Senior Eric Hipwood (2015-)

Remove this Banner Ad

Log in to remove this ad.

I was skimming through the JLT games and r1, and I can't help but feel Hipwood will ave 2 goals a game this year. He's such a freak - strong contested mark, good shot on goals and has a surprising amount of speed. He's also 19 which is even more amazing. He and Schache are going to be a deadly team this year, especially with the likes of McStay as 3rd tall and crumbers like Robbo, Barrett and Bundy.

Go Eel go!
 
Nunez said:
I was skimming through the JLT games and r1, and I can't help but feel Hipwood will ave 2 goals a game this year. He's such a freak - strong contested mark, good shot on goals and has a surprising amount of speed. He's also 19 which is even more amazing. He and Schache are going to be a deadly team this year, especially with the likes of McStay as 3rd tall and crumbers like Robbo, Barrett and Bundy.

Go Eel go!
Click to expand...
Eel do good.
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Hipwood break-out only a matter of time

BRISBANE young gun Eric Hipwood thinks he is travelling ‘OK’ in his second season of senior football. But Lions coach Chris Fagan says it is a matter of time before the towering key forward KOs an opposition side with a big bag of goals. Hipwood, 19, looked dangerous all night against Essendon and finished with two goals and five marks in the 27-point loss to the Bombers.

A brilliant snap from the 202cm-tall Caloundra junior was part of the roaring comeback in the third term and another major at the start of the fourth term put Brisbane in front. His output could have been anything if he kicked straighter and held on to more marks after constantly presenting at contests and courageously crashing packs. He had five marks and two goals in the Round 1 win over Gold Coast in another eye-catching effort to follow on from the 11 goals he kicked in 10 games in his debut season in 2016.

e5cdd547452f74ae9d9e748936420bcb


Fagan has “no doubt’’ a breakout performance from the 2015 No.14 draft pick is not far away. “The great games will come,’’ Fagan said. “He just needs to keep working away at his craft and he and the team will be rewarded. “I’m more interested in Eric continuing to do the team things, competing hard and all those sorts of things.’’

Hipwood said he has given no thought to individual glory and is focused on doing the right thing by the side first. “I’m just worrying about the overall team performance and playing my role by creating contests,’’ he said.

faa478d873c0bfe35321a34ee6fa2c80


“I’ve been going OK. I could have marked a few more. The boys in the midfield are doing a great job getting the ball to me and the other forwards are working in well together too. “We were disappointed with our second quarter against the Bombers. We pride ourselves on playing four quarters. We didn’t do it against the Suns either. “We are a young group but there are no excuses. We have to do better.’’

He said intense competition for key forward spots in the senior side was creating higher standards. “We’ve got Dan McStay up there too so it’s very competitive, especially when everyone is fit and flying,’’ he said. “It creates a good culture because everyone wants to get better.’’
Click to expand...
 
Eric Hipwood happy with his development at Brisbane Lions, ignoring outside hype

ERIC Hipwood lives in the moment.

As a key forward he knows his fortunes can change in an instant.

It is why there’s not much concern the recent hype around the Lions’ 2013cm forward is going to have an effect on him.

In fact, he seemed a little bemused to hear his profile was rocketing.

And he was only vaguely aware the fans were calling him “Rafa” after his resemblance to the Spanish tennis ace.

“I think that’s just an online thing,’ he said.

The Queenslander was the headline act on Channel 9 show The Future Stars at the weekend after his starring performance in the Lions gutsy loss to premiers the Western Bulldogs and a host of AFL experts are calling him the next big thing.

“We are in Brisbane so I don’t see too much of that to be honest,’’ he said.

“And even if I was in Melbourne, I probably wouldn’t take much notice, I’m more focused on my own expectations and those of my team and coaches.

“It can change within an instant being a key forward, in the AFL if you get complacent with where you are at you can be kicked down at a moment’s notice.’’

However, there is no escaping the fact the 19-year-old is the brightest young star at the Lions and along with Josh Schache is considered the future of the club.

It is a title that does not sit comfortably.

“I feel like I’m playing my role for the team, to be totally honest as a forward group we are working really well together and I am getting the rewards for that,’’ he said.

“We have worked on playing as a team not individuals, I am lucky enough to be getting on the end of it at the moment but it is all coming from the team.’’

With the Lions two key position players both under 20 and with less than 50 games between them, and no older head to lean on in tough times, there is the potential for some confidence lapses and form slumps.

Hipwood says there is a simple formula the Lions are using to combat that.

“We stay really optimistic, it does not matter how old you are, you are playing AFL footy,’’ he said.

“So we talk a lot about staying in the moment, think about just the moment not the game because things can change in an instant.

“It keeps the effort there when things are going well and also helps you to move on from bad things pretty quickly.’’
Click to expand...
 
'I can't stand losing': Skinny Lion roars to Rising Star nomination

ONE OF the key planks in the Brisbane Lions' future is the round five NAB AFL Rising Star nominee.

Eric Hipwood is fast becoming one of the best young players in the competition, and a three-goal first half against the Western Bulldogs on Saturday put him in the running to be this year's Rising Star.

The 19-year-old Lions academy product was the No.14 pick in the 2015 NAB AFL National Draft, with the Queensland club matching Richmond's bid.

Hipwood has made big strides early in his second season, with his pack-crashing marks a highlight.

"It's just my competitiveness," he said.

"I just can't stand losing, I hate it.

"I take it back to when I was a kid, it could be anything, riding your bike, who was quicker. I hate losing."

Hipwood, who is 202cm tall, booted a combined seven goals across just his second and third AFL games in rounds 14 and 15 last year to announce himself as a top-line talent.

He was on target to eclipse his career-best haul of four majors at the weekend until a corked leg intervened and the Bulldogs stormed back from a 38-point deficit to win by 32 points.

The key forward has kicked 20 goals in his 15 matches to date.

Hipwood was born in Melbourne, but moved to the Sunshine Coast with his family when he was three years old.

He played junior football for Caloundra, as well as playing soccer and rugby. He joined the Lions' academy when he was 13 and was a Queensland representative standout.

Hipwood said he built his game around not being beaten in one-on-one contests and looked up to Gold Coast star Tom Lynch.

Australian Rules wasn't always his sport of choice though, with the Sunshine Coast product excelling at cricket in his junior years.

Hipwood said selection in the Lions academy gave him the belief he could make it in the AFL.

"When I was 12 years old I was just playing school footy, I wasn't taking it too seriously, I was trying to play every sport under the sun, and being part of that academy is something that attracted me to the sport," he said.

"I didn't start focusing until I was 16 or 17.

"I got picked in the AIS (academy) when I was 16 and it was a big shock to me.

"I never thought I'd be able to make it until I made the AIS AFL Academy team."
Click to expand...

503466-tlsnewsportrait.jpg
 
Round05_2017 Rising Star nomination Eric Hipwood with the winner of the post game raffle after said game at the docklands, holding the prize, an Eric signed jumper!
mOM5mYf.png

[another freddie foto]
 
Eric Hipwood can lead Brisbane Lions to greatness, says Jonathan Brown

LIONS legend Jonathan Brown believes Rising Star nominee Eric Hipwood could develop into an integral part of Brisbane’s rise back to the top of the AFL.

Hipwood, 19, won the AFL Rising Star for Round 5 after booting three goals in Brisbane’s gutsy 32-point loss to the Western Bulldogs on Saturday to continue his eye-catching 2017 form.

The athletic 202cm, 92kg key forward has now kicked 20 goals in 15 senior matches since making his AFL debut in Round 13 last year.

Brown said along with fellow key forward Josh Schache and key defenders Harris Andrews and Daniel McStay, Hipwood could help form the AFL’s best goal-to-goal spine.

“To me, that spine all the way down the ground is the best in the comp in five years’ time,’’ Brown told The Courier-Mail.

“If the Lions can keep all those guys together, they will be at the pointy end of the ladder, year-in, year-out.

“I’m excited about what the Lions have got there. A lot of teams don’t have that sort of talent in their spine.

“If you want to have longevity as a good side, you need good key position players and we just have to be patient with them now.’’

Brown said the more he sees Hipwood play, the more he likes about the former Caloundra Panthers junior, with his brave attack on the ball in marking contests the standout aspect of his football.

“He has a real competitive streak to him. He is playing in a tough position because he doesn’t get a lot of opportunities but he is fearless and uses that athleticism,’’ Brown said.

“It’s one thing to be athletically gifted but it’s another to put it into action.

“Eric has that confidence to really compete and the coaching staff would in turn have the confidence to leave him out there.

“At 202cm, being lightning quick and ultra-competitive, good luck to whoever is playing on him now and in the future.’’
Click to expand...
 
xplo said:
Damn, he's shrinking. Said he was 203-4cm when they asked him on Sunday's Future Stars show.
Click to expand...
He was drafted at 202cm.
But i remember Leppa saying that after his first pre-season he had grown a couple of cms.
 

Remove this Banner Ad

Senior Eric Hipwood (2015-)

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top