Unofficial Preview Changes - Lions v Pies (Easter Thursday)

[Dalions]

Realistically Fort was brought in incase for some reason the big O couldn't play (like a brain fade suspension) and we didn't have to get dominated playing Fullerton in the ruck all night. Imagine that disaster.

Although in this scenario, maybe our midfielders might actually get to work?

 

[Saucery]

Hes 28. We don’t have time to let him find his feet at AFL level against dud rucks. Go back to the Essendon game when Draper got the best of our two rucks for a comparison.

My post is still valid.

 

[Sanchez365]

Although in this scenario, maybe our midfielders might actually get to work?

I'm not sure how having zero ruckman makes our midfield any better. But hopefully? Haha

 

[Dalions]

I'm not sure how having zero ruckman makes our midfield any better. But hopefully? Haha

Because they wil know they will have to become more proactive around stoppage then they were on Friday night otherwise….., it would get messy.

 

[Doc Hattori]

I'm shooting a coupe of Bambis and going wholesale in the interests of testing others out and finding a way of improving the side.

Oscar for Fullarton
Zorko to half forward/ rotating mid
Cockatoo out for Madden at half back
McCluggage to play totally on the wing as he's not much extra value inside
Robinson then out for Beast -which assumes Ah Chee plays defensive wing or HB
Rayner out for Lohman or McFadyen
Prior should be in the 22 if possible or at least close


Cockatoo has been a a flop & can't run. Rayner seriously hasn't got it back (if he ever had it). Robbo is just about cooked. Can't see T Berry adding any magic as he's basically just a scrapper. Prefer Beast to Dev for hardness and mongrel. Prior is extremely versatile - wing or HB. Rayner should fight his way back in, but in the mean time let's see what Lohman or McFadyen can do. Can't wait for Hippy to be ready.

 

[Nathan Barley]

I'm shooting a coupe of Bambis and going wholesale in the interests of testing others out and finding a way of improving the side.

Oscar for Fullarton
Zorko to half forward/ rotating mid
Cockatoo out for Madden at half back
McCluggage to play totally on the wing as he's not much extra value inside
Robinson then out for Beast -which assumes Ah Chee plays defensive wing or HB
Rayner out for Lohman or McFadyen
Prior should be in the 22 if possible or at least close


Cockatoo has been a a flop & can't run. Rayner seriously hasn't got it back (if he ever had it). Robbo is just about cooked. Can't see T Berry adding any magic as he's basically just a scrapper. Prefer Beast to Dev for hardness and mongrel. Prior is extremely versatile - wing or HB. Rayner should fight his way back in, but in the mean time let's see what Lohman or McFadyen can do. Can't wait for Hippy to be ready.

have you watched the reserves this year?

 

[M Malice]

I'm shooting a coupe of Bambis and going wholesale in the interests of testing others out and finding a way of improving the side.

Oscar for Fullarton
Zorko to half forward/ rotating mid
Cockatoo out for Madden at half back
McCluggage to play totally on the wing as he's not much extra value inside
Robinson then out for Beast -which assumes Ah Chee plays defensive wing or HB
Rayner out for Lohman or McFadyen
Prior should be in the 22 if possible or at least close


Cockatoo has been a a flop & can't run. Rayner seriously hasn't got it back (if he ever had it). Robbo is just about cooked. Can't see T Berry adding any magic as he's basically just a scrapper. Prefer Beast to Dev for hardness and mongrel. Prior is extremely versatile - wing or HB. Rayner should fight his way back in, but in the mean time let's see what Lohman or McFadyen can do. Can't wait for Hippy to be ready.

I'm not totally against any of those moves, at least worth the discussion.

Oscar for full cream is a no brainer.
Zorko to his previous role I'm all in on, we miss his impact in the middle.
I like Madden and Cocky has been very spasmodic.
Clugga full time wing I don't mind either, he is the number 1 fella you want delivering ball into F50.
Robinson out for Dev rather than the Beast. Ah Chee wing a good move.
Lohmann looks like a great prospect but I can't see Cam going out, at least not for a few more weeks, McFadyen hasn't shown enough in the 2s.
Prior + T.Berry deserve a shot at some time this season.

 

[Sanchez365]

Because they wil know they will have to become more proactive around stoppage then they were on Friday night otherwise….., it would get messy.

Ahhhhh. My only explanation for the mids playing so defensively in the center clearances is pretty much a clear instruction. Like, we have been demolished by Geelong from center clearances and while we still lost them, I don't think we conceded any streaming into 50 Dangerfield goals.

Maybe the game plan was to neutralize the center clearances (our biggest weakness) and then back ourselves in to win the around the ground clearances (which we only broke even, lost clearances overall 33-38). The more I think about it the more I don't mind it, and sticks with fagans mantra of play to your strengths. Lyons getting 1 clearance for the game was also down on usual output and unexpected.

It does make unexciting football to watch though, as there isn't much better then seeing blokes streaming through the middle from a center bounce.

Either way, Isaac Smith killed us on the outside of the contest, probably because robbo was sitting as that defensive sweeper at the contest, but I would have to go back and check the replay to be sure.

 

[Johnny Bananas]

Are you guys factoring in the quality of the opposing rucks? He wasn’t up against Gawn and Jackson. He’s up against a part timer and a guy Geelong have been desperate to replace.

You haven't addressed the point that hit-outs are a useless stat. Did Fort lose hit outs to advantage at a similar rate?

 

[The Zork]

Just feel like we need a fresh face or 2 in there that the crowd can get behind.
The team just feels very stale, even when we are winning.

Robertson needs to acclimatise to the speed of the AFL.
Throw Lohmann in there.
Reward a Tom Berry.
Show some confidence in the 2s

Robinson, Cockatoo out.

 

[ZoBlitz]

Just feel like we need a fresh face or 2 in there that the crowd can get behind.
The team just feels very stale, even when we are winning.

Robertson needs to acclimatise to the speed of the AFL.
Throw Lohmann in there.
Reward a Tom Berry.
Show some confidence in the 2s

Robinson, Cockatoo out.

Are we trying to win games or create "buzz"?

 

[Elixuh]

We're one post away from Neale being dropped to make a statement.

 

[Johnny Bananas]

Neale should be dropped to make a statement.

 

[Nunez]

We're one post away from Neale being dropped to make a statement.

Out: Neale
In: Keays

 

[Squizz89]

One thing I would say about the centre clearance issues is wasn’t Cam Bruce bought in specifically as midfield coach to change things up in there a bit? At best we certainly haven’t improved in there (yet) or at worst we’ve regressed.

 

[Elixuh]

Out: Neale
In: Keays

 

[Nathan Barley]

You haven't addressed the point that hit-outs are a useless stat. Did Fort lose hit outs to advantage at a similar rate?

Completely useless that’s why they don’t play tall rucks

If you have twice as many hit outs you’re much more likely to have more useful ones

 

[Johnny Bananas]

If you have twice as many hit outs you’re much more likely to have more useful ones

Can you prove it though?

 

[Nathan Barley]

Can you prove it though?

Yep. AFL website actually has hit out to advantage. Fort 4, Blicavs 4, Stanley 4 and McStay 1. Nobody else had one

 

[Johnny Bananas]

Yep. AFL website actually has hit out to advantage. Fort 4, Blicavs 4, Stanley 4 and McStay 1. Nobody else had one

That doesnt sound like a belting to me.

 

[lioninthesand]

Agree with a lot you say above except the bolded part. Statistics might tell a different story but in my opinion being a "prime time/blockbuster/standalone game" has zero affect on the players who run out on Thursday night. Once the siren sounds and the ball is bounced its the same as any game they play pre finals time.

You don’t think players know or feel the much larger than normal lead up, the fact the club bank on us performing in blockbusters to please sponsors, the fact we are normally playing a big opponent, the fact the audience is 5 xs the size it would be normally, would not have any impact? That goes againts the whole notion of a block buster being a big game or ‘performing on the big stage’? Does it not?

 

[mattsmob]

One thing I would say about the centre clearance issues is wasn’t Cam Bruce bought in specifically as midfield coach to change things up in there a bit? At best we certainly haven’t improved in there (yet) or at worst we’ve regressed.

I'd say give it time. He's 100% changed things up in there at the very least personnel wise and just like the start of last season there's going to be some teething issues getting guys that have played varying amounts of time in the middle to gel. The difference is we have started this season 3-1 meaning there's some wiggle room to keep blooding guys like Rayner, Bailey and Cocky into the midfield although I also would like to see Dev in there because he brings the things we're looking for while also being a genuine mid his whole life.
Anyways our one loss for the season has come from Geelong in Geelong, one of the toughest away trips, in a game where we played poorly and didn't set up for the game well at all and still only lost by a couple goal, that's a fair bit of room for improvement. I'll back the coaches in to have the mid/fwd mix right come end of the season.

 

[Thedeftouch]

It has been so long since the three-peat and I can't remember whether Lethal operated much like Fages and basically stuck with a best 22 and only rotated others into the team due to injuries and replaced "like with like" or not. I do recall Lethal saying that players did not necessarily play their best football when under the duress of being dropped.

I think this is a good point and is probably why Fagan has been fairly conservative with lineup changes. Important to build confidence and avoid player playing for stats etc.

Oscar for Fullarton is pretty much a lock.

Otherwise, I don't think anyone should or will be dropped. Cockatoo didn't look great but I think the club will be keen to get more games into him.

I'm a bit surprised at talk of dropping Zorko after one bad game. He's one of our better players and has shown in the Essendon and North games that he's still got it.

 

[Tom14]

I think this is a good point and is probably why Fagan has been fairly conservative with lineup changes. Important to build confidence and avoid player playing for stats etc.

Oscar for Fullarton is pretty much a lock.

Otherwise, I don't think anyone should or will be dropped. Cockatoo didn't look great but I think the club will be keen to get more games into him.

I'm a bit surprised at talk of dropping Zorko after one bad game. He's one of our better players and has shown in the Essendon and North games that he's still got it.

I’m not pro dropping zorko based on the advice that his injury won’t get worse and he needs game time. But clearly he’s hampered and can’t do a midfield role.

We missed oscar really really badly on Friday. Compared to last year in Geelong where we played better in the 4th quarter but were massively outclassed and barely touched the ball in the first few, in some ways the clearance work minimised some of the damage.

But desperately missed Oscar’s couple of clearances per game where he grabs it out of the ruck or just belts it forward - too much ball was in their forward half and we couldn’t transition easily. If we’d got it in a bit more and got it deeper our forward line was functioning ok, but no territory and shallow inside 50s killed us.

Discipline both re suspensions and in game has been poor from senior players and leaders on occasion the last couple of years. Dumb reversals, pushes after play have to go and we can’t have the captain and the vice being the worst offenders of that.

 

[The Zork]

Are we trying to win games or create "buzz"?

And we can’t do both because…?

Or have we only got 22 players out of 40 odd on our entire list that are capable of being apart of a winning senior team?
I’m prettty certain winning games and rewarding 2s form can co-exist.