks tries for a like-for -like or if we go back to 2010 style where Leon didn't exist as a back.

Reid is a good option, hes an awesome kick but it means one less tall target at kick ins unless passes are more pinpointed.

I think many have forgotten how good our backline was in the latter half of 2010. There was no Davis in defence then so if we revert back to a similar setup there shouldnt be a problem now. We will have Nathan Brown back next year and will have more flexibility in defence. Runners like Shaw and Obrien can fill the void.

 

[Liam Boy]

Davis played well in the GF. Did you watch his game?

Yeah, I was at both grand finals. I meant 2010, when he got dropped for the replay.

 

[PieLebo87]

That young half Lebo kid will go already across HB

 

[Ed D]

Yeah, I was at both grand finals. I meant 2010, when he got dropped for the replay.

Got you, yeah he was ordinary as a forward in previous finals, but I guess that's not the position where he's going to be missed/replaced.

 

[Smoky]

Heath Shaw will play more of a position that he did in 2010... He was a gamebreaker when he was left unnaccountable in our backline.

 

[davywap]

Just thought I'd re-raise this old thread instead of making a new one about a replacement for Leon Davis.

Must say I'm quite sick of hearing footy media asking who will replace Leon Davis in clearing the ball from defence. As a few have already pointed out on this thread, he only played that role last year and even though he was obviously very good at it (AA) it wasn't enough to win us a flag, however we did win one the year before when Davis played as a small forward and had a below average year, being dropped for the granny.

So I don't see this as a big deal personally, we have plenty of players whom when fit can clear the ball effectively from defence, and I'm sure Bucks has a plan for this - perhaps a return to more 2010-esque Pies footy.

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

Thats what i found strange.

What did we do in 2010 when Leon wasn't in that role?

Won the flag, thats what.

 

[4#Didak#4]

Leon's position last year was important. I take the points that he wasn't doing it in 2010, however in 2011 we saw everyone pushing up with presses & forward defensive pressure, which in turn made players that could get through this ultra important. Leon had the perfect skill set for this, sublime kicking skills, calm under pressure, read the play and had pace to break lines when needed. Unfortunately not many players have this skill set.

We can't expect to pluck someone out to replace his exact role so will need to be a combined effort from the back six to cover him. I think Goldy & Tarrant can do kick out duties. Reid could as well but I would prefer him as a target on the kick outs & he can be more damaging kicking off half back. I can see Yagmoor being groomed for this position to. We need Shaw & maybe Clarke to be the receiver of the first or second disposal out of defense so they can use their skills & run.

It will be a team effort but we can cover him, just not replace him.

 

[Nicco_jj]

why can't heath go back to kicking out? he has one of the highest % of good disposal in the club + afl.

 

[lethalburns]

I loved Leon but the reality is finals football is different and his 100% accuracy rate would not have applied during this period. I remember him missing targets and going the boundary line against hawthorn almost every time he kicked out.

It isn't that big a deal. I'd actually prefer we groomed someone like Reid or Goldsack over the course of the year both who can surprise you with a long penetrating kick. Leon was pretty much restricted to short accurate kicks and it was picked apart eventually.

 

[Chief Ten Beers]

Heath would kick it out of bounds too many times.

Marty, from memory, had a pretty good kick on him??

 

[Ed D]

Heath would kick it out of bounds too many times.

Marty, from memory, had a pretty good kick on him??

Shaw has always been good with kick outs. He has the occasional clanger but usually they happen 70m+ away from goal.