First 22 in 2023

[martinson]

Yeah it’s a good point re wings. We are experienced overall. Weird position for us as out of recent years we have had 4 go through there a lot more than others;

Berry - arguably better as inside mid
Clugga - plays on ball now
Robinson - gone
Ah chee - seemingly out of favour?

I agree we would only want one of Tunstill or Wilmot playing wing. If they both play then Wilmot to hbf.

Robertson has looked pretty good there tbh and crucially runs well and runs defensively. I’d have him as my first wing picked, the rest would come out of Berry / Wilmot / Bailey / Ah Chee - depends what the rest of the side looks like…

I'd always have Ah Chee in the 22 because he can plug a gap wherever you're not going well and give you a good honest effort. I think he's got more to give besides if he was allowed to play more offensively. Robertson gives a similar effort , I don't think he can be a marking target like Ah Chee could be on a wing , but no problem playing him because he's always liable to bob up and get a goal , or at least provide some tackling and defensive pressure.

Not sold on Tunstill just yet . Wilmot has a bit of X Factor but I think we're getting a little ahead of ourselves on what impact he might have this year.

 

[Section 5]

Wings have been an issue for 2 years now.
McCluggage increasingly more pure midfield minutes in that time. Only spends a small amount of time on a wing last year.
Berry played well last year and think he will be mostly wing again this year. Hope his shoulder is okay.

Last year Berry was the constant wing with a few stints in the middle.
Then we had a form declining Robbo (15 games) on the other wing. We had young guys Prior (12), Sharp (5) Tunstill (3) as wing relief.
Throw in Ah Chee for stints on the wing and that was our wing mix.
Other midfield/forward players also spent time on the wing to make up the minutes.

Ah Chee would be a safe choice but i think we need to gamble with someone. We know what Ah Chee brings to the table.
I see the wing relief this year being midfielders & forward mids rather than in previous years young guys as relief.
They are trialing Wilmot and that tells me they are not confident on Prior/Tunstill/Sharp to slot in just yet.
The club could also just run midfielders though 1 wing spot including relief.

It will be interesting to see which way they go in round 1.
It may be Wilmot over Ah Chee to see what he can offer.
With wing relief from Ashcroft, Dev, Bailey, Zorko with those also pitching in as pure midfield. McCluggage & Dunkley also minutes on the wing.

 

[On the quiet]

Yeah it’s a good point re wings. We are experienced overall. Weird position for us as out of recent years we have had 4 go through there a lot more than others;

Berry - arguably better as inside mid
Clugga - plays on ball now
Robinson - gone
Ah chee - seemingly out of favour?

I agree we would only want one of Tunstill or Wilmot playing wing. If they both play then Wilmot to hbf.

Robertson has looked pretty good there tbh and crucially runs well and runs defensively. I’d have him as my first wing picked, the rest would come out of Berry / Wilmot / Bailey / Ah Chee - depends what the rest of the side looks like…

I hope Dev gets a good crack this year I like his defensive running and scored a good goal against swans on the run from about 40 to 45 meters, something Lyons cannot do (perhaps because of the groin).
McClugg might have time on the wing, it depends if Zorks plays in the forwards and if Gardiner comes back then Cam will have to rotate between forward line and mid. I cannot see us not playing a #1 draft pick

 

[Strato]

He was 8th in the BnF last year ahead of Oscar and Bailey. He isn't a passenger and plays his role well most weeks

Sorry, I must be going blind or watching different games and players to what you are??? What I see is What I See!

 

[Dalions]

Sorry, I must be going blind or watching different games and players to what you are??? What I see is What I See!

He obviously has a role to play and does it to an acceptable standard for the Coaching staff.
More than likely does things that we all don’t see.

 

[M Malice]

Yes agree that wing is our most up for discussion position for this season.

Options are Ah Chee, Berry, McCluggage, Prior, Robertson, Sharp, Tunstill and Wilmot. IMO Berry will be on one wing as we now have the inside mid position well and truly covered, he would still be a good emergency tagging option if someone gets off the chain ah la Clayton Oliver

13

Clayton Oliver

Age

27

Ht

189cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

27.8

5star

K

9.5

4star

HB

18.4

5star

M

3.2

3star

T

6.3

5star

CL

6.3

5star

D

25.1

5star

K

11.1

4star

HB

14.0

5star

M

3.6

4star

T

5.6

5star

CL

5.9

5star

D

19.2

5star

K

4.6

2star

HB

14.6

5star

M

2.0

3star

T

4.4

5star

CL

3.8

5star

.

On the other wing I think they go with Wilmot early and then reassess their options if he's not up to it just yet, I would not be against Ah Chee being given a decent crack on the wing as well.

 

[Nathan Barley]

Sorry, I must be going blind or watching different games and players to what you are??? What I see is What I See!

Or maybe his role is a bit more complex than we can pick up from sitting on the couch

 

[mattsmob]

Yes agree that wing is our most up for discussion position for this season.

Options are Ah Chee, Berry, McCluggage, Prior, Robertson, Sharp, Tunstill and Wilmot. IMO Berry will be on one wing as we now have the inside mid position well and truly covered, he would still be a good emergency tagging option if someone gets off the chain ah la Clayton Oliver.

On the other wing I think they go with Wilmot early and then reassess their options if he's not up to it just yet, I would not be against Ah Chee being given a decent crack on the wing as well.

Yep Berry locked on one side for me, Wilmot the other then a mix of all the other mid/fwds for that 3rd rotation (Robertson, Bailey, McCluggage, Ashcroft).
I do like Ah Chee but he really is the perfect sub option unfortunately, if Wilmot doesn’t work out which imo is unlikely I think I’d still rather see what Tunstill can do. Think he provides something similar to Ah Chee with added upside and hurt factor. If it doesn’t work Ah Chee is a great guy to bring back in as I don’t think there’s too many variation from his good and bad performances.

 

[Section 5]

Yes agree that wing is our most up for discussion position for this season.

Options are Ah Chee, Berry, McCluggage, Prior, Robertson, Sharp, Tunstill and Wilmot. IMO Berry will be on one wing as we now have the inside mid position well and truly covered, he would still be a good emergency tagging option if someone gets off the chain ah la Clayton Oliver.

On the other wing I think they go with Wilmot early and then reassess their options if he's not up to it just yet, I would not be against Ah Chee being given a decent crack on the wing as well.

With Rayner likely to play 3rd tall until Gardiner is ready that frees up a spot up the ground
They could go Wilmot & Ah Chee. One wing and the other wing relief until Rayner returns to his usual spot.
However, if they go that way i believe Dev's (or Lyons if fit) spot is then in jeopardy.

I suppose the best thing is we have no injuries in the Cats game and leading up to round 1
That way the selection process will be hard but puts us in a good position for round 1

 

[Section 5]

Sorry, I must be going blind or watching different games and players to what you are??? What I see is What I See!

It is hard to find a small forward that can average 35.5 goals 14 behinds in his last two years.
Linc & Charlie are our 2 stay at home small forwards.
They both go missing at times but bring different elements to our forward mix.
McCarthy plays more up the ground hence more inside 50's, meters gained.
Charlie kicks more goals averaging 54.5 goals 27 behinds over the last 2 years. Lucky for us they are both fairly accurate.

Below last years stats comparison on our 2 small stay at home forwards

Player Statistics Comparison​

Lincoln McCarthy​ Name​ Charlie Cameron​ Brisbane Lions​ Team​ Brisbane Lions​ Forward​ Position​ Forward​ 119​ Career Games​ 176​ Glenelg​ Origin​ Swan Districts​ October 22, 1993​ Date of Birth​ July 5, 1994​ 29yr 4mth​ Age​ 28yr 7mth​ 178cm​ Height​ 180cm​ 81kg​ Weight​ 75kg​ 2011 National Draft​ Last Drafted In​ 2013 Rookie Draft​ Round 3, Pick #66​ Last Draft Position​ Round 1, Pick #7​ Geelong Cats​ Last Drafted By​ Adelaide Crows​ 2022​ Stats for Season​ 2022​ 25​ Games​ 25​ 199​ Kicks​ 201​ 110​ Handballs​ 84​ 309​ Disposals​ 285​ 89​ Marks​ 96​ 35​ Goals​ 54​ 13​ Behinds​ 21​ 83​ Tackles​ 77​ 0​ Hitouts​ 0​ 79​ Inside 50s​ 35​ 9​ Goal Assists​ 20​ 20​ Frees For​ 22​ 24​ Frees Against​ 16​ 132​ Contested Possessions​ 134​ 181​ Uncontested Possessions​ 152​ 206​ Effective Disposals​ 169​ 66.7%​ Disposal Efficiency %​ 59.3%​ 74​ Clangers​ 57​ 14​ Contested Marks​ 15​ 32​ Marks Inside 50​ 56​ 19​ Clearances​ 8​ 7​ Rebound 50s​ 8​ 31​ One Percenters​ 31​ 7​ Bounces​ 1​ 1975​ Time On Ground %​ 2150​ 4​ Centre Clearances​ 1​ 15​ Stoppage Clearances​ 7​ 119​ Score Involvements​ 134​ 5574​ Metres Gained​ 4965​ 79​ Turnovers​ 66​ 28​ Intercepts​ 44​ 27​ Tackles Inside 50​ 50​

 

[Dalions]

It is hard to find a small forward that can average 35.5 goals 14 behinds in his last two years.
Linc & Charlie are our 2 stay at home small forwards.
They both go missing at times but bring different elements to our forward mix.
McCarthy plays more up the ground hence more inside 50's, meters gained.
Charlie kicks more goals averaging 54.5 goals 27 behinds over the last 2 years. Lucky for us they are both fairly accurate.

Below last years stats comparison on our 2 small stay at home forwards

Player Statistics Comparison​

Lincoln McCarthy​ Name​ Charlie Cameron​ Brisbane Lions​ Team​ Brisbane Lions​ Forward​ Position​ Forward​ 119​ Career Games​ 176​ Glenelg​ Origin​ Swan Districts​ October 22, 1993​ Date of Birth​ July 5, 1994​ 29yr 4mth​ Age​ 28yr 7mth​ 178cm​ Height​ 180cm​ 81kg​ Weight​ 75kg​ 2011 National Draft​ Last Drafted In​ 2013 Rookie Draft​ Round 3, Pick #66​ Last Draft Position​ Round 1, Pick #7​ Geelong Cats​ Last Drafted By​ Adelaide Crows​ 2022​ Stats for Season​ 2022​ 25​ Games​ 25​ 199​ Kicks​ 201​ 110​ Handballs​ 84​ 309​ Disposals​ 285​ 89​ Marks​ 96​ 35​ Goals​ 54​ 13​ Behinds​ 21​ 83​ Tackles​ 77​ 0​ Hitouts​ 0​ 79​ Inside 50s​ 35​ 9​ Goal Assists​ 20​ 20​ Frees For​ 22​ 24​ Frees Against​ 16​ 132​ Contested Possessions​ 134​ 181​ Uncontested Possessions​ 152​ 206​ Effective Disposals​ 169​ 66.7%​ Disposal Efficiency %​ 59.3%​ 74​ Clangers​ 57​ 14​ Contested Marks​ 15​ 32​ Marks Inside 50​ 56​ 19​ Clearances​ 8​ 7​ Rebound 50s​ 8​ 31​ One Percenters​ 31​ 7​ Bounces​ 1​ 1975​ Time On Ground %​ 2150​ 4​ Centre Clearances​ 1​ 15​ Stoppage Clearances​ 7​ 119​ Score Involvements​ 134​ 5574​ Metres Gained​ 4965​ 79​ Turnovers​ 66​ 28​ Intercepts​ 44​ 27​ Tackles Inside 50​ 50​

Pretty amazing that we have almost got Linc to 100 games in Lions colours after his first 6 years at Geelong.
He must only need about 7 games to get to 100?
As far as a replacement for Linc goes, it would be pretty hard to expect someone to come in and offer a similar output straight away.
As far as the team goes we may get an extra 20 goals out of Gunston in comparison to Dan McStay which would take care of any short fall for a replacement for McCarthy.
Rayner could possibly kick an extra 10 goals for the year if Linc wasn’t in the team and then we still have Bailey and Zorko kicking goals and maybe Lohmann comes in and kicks a few as the replacement.
So we may not necessarily be any worse off ultimately but I think he holds his spot for now.

 

[BrainOfMorbius]

Linc is on 90 games for Brisbane.

 

[Dalions]

Linc is on 90 games for Brisbane.

Couldn’t remember whether he had played 26 or 29 games for Geelong.
They were the 2 numbers rattling around in my head.

 

[Section 5]

Linc is on 90 games for Brisbane.

Father sons are important if young Lenny ends up playing AFL

 

[p4p1]

Does Gunston bring some stability and consistency to our forward line? Between, Hippy, Joe, Bailey, McCarthy, Charlie and Rayner it always felt like one of those guys could pop up and turn a game off their own boot (which they all have) but conversely they could also go missing or have a bad run of form (which they all have).

 

[lionshine]

Team for Round 1 with Gardiner and Ah Chee confirmed to be out injured -

B Rayner Andrews Rich
HB Coleman Payne Starcevich
C Berry McCluggage Bailey
HF Zorko Hipwood McCarthy
F Gunston Daniher Cameron
R McInerney Neale Dunkley
I Ashcroft Robertson McKenna Wilmot

Sub one of Fort, Tunstill, Sharp, Lyons, Prior?

Good news for guys like Dev and Wilmot with them likely to get a look in early now. If Zorko doesn’t get up either it really opens up an opportunity for guys like Prior, Sharp and Tunstill as well to stake a claim.

Good to see Lohmann is back this week as well. He has had an interrupted pre season so will likely need some reserves footy to catch up but I’d love for him to put himself in the frame for senior selection early as well.

 

[lionshine]

Team for Round 1 with Gardiner and Ah Chee confirmed to be out injured -

B Rayner Andrews Rich
HB Coleman Payne Starcevich
C Berry McCluggage Bailey
HF Zorko Hipwood McCarthy
F Gunston Daniher Cameron
R McInerney Neale Dunkley
I Ashcroft Robertson McKenna Wilmot

Sub one of Fort, Tunstill, Sharp, Lyons, Prior?

Good news for guys like Dev and Wilmot with them likely to get a look in early now. If Zorko doesn’t get up either it really opens up an opportunity for guys like Prior, Sharp and Tunstill as well to stake a claim.

Good to see Lohmann is back this week as well. He has had an interrupted pre season so will likely need some reserves footy to catch up but I’d love for him to put himself in the frame for senior selection early as well.

I should mention Answerth is back this week as well so he has a couple weeks of training to get his name back in the selection frame for the early rounds plus a game this week if named v Cats(Or for the reserves if they have a praccy match?)

 

[Mighty Lions]

Team for Round 1 with Gardiner and Ah Chee confirmed to be out injured -

B Rayner Andrews Rich
HB Coleman Payne Starcevich
C Berry McCluggage Bailey
HF Zorko Hipwood McCarthy
F Gunston Daniher Cameron
R McInerney Neale Dunkley
I Ashcroft Robertson McKenna Wilmot

Sub one of Fort, Tunstill, Sharp, Lyons, Prior?

Good news for guys like Dev and Wilmot with them likely to get a look in early now. If Zorko doesn’t get up either it really opens up an opportunity for guys like Prior, Sharp and Tunstill as well to stake a claim.

Good to see Lohmann is back this week as well. He has had an interrupted pre season so will likely need some reserves footy to catch up but I’d love for him to put himself in the frame for senior selection early as well.

Lohman a good chance to be playing against Geelong.

 

[mattsmob]

Lohman a good chance to be playing against Geelong.

Any position/role change for Lohmann this season? Pretty tough forward line to crack into.

 

[Dalions]

Any position/role change for Lohmann this season? Pretty tough forward line to crack into.

Rayner down back and Zorko unlikely so there is a spot there.

 

[mattsmob]

Rayner down back and Zorko unlikely so there is a spot there.

Still thinking of Rayner as a forward, how long was Zorko out for? Both Ashcroft and Dunkley take up another spot in that mid/fwd rotation as well. I think on talent alone Lohmann is probably best 22 and he’s awesome to watch so I hope he finds his way in there.

 

[M Malice]

Rayner down back and Zorko unlikely so there is a spot there.

From our 2022 forward line.

Outs- McStay, Rayner.

Ins- Gunston, Lohmann.

 

[twhowler]

Lohman a good chance to be playing against Geelong.

Interesting! Has seemed to have quite an interrupted pre season so must mean they are keen to get him in to the forward line.

 

[Section 5]

Good to see a few players available for this week's 2 games.
Hope they all get through without any issues.
I will be very surprised if Lohman gets an AFL spot round 1.

 

[Dalions]

Good to see a few players available for this week's 2 games.
Hope they all get through without any issues.
I will be very surprised if Lohman gets an AFL spot round 1.

With his lack of match practise up to this point.
I would be surprised if he was selected to play Geelong.