Lester re-signs

[Cosmic_Lion]

I think Lester might become a better footballer then some might give credit. He's never going to set the world the on fire but he's got good footy smarts and tackles well. Needs to work on his disposal efficiency but seems to have no problem finding the ball.

Good on him for sticking around.

 

[Tairy Greene]

Our new CEO tells the world player managers are demanding overs to sign new contracts, the following week we annouce Ryan Lester has signed a new contract.

Circumstantial evidence but you can't blame people for thinking about the connection.

And Greg Swann is the reason we won on Saturday night.

 

[chopperduck]

Swann will be busy all this week in meetings learning about our players, contracts, salary cap space etc, etc. Anyone who draws that conclusion isnt very smart. It makes for great reading and positive vibe for Swann that good stuff has happened since he signed on, but he hasnt had a finger in any of it.

Dean Warren is doing contracts so kudos go to him.

 

[Schache It Off]

Ryan Lester signs a 2 years deal

Great news!

 

[matwt73]

Happy to have Ryan signed up for another two years. Even if we accept that he is probably on the edge of the best 22 at the moment, every young player who stays is a vote of confidence in our direction and that alone has value. Having said that I think Lester will continue to improve and will be a quality big bodied mid.

 

[lukiuslion]

Funny that I almost 'expected' Lester to sign, and didnt take this as any surprise. There is a very fine line between a move to another club being an 'option' and a move to another club being a 'scary pain in the ass process' and lester, as promising as he is, wouldn't be able to make an easy move to a club of his choice.. as Aishy boy and Squiizy would.

Aish said something along the lines of - "there was a 1 in 9 chance that I stay in SA on draft day, and I had come terms that I would be moving away, and Brisbane suites me because of the small market laid back vibe" obviously not quoting him directly, but that was the sentiment I re-call. Surely his retention was something that would have been discussed, obviously the family are not going to come straight out and say "James will be leaving for a SA club first chance he gets", however, we must have been able to detect some vibe as to his willingness to commit to a life outside of SA, such as "obviosuly we would love james to play his footy at the ADL oval, but Brisbane is also a great options for him".

I think Aish is a potential future Brownlow medallist, and I don't think he or his mangment would be rushing into an extension with us half way through his first year, as some players picked in the second round do - when security is their key aim. If I was his manager I would be saying "just keep plaiyng the best footy you can, see how things devalop at the Lions and lets look to get you a very big extention with them after you first 2 years".. I personally don't see any reason for him to run off home come time to sign his first contract, he has a different personality to to Longer, Karnesis and Sam doc, who were to put it simply, stuck up Melbourne lads - IMO. He is alot like Yeo though, character wise, which is of concern, but hopefully Yeo was one out the box.

Fingers crossed we sign both him and lewey to extensions asap. I for one am not overly concerned, my guess is we will fork out 400K extension for his 3-4 years, perhaps a touch over be needed in order to keep a future franchise player on our list.

 

[luthor]

And Greg Swann is the reason we won on Saturday night.

I hear he wore his lucky maroon undies, stuffed his pockets with rabbit foots (or is that feet?) and had his tea leaves read on Saturday afternoon.

Result was never in doubt.

 

[POBT]

I can't quite get a handle on where Lester will end up with his career yet. He has a genuine talent - that when he goes into a contest, he often wins the footy. As simple as it sounds, that is an important attribute to have (I know last year it was a KPI for the players - contests won, lost and drawn were all recorded). It is what caught my eye with him as a midfielder - he could grab the ball, stand up and give off a handball against almost anyone.

But there are two major missing elements to his game. He doesn't cover the ground well and his kicking is poor. When you listen to most coaches and recruiters around draft time, running ability and kicking efficiency are two things they focus on. That's the modern game.

Lester is not the first big bodied mid to take a long time to develop. The first few years of Jobe Watson's career, he had the same knocks - struggled to hit a target and couldn't cover the ground. The same went for Josh Kennedy.

Lester has it within him to have a Watson/Kennedy like improvement. He probably won't reach those guys' heights because I think he lacks the natural footy talent and game sense of those guys which will probably stop him being truly elite. But he could have a similar influence in terms of stoppages and become a 20+ possession a game midfielder.

Or, his weaknesses could remain and he'll run the risk that someone (eg a Robertson) could come along with a similar ball winning ability but a greater capacity to cover the ground and kick the footy.

I really rate Lester and so lean towards the former. But he could certainly plateau with his development. He'll remain one of the more interesting players on our list because of that uncertainty.

 

[luthor]

I can't quite get a handle on where Lester will end up with his career yet. He has a genuine talent - that when he goes into a contest, he often wins the footy. As simple as it sounds, that is an important attribute to have (I know last year it was a KPI for the players - contests won, lost and drawn were all recorded). It is what caught my eye with him as a midfielder - he could grab the ball, stand up and give off a handball against almost anyone.

But there are two major missing elements to his game. He doesn't cover the ground well and his kicking is poor.

Spot on.

With regards to his kicking, there are two incidences that are now firmly stuck in my mind. The first was that snap from almost no distance at all that he missed in those agonising final moments against Geelong at the end of last season.

The second was on Sat night. Martin fed a beautiful tap down his throat but he ended up hitting the behind post on the full from what was a fairly comfortable running shot about 30 out. Not expensive in the end since we smashed the Suns in all departments but it could have been in other circumstances.


I'm delighted he's re-signed but there's no doubt he needs work on the aspects of his game that you've pointed out.

 

[Harris Specter]

Hope we haven't paid overs for him. Aish is the main one I'm worried about. There was a set play on Saturday night where Lester picked up the tap from Martin and bangs it out on the full then Zorko does the same thing and straight through the middle. I don't see anything special in this kid

Sure, notice the few blemishes he did instead of a few brilliant handballs out to a Lions player.

I for one, am rapt that we have managed to hold on to him. Just as important in the midfield as an Aish.

 

[wantok]

Very good inside but needs to work on his outside spread and defence. Nevertheless a nice player to have on our list.

 

[Old Den]

Our new CEO tells the world player managers are demanding overs to sign new contracts, the following week we annouce Ryan Lester has signed a new contract.

Circumstantial evidence but you can't blame people for thinking about the connection.

Sheesh...now I am starting to worry about how much we paid Close and Bewick to re-sign recently.

 

[Gabbatoir]

Time still on his side. Seems like a pretty popular player within the group. Good re-signing.

 

[Nunez]

Pobt hit it perfectly. Has big potential for improvement. I think he will round out to be very similar to Kennedy. As somebody who has watched the hawks a fair bit over the years, I recall so many similarities between he and Kennedy in terms of things they had/have to work on at a young age. Sydney paid huge overs for Kennedy and he's developed into a machine. A two year contract even with overs is worth a shot, even if robbo overtakes him and we trade him off in two years if we no longer rate him.

Definitely the right move and happy to have him in our squad.

 

[jackess]

Wasn't it a couple of months ago when the club was meant to announce 4 re-signings in 4 days but only announced 3 and Lester was rumoured to be the 4th.

I think it's possible he's been OTL for a few months now but they put off the announcement for whatever reason.

 

[James North]

Still reckon that was Lester in that silhouette.

 

[Ironmonger]

Sheesh...now I am starting to worry about how much we paid Close and Bewick to re-sign recently

Close was about 3 months ago wasn't it?

 

[Lace Out]

Close was about 3 months ago wasn't it?

86 signed at the end of April until the end of 2017

 

[bato]

 

[Old Den]

Close was about 3 months ago wasn't it?

Not even close then...definitely no cigar.

 

[lionshine]

Great news to have Ryan stay on board. He is a young midfielder and he is developing nicely. Expect to see him improve now he has played 50 games in the AFL.

 

[lukiuslion]

Gee Lester speaks well, one of the better speakers at the club. Strings nice sentences together without repeating cringe worthy clichés over and over.

"really knows how to build momentum, when his backs againts the wall, and can stand tall and deliver
at a press conference, when the chips are down"

 

[Robbo18!]

Seems to be a few similar type players on the list now vying for the same type midfield role?
Makes the rest of this seasons signings more and more interesting as we get closer to trade time.
I for one was impressed with Ryan's interview and thought he spoke well.
There will be a lot of similar types all vying for the same positions in the best 22 next year.

 

[knaf]

I am very bullish on Lester and rapt that he has re-signed. To me he doesn't seem to have his strength / fitness balance right yet. Doesn't have the strength to break out of pack and not the burst of speed to get clear. On the other hand I think he has a real footy brain, good skills, works hard, is flexible and plays a his role in the team. Very confident he will reward us with great service for a number of years. Good onya Ryan.

Ok he needs to improve his kicking.

 

[Big Lion]

Well done Lester, a few more signings would be nice too, Martin, Paps and an extension for Aish would really bring a smile to my face.