Senior Cam Rayner (2017-)
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ZoBlitz
The Ghost Who Walks
ZoBlitz
The Ghost Who Walks
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- #303
Rayner: “We have a 'pound the rock' mentality”
Cam Rayner talks about the mindset the Brisbane Lions have adopted this year. The dynamic mid-forward attributes his strong personal form to continued hard work and commitment.
ZoBlitz
The Ghost Who Walks
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- #304
Ridiculous Rayner rips apart Suns’ defence
Brisbane's Cam Rayner starts the second term hot with a great goal
ZoBlitz
The Ghost Who Walks
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- #305
Right as Rayner: Stats show maligned star has joined the League's best
NOT ONLY is Cam Rayner in the best form of his seven-season career, but Brisbane's dynamic half-forward has become one of the AFL's best players in recent weeks.
Since the Lions' mid-season bye, Rayner's impact has skyrocketed and his team has followed with eight successive wins.
For so long, the No.1 pick from the 2017 AFL Draft has teased with his explosive power and goalkicking ability, taking over small pockets of games, but struggling to consistently put them together.
That has now changed.
Coach Chris Fagan has given Rayner a license to attend stoppages, and the 24-year-old has thrived, mixing dangerous moments around the contest with his usual aerial threat inside forward 50.
His third quarter goal against Sydney in round 19 encapsulated his match-winning ability; he swatted aside defenders following a forward 50 clearance to roost home a much-needed goal from long range.
"He's got great belief in himself at the moment and he's using all his attributes really well," Fagan said.
"He's been a bit maligned, I guess. It's always tough when you're the No.1 pick in the draft, everybody watches you and watches your career.
"He's a bit like a red wine, he's getting better with age."
Rayner has kicked multiple goals in Brisbane's past five games, a stretch during which he has averaged 16.1 Player Ratings points, ranking him 17th in the AFL.
It's the best five-week stretch of his career.
Narrow that in to the past three wins over West Coast, Sydney and Gold Coast and Rayner is rated the third best player in the competition, averaging 20 disposals, six tackles and four clearances a game while adding six goals and assisting another five.
Of his 132 career games, Champion Data has rated them as three of his best four.
Speaking prior to Brisbane's training session on Tuesday morning, Rayner said clarity with his role had played a huge part in his form surge.
"Just being able to have a balance between the both of them (forward and midfield) and seeing where I feel like I can impact the game at different stages," he said.
"My strengths are different to other people's strengths in the team and if we can find a way to play a game that works for all of us, I feel like that's how we can play our best footy."
Rayner's fitness has also improved, allowing him to impact later in games.
"There's things I've been speaking about with Muzz (forwards coach Murray Davis) and Brucey (midfield coach Cameron Bruce) which are key indicators for me," he said.
"I feel like if I can get them ticked off, the rest of it comes.
"I feel like I've been able to get them ticked off pretty early in games, which then gives me the confidence to go through and play them out."
Despite his own top form and the Lions' winning run, Rayner says such a condensed ladder means there is no chance to relent, starting with a trip to Marvel Stadium on Sunday to face St Kilda.
"If you don't keep that energy up, you can get found out straight away," he said.
"Any team can beat any team and it's a challenge every week. You've got to keep finding ways to build energy around the club."
ZoBlitz
The Ghost Who Walks
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- #307
Ridiculous Rayner flexes muscles with insane GOTY contender
Cam Rayner breaks through the tackle and bends through an outstanding major from the boundary
ZoBlitz
The Ghost Who Walks
ZoBlitz
The Ghost Who Walks
- Moderator
- #309
Cam lights up the camera with one-step speccy
Cam Rayner is all smiles after executing a smooth high-flying grab as the Lions run riot
Can Lion star finally live up to the sky-high expectations?
Cam Rayner comes into Saturday’s semi-final against Greater Western Sydney with a point to prove. The Brisbane Lions half-forward has had a career-best year. For the first time, he was picked in the All-Australian squad, even though he wasn’t selected in the final team. Champion Data notes he has averaged career-highs for goals, disposals (15.5 a game), contested possessions, score assists (1.7 a game) and score involvements (5.6 a game).
Across the league, he’s one of 11 forwards to have averaged at least 15 possessions, a goal, an assist and five score involvements per year.
The query is whether he can reproduce his hot form across a finals series. And the deeper teams get into September, the going only gets tougher. Rayner knows. Historically, he has been a good performer in the first week of finals. In last year’s qualifying final against Port Adelaide, he was irresistible, kicking three goals in the first half on the way to a ruthless 48-point win. But he failed to impact in the preliminary or grand finals, not winning enough ball forward of centre, where he does the most damage. He didn’t register an inside-50 in either match.
It wasn’t the first time. Against Geelong in the preliminary finals two years ago, Rayner was substituted off with an ankle injury. The Cats thrashed the Lions on the way to a premiership.
SEASON AVERAGES FOR CAM RAYNER
The Brisbane Lion has had a career-best season on several measures. Rayner missed the 2021 season due to injury.
Table with 8 columns and 6 rows.
CP = contested possessions. SA = score assists. SI = score involvements.
Season Disposals CP Goals SAG% SA SI Tackles 2018 13.5 5.9 0.9 48.8% 0.7 4.4 2.4 2019 9.5 4.6 0.8 37.7% 0.8 4.2 2.1 2020 9.8 4.1 1.0 63.0% 0.8 4.1 3.2 2022 14.7 7.1 1.0 42.1% 1.1 4.8 2.3 2023 14.2 5.6 0.9 46.0% 1.1 5.3 2.2 2024 15.5 7.7 1.2 52.8% 1.7 5.6 3.1
Source: Champion Data
Against Carlton last week, he again scored three goals and was pivotal to setting up a 10-goal buffer that meant the Lions could get away with an error-strewn, unconvincing second half. This time, Brisbane will have to travel, and Greater Western Sydney are unlikely to be so forgiving of even a poor quarter from an erratic Lions team.
It needs to be kept in mind that Rayner’s high half-forward role is one of the hardest to play, particularly as the intensity rises across a finals campaign. Hence his oft-alleged inconsistency. Coach Chris Fagan has tried other ways to get Rayner more involved in games. Early in 2023, he was even trialled at halfback, before Keidean Coleman was settled in a play making role.
It didn’t suit Rayner, who quickly returned to the forward line, with Fagan admitting the experiment was a mistake. In the midfield, Rayner has been used with more success, and he has again averaged a career-high in clearances this year (2.5 a game). Against Melbourne in round five Rayner really shone on ball, winning an equal career-high 25 disposals, including nine game-breaking clearances. It was a glimpse of the explosive, pack-busting player that Rayner was recruited to be when he was taken with the No. 1 draft pick in 2017. So why not use him there more?
There have been queries about whether he has the endurance base for more midfield time. Rayner has slowly improved his tank, but even in that match against Melbourne, he did his best work in the first half, tailing away as the game wore on.
“He’s got better endurance now,” Chris Fagan told the club website at the start of the season. “He’s still not an endurance beast, but he’s worked on that enormously, enough to be able to play good minutes in the midfield, which is all that’s required.”
He has run out this season well: he’s ranked fifth among general forwards for scoreboard impact since the bye. But the main reason Rayner doesn’t play more midfield minutes is competition. Rayner is sixth for centre-bounce involvements at the Lions, with just 6.4 a game: a pinch-hitting role.
When you see who is in front of Rayner, it makes sense. Lachie Neale (23.6 centre bounces a game) and Josh Dunkley (22.1) are locks for those inside roles.
After them is Hugh McCluggage, with 16 centre-bounce attendances. For Rayner to get more midfield time, McCluggage would have to be pushed back out to a wing. Early in his career, McCluggage made his name as one of the best wingers in the game. But his vision and distribution makes him much more valuable to the Lions playing in the centre. So, it’s only when at least one of these three players are resting that Rayner gets his chance to show what he can do at the coalface. After that, back to the forward line he goes. And that’s the most high-pressure part of the ground – where expectations are greatest, where time and space are hardest to find, and where games are won and lost. Rayner has had to deal with the pressure of expectation his whole career. If the Lions are to get past the Giants, he looms as their likely game-breaker. He is in the form of his life.
Ceebee
Norm Smith Medallist
We need him at his absolute best today .
Father Fages couldn't be more right.