Retired Ashley McGrath (2000-2014)

[King of Torts]

i think ash would have to be a shoe in for milne. he is the dangerman for the saints against us. need someone like ash to stick to him like glue up forward, and im sure ash could get the better of him running it out of defence. Milne is a sneaky lil player, but i dont think he is overly fast, not ash fast anyway.

Don't think Ashley's defensive skills are good enough to take Milney. Not talking about tackling but spoiling & i suppose application to the job. He is better off not having an opponent who he has to worry too much about. That means he can concentrate attacking off half back. I think JMac will get the job on Milne.

 

[knaf]

So who gets milne? Selwood?? I think he had Murphy on Saturday niight. But you could only tell by looking at who was on Murphy at the start of each quarter. No one seemed to pick him up after that. Riska and Sherman have looked uncomfortable close to goal in defense. I would go with Begley if he was fit but he isnt. I agree with KoT that Ash in the past has looked like he didnt want the responsibility of negating the most potent small forward. I just though his attitude and application were great on Saturday night and he might have reached a new level in his career. Give him a go at milnee and we find out for sure.

 

[chopperduck]

Don't think Ashley's defensive skills are good enough to take Milney. Not talking about tackling but spoiling & i suppose application to the job. He is better off not having an opponent who he has to worry too much about. That means he can concentrate attacking off half back. I think JMac will get the job on Milne.

jmac is an option, but id rather see him not sticking to a man. milne is a crumber, so i dont think we need to worry bout ash spoiling. he just needs to stay close so milne doesn't have time to snap bullcrap goals crumbing off packs. ash is also fast enough to keep milne honest if he doesn't pay him enough respect.

whoever it is, they have to play close to him. we might want ash up forward to play as a defensive forward tho, to shut down any drive coming form the saints backs. really depends what team the saints field. have posted a similar post on the lions v saints thread, so this is a bit of a double up.

i think after last weeks performance, you gotta give him first crack as he was brilliant in the back half last week

 

[Hollow Knight]

Another great game down back for Ash.

Limiting Milne to two goals is a win in my book, especially considering the rebound Ash gave us.

Begley might be concerned! I'm loving the pressure for senior spots at the moment.

 

[dlanod]

Especially since those two were in trash time at the end.

 

[Grimreepah]

Link

McGrath puts his best foot forward down back
Simon White
1:17 PM Sun 01 June, 2008

SOMETIMES you have to go back to go forward – as Brisbane Lions utility Ash McGrath is currently proving.
In recent seasons McGrath has built a reputation as a fleet-of-foot goalsneak, kicking a personal-best 35 goals in 2005.
But an injury-plagued pre-season has resulted in a 2008 return to the backline, where he began his AFL career seven seasons ago.
McGrath had knee surgery late in the pre-season and then injured an ankle while on the comeback trail.
"This year I had those injuries and it meant that Nuxy (Anthony Corrie) and Rhan (Hooper) got their chance in the forward line and they’ve been doing a good job," McGrath said.
"Leigh gave me a shot back in defence and I’m enjoying it. You know the small forwards you play on are going to lead you to the ball and it’s a matter of sticking with it and running off them when you can to hit up a forward.
"I know as a forward how much Browny and Braddy love it when you are able to get the ball in quickly to them."
Saturday night’s 31-point victory over the Kangaroos was notable for several injury scares, with McGrath one of three Lions to end the game on the bench because of hamstring tightness.Then there was the frightening moment midway through the third term, when spearhead Jonathan Brown hobbled off with what at first looked to be a serious knee injury.
"I didn’t realise what had happened (to Brown) until the crowd clapped him off," McGrath said.
"That was when I had a look up to the big screen and saw him go down on the replay.
"I think we had enough blokes down there to cover – Mitch Clark went forward and Braddy was on fire again.
"I tried not to take too much notice but obviously he came back and looks all right so that’s really good for us."

 

[acuguy]

McGrath looked like the best running back defender we have seen since Chris Johnson on Saturday night. What has surprised me is his penetrating kicking ability, the forwards would love him coming out of the back fifty.

 

[Grimreepah]

Link

Brown was still expected to be racing the clock to be fit for this weekend - but Matthews seemed more concerned about Ash McGrath, describing him as "most unlikely".

 

[Grimreepah]

Link

McGrath had the unenviable task of minding the in-form Jason Akermanis for most of the second half. Having matched up on him occasionally in training, McGrath was familiar with the former Lion’s game, but he said it counted for little. “It’s totally different to what happened today. When he played deeper I went to him, but when he went up the field I went to a few other guys,” he said.
“My form wasn’t that flash today. I played on a few different players early and then 'Aker' slipped me a few times and got a few goals.
“The Western Bulldogs are that type of team that, even if I had a metre on 'Aker', they’d still use him up because their kicking skills are really good and they always seem to find a target which makes it hard for defenders.”

 

[dlanod]

To be honest I thought he did pretty well on Aker. Given we were getting flogged at different times and the fact that Aker only really needs half a chance to hurt the opposition, McGrath kept him relatively quiet compared to his form over the last couple of weeks.

I'd love to see a rematch with Lake and Murphy (both doubtful before the game) out and Bradshaw in. I think we would've had a chance.

 

[Grimreepah]

Link

Ash McGrath collected a career-high 19 disposals last Saturday night against Richmond.

I'm surprised people were criticising him. I thought he had a great game.

 

[notting18]

I wonder how many players reach 100 games without having a 20 posession game? It seems like an interesting statistic to me..

 

[LionKing]

109 games to be exact.

He is averaging 6.6 kicks and 5.5 handballs from 11 games this season (average 12.1 disposals). Take out his 19 disposals on the weekend and these averages would be slightly less.

He is too inconsistent for my liking at the moment and at 25 years of age and 109 games of experience he should be tearing games apart.

I hope he comes to play this week against the Kangas because they have a couple dangerous small forwards who have been in fantastic form in recent weeks.

 

[Grimreepah]

2007 Review
Quigley's 2008 Review

2008 End of Season Review

Ash had a few injuries at the start of the year, suffering a knee injury in the preseason and then an ankle injury when playing for Suncoast. He returned in round 5 and was useful kicking two goals as a small forward, but was dropped because of a lack of fitness (ie. the leadership dropped him for being overweight). He kicked 4 goals for Suncoast and returned in round 7 to play his 100th game.

In round 8 he was moved to the backline and he played some very good footy. He was looking dangerous with his run out of the backline and was generally fairly elusive with his jinking and weaving. He may not have been a big possession getter but he had a big hurt factor. He continued that good form for about a month but then he faded and for the 2nd half of the year he seemed to lose his spark. And as his flair diminished in attack, perhaps with his direct oppoenent having less to worry about, he was also getting a few more goals kicked on him as well.

With his form having stalled it is perhaps a bit of a surprise he wasn’t moved back into the forward line, and it is quite possible that we will see him return there next year. Voss has been keen to emphasise that he wants 100% commitment from everybody, and that message may apply to McGrath more than most.

 

[Hollow Knight]

From Vossy's surprise Wet n Wild day of relaxation.
Source: Courier Mail

 

[brisbanelioness]

Got a burning question for Ash McGrath? Click here: http://www.lions.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/5085/default.aspx?newsid=71954

From lions.com.au

Lions premiership player Ash McGrath will continue answering questions from Lions fans in 2009 as part of his popular weekly online column - 'Ooh Aah Ash McGrath'.
Ash's regular website feature will re-commence at the beginning of the 2009 AFL Premiership Season and he is asking all Lions supporters to send him some questions to get the ball rolling.

I didn't mind reading Ash's column last year. He's quite a character and has quite a humourous and honest take on things.

 

[Grimreepah]

Link

Lion McGrath charged by panel
By Jason Phelan
3:41 PM Mon 16 February, 2009

BRISBANE Lions utility Ashley McGrath has been charged with making forceful contact from front on with St Kilda's Brendon Goddard after the AFL match review panel completed its assessment of the weekend's NAB Cup games.
The incident occurred during the third quarter of the match played at Gold Coast Stadium on Saturday night and attracted a one-match ban which can be downgraded to a reprimand with an early guilty plea.
The bump was assessed as negligent conduct (one point), low impact (one point) and high contact (two points) for a total of four activation points, which is classified as a level-one offence (125 demerit points).However, McGrath's existing good record over the past five years allows him to escape with the reprimand and 70.31 points toward his future record.

Discussion Thread

 

[Tassie4ever]

Very lucky lad- a stupid, totally unnecessary and immature thing to do. Not tough, just dumb. Especially with the emphasis by the AFL on protecting the head.

Pressure from below?? If so, good.

 

[dlanod]

Very lucky lad- a stupid, totally unnecessary and immature thing to do. Not tough, just dumb. Especially with the emphasis by the AFL on protecting the head.

Pressure from below?? If so, good.

Did you see it? Goddard set him up and turned into it at the last minute, there was nothing Ash could do short of trying to leapfrog it or not going the tackle at all (and we know how well that would go down).

 

[Tassie4ever]

Did you see it? Goddard set him up and turned into it at the last minute, there was nothing Ash could do short of trying to leapfrog it or not going the tackle at all (and we know how well that would go down).

Yes I saw the incident, clearly, twice. I stand by my comment.

McGrath could have pulled up, if not completely then pretty much. Instead he saw the opportunity and tried to make the most of it by attempting to clean up a player who was over the boundary line or very near it. It could be argued that Goddard contributed, but that's what professional AFL footballers are now being coached to do.

Ashley's tacking has not been a strength of his game, and he will be under a lot of pressure from the new blokes. He has been getting a game largely because of inadequate pressure from below, but circumstances seem to be changing somewhat.

However, doing what he did wasn't smart football. And it wasn't tough football. Just dumb. And he was lucky. If there had been a head injury he would have been looking at 4 weeks plus.

 

[Hollow Knight]

Link

McGrath accepts reprimand

1:10 PM Tue 17 February, 2009
Lions.com.au

Lions premiership player Ashley McGrath has accepted a reprimand and 70.31 points towards his future record for making forceful contact from front-on against St Kilda's Brendon Goddard.

The incident occurred during the third quarter of the Round One NAB Cup match between the Brisbane Lions and St Kilda, played at Carrara on Saturday 14 February 2009.

McGrath was initially charged by the AFL Tribunal with a Level One offence for making forceful contact from front-on.

The incident was assessed as negligent conduct (one point), low impact (one point) and high contact (two points). This is a total of four activation points, resulting in a classification of a Level One offence, drawing 125 demerit points and a one-match sanction. He has an existing five-year good record, which reduces the penalty by 25 per cent to a reprimand and 93.75 points towards his future record. The early plea reduced the penalty by 25 per cent to a reprimand and 70.31 points towards his future record.

His existing five-year good record meant that he could accept a reprimand and 70.31 points towards his future record with an early plea.

 

[dlanod]

Leppitsch said the Lions were also undecided on one small defender position, with likely suspect Ashley McGrath struggling with injury and missing the Richmond clash.

"It's either Ash McGrath or Jed Adcock or no-one, and we want to use Jed through the midfield and Ash through the midfield or forward line.

"It's been a difficult role to fill that permanent forward pocket, a bit like Chris Johnson used to play; we don't really have that role filled permanently at the moment."

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/73169/default.aspx

 

[Grimreepah]

Adrian Fletcher

His run down back can open a game up for us, but he can play forward and at times he can give us some run through the middle. You can’t lock guys into one spot and Ash is a core payer for us.

 

[Grimreepah]

Link

In the last couple of years I’ve been getting over surgery which has probably limited my pre-season whereas this year I was lucky enough to start pre-season pretty fresh.

Albert Proud and I are training partners and have been working pretty hard together on the track and in the gym.

 

[BuntonRules]

Adrian Fletcher

Loved his game Saturday nite. Ash was a huge part of our comeback when he went down back, with his run breaking the lines. Not only subdued LeCras, but gave us the forward momentum we lacked.

To be honest, I have never been a fan of his as a forward, but over the last 2 years I have been wrapped in his transformation to a small defender.

With the change to the game with this 'rolling zone' tactic, Ash will be an important part of our armoury. There will be the occasion when he is caught, but the upside is too great to ignore. IMO this is what Vossy sent him out for, and it paid big time.