2016 Brisbane Lions starting line up

[Milux]

my favourite part was that every summer the whole club would flood under 1-1.5m of swamp water... so yeah it was technically a shthole for sure.

Thats how you got your low impact aerobics done yeah? I even played a game there when there was about that much on the field.

 

[Lions Lions]

If we go with both Merrett and Clarke in our back six and put Daniel Rich on half back where he struggles most, we will get some big scores unloaded on us early ! With tough draw if those 3 are in our back six we will be likely 1-9 after 10 games.

 

[Kevvo]

If we go with both Merrett and Clarke in our back six and put Daniel Rich on half back where he struggles most, we will get some big scores unloaded on us early ! With tough draw if those 3 are in our back six we will be likely 1-9 after 10 games.

I find that kind of an odd observation. Merrett and Clarke have shortcomings in their games, but they are certainly two of our better stoppers. Our defensive issues IMO are more a function of the frequency with which we turn the ball over in midfield and leave our defenders stranded out of position.

 

[POBT]

I find the criticism of Rich off half back a bit perplexing. I didn't think he was exposed back there. Defensively, he got caught out a couple of times but he also neutralised or won a lot of contests when the ball hit the deck.

To me, the question is more about whether it is the best use of him. He's an attacking player. Did playing in defence stifle his attacking instincts? Did he get the balance right? Would the side benefit more if we had him around the ball or even across half forward? What are the costs v benefits of him playing across half back?

To me, those small/medium defensive spots are up in the air. I don't think Rich is out of the picture for those roles. I also don't think our other options are so settled that we can afford to take Rich out of the conversation. There are probably 6 or 7 guys vying for 2 or 3 spots down back. There are doubts about all of them.

 

[Lions Lions]

I find the criticism of Rich off half back a bit perplexing. I didn't think he was exposed back there. Defensively, he got caught out a couple of times but he also neutralised or won a lot of contests when the ball hit the deck.

To me, the question is more about whether it is the best use of him. He's an attacking player. Did playing in defence stifle his attacking instincts? Did he get the balance right? Would the side benefit more if we had him around the ball or even across half forward? What are the costs v benefits of him playing across half back?

To me, those small/medium defensive spots are up in the air. I don't think Rich is out of the picture for those roles. I also don't think our other options are so settled that we can afford to take Rich out of the conversation. There are probably 6 or 7 guys vying for 2 or 3 spots down back. There are doubts about all of them.

I am a big fan of Daniel Rich don't get me wrong but he is best used forward of centre where he can hit the scoreboard himself or set it up directly for someone else. He struggled off halfback this year, they tried something with him. It didn't work.

 

[Lions Lions]

I find that kind of an odd observation. Merrett and Clarke have shortcomings in their games, but they are certainly two of our better stoppers. Our defensive issues IMO are more a function of the frequency with which we turn the ball over in midfield and leave our defenders stranded out of position.

is Daniel Merrett the future of this club down back? No. Does he really take footy that seriously anymore? I am not sure. Does he have the body to withstand close to a full season? No .... It's him or Clarke down back for sole stopper role , in today's day and age you cannot carry two players with poor skills who's best attribute is spoiling and expect to be able to consistently repel attacks.

 

[Len S]

is Daniel Merrett the future of this club down back? No. Does he really take footy that seriously anymore? I am not sure. Does he have the body to withstand close to a full season? No .... It's him or Clarke down back for sole stopper role , in today's day and age you cannot carry two players with poor skills who's best attribute is spoiling and expect to be able to consistently repel attacks.

Don't discount Beasley entering the frame at some early stage this year.Was highly regarded in TAC circles for his play on big names,is bigger and a stronger build than the excellent Gardiner, and has great character. Had virtually no pre season and made it into the team. Coaches like him, with justification I think. Would be huge for us if he comes on.

 

[Nunez]

Don't discount Beasley entering the frame at some early stage this year.Was highly regarded in TAC circles for his play on big names,is bigger and a stronger build than the excellent Gardiner, and has great character. Had virtually no pre season and made it into the team. Coaches like him, with justification I think. Would be huge for us if he comes on.

I was thinking about this earlier. I think he has a bright future as a defender.

 

[Jman78]

If we go with both Merrett and Clarke in our back six and put Daniel Rich on half back where he struggles most, we will get some big scores unloaded on us early ! With tough draw if those 3 are in our back six we will be likely 1-9 after 10 games.

It depends..... if we have good ball users around Merrett and Clarke. Clarke could be quality, he is still developing his game and you never know. I take faith in that Rance was the Tigers whipping boy for years, now look at him he's a absolute gun

 

[AFLQLD]

It depends..... if we have good ball users around Merrett and Clarke. Clarke could be quality, he is still developing his game and you never know. I take faith in that Rance was the Tigers whipping boy for years, now look at him he's a absolute gun

I agree. Clarke was thrown in at the deep end very very early for a key defender. Strangely, key forwards are always given 'time to develop' but key defenders we seem to expect to be much more ready-made. If anything it is a harder role to step into as a young player than the key forward role.

Clarke is developing very nicely, I think there are already signs from this season that he is developing the attacking side to his game, but in a well-undermanned inexperienced backline he spent much of the year as the first defender on the big forwards. That is a very very steep learning curve. And he will be the better for it in years to come. Clarke has got an education in the AFL that key defenders at many clubs only get in the reserves.

He is 22. He will keep improving for a few years yet. And we will be thankful we have him.

 

[brizrider]

All of these best 22's are pretty good I think. The big question is, when three or four of them are injured and we invariably end up having to slot them around, how do we make it work? That's when a list like ours is under real pressure.

 

[dlanod]

I am a big fan of Daniel Rich don't get me wrong but he is best used forward of centre where he can hit the scoreboard himself or set it up directly for someone else. He struggled off halfback this year, they tried something with him. It didn't work.

With our defensive press that we've seen Leppa try to implement, the halfbacks are often floating around the forward 50 mark - perfect for Rich to have a ping. Through him forward of centre and you're limiting the damage his kicks can do as there's rarely a need for that 50-60m kick. He essentially becomes any other player, albeit with solid middle distance foot skills.

 

[M Malice]

All of these best 22's are pretty good I think. The big question is, when three or four of them are injured and we invariably end up having to slot them around, how do we make it work? That's when a list like ours is under real pressure.

i think our depth wont be too bad, unless we have a horrific run with injuries like 2015. yes do partly agree with you it hurts you when young fellas are called up before their time especially key position types. injuries inevitable but please not like last year again touch wood.

 

[BrizzyBandit]

Gardiner. Merrett. Andrews
McStay. Clarke. Cutler.

Hanley. DBeams. Rich.
Martin. Bastinac. Rockcliff

Bell. Close. Christensen
Green. Walker. Freeman.

Zorko, Paparone, Robinson,Taylor

 

[pOleK]

Gardiner. Merrett. Andrews
McStay. Clarke. Cutler.

Hanley. DBeams. Rich.
Martin. Bastinac. Rockcliff

Bell. Close. Christensen
Green. Walker. Freeman.

Zorko, Paparone, Robinson,Taylor

To me this looks like a strong team. The only two changes i would make is probably Dawson for Paparone and possibly Harwood for Cutler. Harwood has been injured for a fair while though so probably won't be best 22 just yet. And again with all our younger players coming through like McGrath, Beasely and with the inclusions of Schache, Keays and Hipwood, things are starting to look good for us.

 

[iBeng]

To me this looks like a strong team. The only two changes i would make is probably Dawson for Paparone and possibly Harwood for Cutler. Harwood has been injured for a fair while though so probably won't be best 22 just yet. And again with all our younger players coming through like McGrath, Beasely and with the inclusions of Schache, Keays and Hipwood, things are starting to look good for us.

Dawson ahead of Paparone?

 

[WA Lion]

Gardiner. Merrett. Andrews
McStay. Clarke. Cutler.

Hanley. DBeams. Rich.
Martin. Bastinac. Rockcliff

Bell. Close. Christensen
Green. Walker. Freeman.

Zorko, Paparone, Robinson,Taylor

On paper I like it, on the ground I fear that backline is too tall and not offensive enough. Cutler is the only offensive rebounding type player. McStay you could argue is a hybrid defender of sorts I guess.

Cue likely unpopular suggestion - I would put McStay in the 2's to get him to lift his work-rate and bring in Dawson

 

[winged1]

I find the criticism of Rich off half back a bit perplexing. I didn't think he was exposed back there. Defensively, he got caught out a couple of times but he also neutralised or won a lot of contests when the ball hit the deck.

To me, the question is more about whether it is the best use of him. He's an attacking player. Did playing in defence stifle his attacking instincts? Did he get the balance right? Would the side benefit more if we had him around the ball or even across half forward? What are the costs v benefits of him playing across half back?

To me, those small/medium defensive spots are up in the air. I don't think Rich is out of the picture for those roles. I also don't think our other options are so settled that we can afford to take Rich out of the conversation. There are probably 6 or 7 guys vying for 2 or 3 spots down back. There are doubts about all of them.

The backline was under the pump a lot of the year because we were so short of cattle in the middle with the injuries to key mids. Therefore the ball was coming in without a lot of pressure being applied. Rich gets exposed in the air but I think he is pretty solid in the back and playing back he can use that big kick (but please no point kick ins) which his major weapon. With the depth we have in mids I dont think he will get huge time in the middle because I dont think his running is up to it. So I think that half back role is where he will find himself.

 

[jjami15]

On paper I like it, on the ground I fear that backline is too tall and not offensive enough. Cutler is the only offensive rebounding type player. McStay you could argue is a hybrid defender of sorts I guess.

Cue likely unpopular suggestion - I would put McStay in the 2's to get him to lift his work-rate and bring in Dawson

Because if he doesn't this is exactly where he will find himself. Yes the club have come out saying him being the only one holding down the forward line and he's young but that won't fly with Walker, Freeman (another year) and co coming in. With those additions hopefully he'll also get the third best defender as well and he can roam more up the field.

 

[Van Nostrand]

B: Andrews, Merrett, McGrath
HB: Rich, Clarke, Hanley
C: Taylor, Bell, Christensen
HF: Rockliff, Close, Zorko
F: Green, Walker, Schache
R: Martin, D. Beams, Robinson
I: Bastinac, McStay, Paparone, Mayes
Emg: Freeman, Keays, C. Beams, Gardiner

 

[Van Nostrand]

With our defensive press that we've seen Leppa try to implement, the halfbacks are often floating around the forward 50 mark - perfect for Rich to have a ping. Through him forward of centre and you're limiting the damage his kicks can do as there's rarely a need for that 50-60m kick. He essentially becomes any other player, albeit with solid middle distance foot skills.

Agreed. The problem was we kept getting bogged down back.
If we're keeping possession and moving the ball quickly I'd reckon that Rich would be getting plenty of shots on goal from half back.

 

[a mayes ing]

B: Andrews, Merrett, McGrath
HB: Rich, Clarke, Hanley
C: Taylor, Bell, Christensen
HF: Rockliff, Close, Zorko
F: Green, Walker, Schache
R: Martin, D. Beams, Robinson
I: Bastinac, McStay, Paparone, Mayes
Emg: Freeman, Keays, C. Beams, Gardiner

No Andrews and Freeman is ahead of the pecking order than Close.

 

[Fatcat08]

No Andrews and Freeman is ahead of the pecking order than Close.

I certainly don't think its anything like that clear cut and to just say no you're wrong to someones post without any other discussion is pretty rude to be honest. Not sure how you can say Andrews is ahead of him when he's been mainly played down back. As for Freeman vs Close, it will depend on what we're looking for in our lineup. If they decide to play Walker a bit closer to goal then i'd have close ahead by a fair bit due to his much superior ground coverage. If you're looking at Walker as a higher half forward and play the other closer to goal, then i'd probably have Freeman as the better contested mark. Also worth keeping in mind that whoever does play up forward has to offer some ruck chopout during the game.

IMO the one most likely to miss out early days of that lot is Schache, and while I think he'll get games this year for sure, I tend to think that if everyone else is fit he probably starts in the reserves and builds into the season as his workload increases. He's going to be a longer term project, in the meantime given we've gone and got Walker to give us some experience in the forward line I don't see us nullifying that and giving a role to an 18 year old straight away. Sort of goes against what they've tried to do this off season. I would like to see Freeman, Walker and Close in there as it gives some contested marking options as well as two guys with the ability to run further afield and play in that linkup role on the wings/ bailout kick. I also tend to think that given his high draft pick and junior form there would be more confidence that Schache will be a long term forward, while each of the others have some question marks, which i see us trying to answer early in the year allowing Schache an easier transition initially.

 

[a mayes ing]

I certainly don't think its anything like that clear cut and to just say no you're wrong to someones post without any other discussion is pretty rude to be honest. Not sure how you can say Andrews is ahead of him when he's been mainly played down back. As for Freeman vs Close, it will depend on what we're looking for in our lineup. If they decide to play Walker a bit closer to goal then i'd have close ahead by a fair bit due to his much superior ground coverage. If you're looking at Walker as a higher half forward and play the other closer to goal, then i'd probably have Freeman as the better contested mark. Also worth keeping in mind that whoever does play up forward has to offer some ruck chopout during the game.

IMO the one most likely to miss out early days of that lot is Schache, and while I think he'll get games this year for sure, I tend to think that if everyone else is fit he probably starts in the reserves and builds into the season as his workload increases. He's going to be a longer term project, in the meantime given we've gone and got Walker to give us some experience in the forward line I don't see us nullifying that and giving a role to an 18 year old straight away. Sort of goes against what they've tried to do this off season. I would like to see Freeman, Walker and Close in there as it gives some contested marking options as well as two guys with the ability to run further afield and play in that linkup role on the wings/ bailout kick. I also tend to think that given his high draft pick and junior form there would be more confidence that Schache will be a long term forward, while each of the others have some question marks, which i see us trying to answer early in the year allowing Schache an easier transition initially.

Swear i didn't see Andrews in that guy's lineup. Thats why l said "No Andrews" because l would think he would be best 18 from the the way he played last season. I was wrong tho as l see that he did play him there.

I think you misunderstood my post a bit. You think l said that Andrews and Freeman are ahead of Close. What l actually meant is "No Andrews" (me surprised that he wasn't in there) and "Freeman are ahead of Close" 2 different sentences in the 1 sentence if you understand.

I would personally be surprised if Close gets in ahead of Freeman as we struggle to kick a winning score. Walker will help but we can't just rely on him. Freeman has shown that he can kick multiple goals and l think Close has only kicked 2 in a game iirc. I dont think that we would have all 3 as it would leave us too tall especially with McStay a likely chance to stay in. Personally l can see Schache doing better at NEAFL level as Close doesnt tend to get many goals in the NEAFL when l saw his stats couple years ago. So l would think Schache would be in competition with Close to get in the team

 

[Len S]

No Andrews and Freeman is ahead of the pecking order than Close.

Freeman and Gardiner will start,and Cutler. Hanley and Rich are not backmen, and both are weak overhead.

I can see Rich battling to hold a place,if he doesn't improve on last year by a big margin, specifically his defensive work,hardness in close and run.That may stir the possum,but I think Daniel needs to stir himself.