Who suprised and who disappointed this year?

[DERRINALPHIL]

I want to know everyone’s opinions on the player who surprised you the most this year and the player that disappointed the most.

No one is to comment on any else’s selections before they put their own selections up.

My most surprising player is Gardiner. I didn’t think he could every be anything but a battler, but he became a very good key defender. We may have won our last two games if he had played

The disappointment is Lewy Taylor but he suffers from higher expectations. I mean he did win the rising star, but he will be ever only a battling player in a bottom team.

Originally I hoped he would quickly become an A Grade midfielder.

 

[snooplions]

Surprised: McCluggage
Disappointed: Cedric Cox

McCluggage skyrocketed and Cedric plateaued. I think both results were confidence related.

 

[CarterS]

Apart from McCluggage and Gardiner as said, big wins for me have been Cutler and Walker.

Bit disappointing Keays hasn't come along nor Mayes.

Some others, too early to tell. I was hoping Allison and/or Cox would have broken into the team by now though.

 

[Nunez]

Dizzy for mine - not only showed progression but showed he is a genuinely great defender now.

Mayes is my biggest disappointment. For whatever reason this was not his year. He's got a year on his contract and assuming we don't trade him I hope he takes 2019 with both hands and gets back into best 22 form. I reckon he can do it!

 

[Elixuh]

Gardiner and Witherden. In the last game of the season, Bundy.

Disappointed with Bastinac, Keays and Mayes.

 

[a mayes ing]

Surprised: Gardiner and Cutler
Disappointed: Mayes

 

[Cockliff38]

Didn't expect the rapid improvement from McCluggage, really thought it would be a slow burn with him. Particularly most impressed with his tackling and ability in the contest. I think Cutler is worth a mention as well and while inconsistent, showed some great signs on the wing when it looked like he might not realise his potential.

Mayes is the obvious disappointment. Personally I thought Archie would jump ahead of Stef this year but the latter shows no signs of slowing down.

 

[Back2Back2Back]

Surprised: Rayner for his first year effort and season long endurance, Andrews for obvious reasons, McClug, Berry and Witho for what I feel was a bit of a defining year, Dizzy for stepping up across the backline, and Hodge for his immediate impact on the on-field organisation and composure upon arriving at the club. Of all of those, I think Berry or Rayner are my top two standouts.
Rayner in particular is going to be a frigging GOAT elite gun if he continues on his current trajectory - he's as young as he is right now but isn't afraid to crash packs, take on big game defining moments, throw himself at the ball and be a key player. With a bit more gametime, a few more offseason bulks and more maturity under his belt I think he's going to be a heavy tag target in the future, otherwise he'll keep breaking games open.

Disappointed: Bell, Basti, Mayes, Cox, Smith... All for mostly the same reason. Expected more, got less.

 

[Cockliff38]

I guess Eagles counts as well. We all know what he did at NEAFL level at the end of last year but to play some solid games at AFL-level was a big win.

 

[jackess]

Surprised: Stef (best season), Clug, Witherden, Andrews, Berry, Gardiner, Rayner, Bailey, Hipwood, McInerney and Cutler (improvement)

Disappointment: Keays, Bundy, Robinson, Bell, Bewick, Rich, Zorko, Robertson, Taylor, Mayes and Matho (lack of improvement or consistency from senior players)

The rest I either had no hope for had about as expected seasons.

 

[Suitcase]

Mayes has been a massive disappointment this year. He was developing into a very solid defender last year but has regressed badly this year to the point where he hasn't even been that great at NEAFL level. Hopefully he turns it around next year.

 

[Lions Flag 2020]

Surprised: Big O and rapid rise of Bez and Hugh.

Disappointed: a couple of the older players who are earning good coin but are not playing to their pay scale.

 

[a mayes ing]

A couple more now that l think of it:
Surprised: Rayner - for a guy that had supposedly poor endurance, he managaed to play every game of the season with stints in the middle
McInerny - 15 games into a ruckman is so valuable when Martin is nearing the end

 

[Loyal Lion]

I agree with all of the all mentioned above as big improvers or surprises, but there is one name missing in my opinion. Nick Robbo has been fantastic this year. Sure he makes some mistakes, of which can be cleaned up in time. But the way that he has taken the game on this year, with his aggression at the contest & his marking, has been great to watch. Biggest disappointment for me has been Mayes. For a player of his ilk & class, to go through the motions like he has this year, is a true waste!

 

[Eons]

Berry and Dizzy surprised the most.

Dizzy added a real attacking style to his game. The more he plays now the more he reminds me of Rance. Not many players can play tall, small and give you drive from the back half like Dizzy can.

Every game I see Berry play the more impressive he is. Doesn't have any real weaknesses and the things he does for a player in his second year are very exciting. If his brother is just as good I don't care how far we reach to get him.

No one has disappointed me this year. Players like Mayes and Taylor have always had their limitations that have just been a bit more exposed by the younger and better players we have coming through.

 

[a mayes ing]

I agree with all of the all mentioned above as big improvers or surprises, but there is one name missing in my opinion. Nick Robbo has been fantastic this year. Sure he makes some mistakes, of which can be cleaned up in time. But the way that he has taken the game on this year, with his aggression at the contest & his marking, has been great to watch. Biggest disappointment for me has been Mayes. For a player of his ilk & class, to go through the motions like he has this year, is a true waste!

I wonder if he has realised how far back he is, the competition for spots and how the younger guys have already overtaken him? Maybe sulky, thinking how on earth he is going to get games over them, no idea. Needs a big off-season, clean up his skills and work on his offensive game since his defensive side is okay. Still think he might be better as a forward flank but there are competition for spots there too.\

Backline competition: Witherden, Dizzy, Hodgy, Bundy (If back), Robertson, Rich
Forward competition: Taylor, Rayner, Bundy (if forward), Cameron, resting midfielder (Beams/Zorko), Robinson, Bailey, Starcevich

And probably the pick 5 player we take if we take it to the draft

 

[Kernel Kurtz]

Dizzy definitely was the surprise for myself .
totally frustrated me previous years with his late clumsy fist to the back of players heads for a free.
He had the measure of so many opposition players , hardly found himself in no mans land, elite feel for the game now, great to see.
Second was big Oscar , whether as ruck forward , more ruck, he has a great tap out and can clunk a contested mark if the delivery is good .
Disappointment probably the Key forwards .
A little with Hippy, although his field work and off ball work has improved. Kind of thought he would really improve with his goal kicking and marking , still misses easy shots. Could of easily kicked 45 or 50.
He did improve late in the season realizing he needs to put his hands in front when marking a contested ball.
His goal kicking pretty inconsistent , but at least he has a crack at goals, so he'll improve.
You can only get better if you keep trying unlike McStay terrible kick on goal still and now he prefers to offload even though he is within 30m.
Key forward needs to take that responsibility, not offload easy shots.
Okay easy from the sideline

 

[jjami15]

Suprised; Jarrod Berry - with a limited to nil pre-season he really stood up and am very excited about his future. Darcy Gardiner - before his injury he was super reliant and felt very confident with his play on all types of players. Also added some valuable rebound by his decision making. Charlie Gardiner - what he brought to our team and the consistency he showed was more than I expected.

Dissapointed - Eric Hipwood, I know that he was crook through out the pre-season and struggled to put size on but didn't have a great year. His kicking for goal needs some serious work, understand he tries to roost them from outside 50 at times but KPF's are paid to kick 'Em. Lewis Taylor - not that he went backward but he platued and I sense that he could get passed in the coming years if he doesn't continue to improve. Nick Robertson - again another one that platued for me, his touch needs work as if you fumble you're gone these days.

 

[Macca225]

Surprised - Cutler (showed he can play at a high level consistency), Eagles (didn't expect a reality show footy player to have any impact) and Hipwood (3rd year player kicking 37 goals and leading the forward line in a team outside the 8 is a great effort)

Disappointed - Mayes (done nothing to suggest he can keep a spot on the list) and Paparone (I know he's had injuries but when he played a few games doesn't really look like he's going to be a player)

 

[iBeng]

McStay is in my disappointment column. If he doesnt really step up a gear next year hes going to find his spot no where near secure.

 

[M Malice]

Surprised- They improved more than I thought they would.

Darcy Gardiner- IMO if he was playing in Melbourne would have been in serious consideration for the AA squad, plays on smalls, medium and tall. Has added an attacking bow to his shut down abilities. If he continues to play as he did this year we have another A grade defender to go with Harris Andrews.

Honorable mentions- Hugh McCluggage, Jarrod Berry.

Disappointments-

Sam Mayes- Has never come on as most expected and went backwards even further this year, could be traded out.

Dishonorable mentions- Tom Bell, Ryan Bastinac, Rohan Bewick.

 

[Dodongo]

Dodongo was surprised by McCluggage's massive improvement.

Dodongo was obviously disappointed by Mayes's year. Dodongo thinks the illness of his mum affected his on field performance. Now with it all sorted, and a fresh focus, Dodongo can see a massive bounce back next year.

 

[notliondown]

Surprised

Dizz - always liked him but this year he elevated himself. A full preseason and confidence made a huge difference
Bez - this guy is just a pure work horse... does the heavy lifting and has enough poise to finish off. Made a huge difference in the middle this year.
Lugga - I hoped he had it in him, but his poise is sublime when he's on. Add into that the extra effort and gain in contested work and he was worth pick 3.
Big O - who knew?? I sure as hell didn't!
Charlie - what a shame we didn't get to see a season of this guy. The games we saw should be enough to erase any doubt we paid too much.
Walks - Might just have saved his career this season. He'll probably do a Leppa if he can stay hungry.
Hodge - I had my doubts - huge ones. But his on and off field coaching & leadership has fast tracked us more than what seemed possible.
Rayner - No 1 was worth it. The passion and love he already brings to this club is worth as much as his on feild ability. Made an impact far quicker than I thought.

Witho, Matho, Eagles, Robertson all improved to be become valuable members of the team this year. Bailey will add something too.



Disappointed

I pick these guys with a pure focus on the future. Others have also disappointed but my expectations of them weren't so high as was obvious by the mount of games played. These guys however are regular 22... if they're not careful I think the game will pass them by...

Robbo - this is hard I know and I don't like doing it. The guy bleeds for us BUT I just wonder if we are starting to see enough class around him that Robbo's flaws are being highlighted. The number of missed tackles as he flys by his opponent costs us dearly. The bash and crash sees him laying on the ground more often than not, and the disposal that he was always questioned about is starting to show. Throw it on the boot and hope costs us now.
Richie - for the last reason with Robbo. Rich seems to throw every second kick on the boot and just bombs away. In a team where we now value pinpoint accuracy these high long bombs undo so much good work. Additionally having Rich, Witho & Christensen down back together at times when none are strong tacklers or second effort makers seems unsustainable. The other guys have way more upside.

 

[Footballator]

Goods
Gardiner - Made himself super valuable this year
Eagles - Straightened us up in the backline when he came in and looked the goods
Cameron - Standout
Berry - Grunt player
McCluggage - Poise - not a skill you can teach easily
Skinner - Showed plenty for a guy thats been set back with 3 knee reco's - could well star next year

Bads
Mayes - Hasn't got that last 10% required
Rich - Getting recognition for efforts years ago
Bastinac - Looked outclassed at AFL level and didn't crack in
Bell - It's tolled - enough said
Bewick - Again hasn't got that extra factor to continue where this team is headed
Frost - Started cold and locked up in the twos

Lester - Mr in-between with both camps

 

[OldLion]

Good
Gardiner - really stepped up
Berry - right size right attitude
Steph - durable -- and a really nice guy !

Bad
Rich - needs to own a spot
Robbo - we now need skill

Time to get Professor Roos on board