Autopsy Lions prevail by 10

[Kobe Gryant]

Shoutout to frggr who summed it up best.

We all know "There's always next year" is a cliche as old as time, and it's usually used to console those who don't really believe it.

We're lucky enough to support a great club, where that sentiment actually runs true.

Wasn't our year, but it might be next year. If not, the year after, and it goes on and on. We know they'll do everything in their power to make it happen.

Completely understand those who are hurting, it's only natural. Footy's an emotional game, and none of us can deny that, or we wouldn't be on this site.

You couldn't pay me to support anyone else. We've got it as good as it gets.

 

[Munich]

In a vague panic after my dream I spent the first 3 hours of the day in the fetal position, but eventually cracked on at around 2pm as guests arrived.

Started with CC's & -196s (weak, I know) before eventually calming down for the game.

Stayed relatively sober after that to enjoy the contest, followed by pure Jameson & Smirnoff as we stared blankly at the TV while Bruce arrived in the postgame.

Only positive of hangovers is the lack of water retention. I look even hotter than usual.

^^
(Narrator: He did not "look hot" in the slightest, as he walked around the gym trying not to fall over)

I'd never heard of 196 until I had some at a hens a few weeks ago. Very sugary though.

I missed Bruce on the replay, bless.

I'm impressed you made it to the gym

 

[Vdubs]

I’m a huge CS fan. But once we lost Holmes and they switched to playing the middle. Game was over. Losing Holmes is bad luck. Not recognising that they were playing through the middle of the ground is bad coaching.

AND what would a great coach do about it mid game, with his best player unavailable, Danger sore ribs, and the rest off their games?

 

[Vdubs]

Did you think we'd start 7-0 at the start of this season?

Absolutely. Only a pessimist would not have seen that coming…

 

[bulletproof]

Dempsey will be an interesting watch next year.

I think we need him around the ball more in the middle. Just that ability to get out of a tight spot.

Getting stuck out on that wing, I think he has more to offer than that.

Get the feeling he will be the type to come back bigger and better.

 

[Vdubs]

Dempsey will be an interesting watch next year.

I think we need him around the ball more in the middle. Just that ability to get out of a tight spot.

Getting stuck out on that wing, I think he has more to offer than that.

Get the feeling he will be the type to come back bigger and better.

Couple of our players need tackling training and gym work, like Dempsey and Bruhn. They will gain lots from this game.

 

[Vdubs]

Haven’t read a lot of love for Ollie Henry- had a brilliant game considering his first quarter goal miss. Truly a big game player, and will only get better and more lethal.

 

[Kobe Gryant]

I'd never heard of 196 until I had some at a hens a few weeks ago. Very sugary though.

I missed Bruce on the replay, bless.

I'm impressed you made it to the gym

Appreciate the love - but full disclosure - I did nothing there lol.

Yeah, they're a bit like cider where it's okay for a while, but too many can knock you around a bit with the sugar content.

I've got a younger brother though who's just discovering the fine arts of poisoning yourself, and he's big on them.

They've marketed really well to the late teens brigade, which is smart, albeit a bit morally ambiguous.

From what I've seen, they're similar to Bailey Smith's "Barry's" drink that he's brought out.

Might have to give them a go as a celebratory beverage when the trade goes through!

 

[cats_09]

Shoutout to frggr who summed it up best.

We all know "There's always next year" is a cliche as old as time, and it's usually used to console those who don't really believe it.

We're lucky enough to support a great club, where that sentiment actually runs true.

Wasn't our year, but it might be next year. If not, the year after, and it goes on and on. We know they'll do everything in their power to make it happen.

Completely understand those who are hurting, it's only natural. Footy's an emotional game, and none of us can deny that, or we wouldn't be on this site.

You couldn't pay me to support anyone else. We've got it as good as it gets.

How about the clubs words in regards to aiming to compete year in, year out

 

[Footy_Fan2007]

Haha. Every neutral is saying how good a final it was so I wanted to re-watch it as being at the ground it just looked like we were sloppy AF and didn't take our chances.

Definitely felt that way being there.

 

[frggr]

How about the clubs words in regards to aiming to compete year in, year out

View attachment 2118629

Maybe need a slogan like....hrmmm....let me think....what about something like:

WE EXIST TO WIN PREMIERSHIPS!

What could possibly go wrong?

 

[Kobe Gryant]

Maybe need a slogan like....hrmmm....let me think....what about something like:

WE EXIST TO WIN PREMIERSHIPS!

What could possibly go wrong?

AND MAKE THE COMMUNITY PROUD.

I love how much Port supporters hate that second bit.

 

[Lingsface]

Haven’t read a lot of love for Ollie Henry- had a brilliant game considering his first quarter goal miss. Truly a big game player, and will only get better and more lethal.

Agree loved his performance even when undersized he attacks the ball in the air so well. Since day 1 at the club has been a very good player, sky is the limit.

 

[Munich]

Appreciate the love - but full disclosure - I did nothing there lol.

Yeah, they're a bit like cider where it's okay for a while, but too many can knock you around a bit with the sugar content.

I've got a younger brother though who's just discovering the fine arts of poisoning yourself, and he's big on them.

They've marketed really well to the late teens brigade, which is smart, albeit a bit morally ambiguous.

From what I've seen, they're similar to Bailey Smith's "Barry's" drink that he's brought out.

Might have to give them a go as a celebratory beverage when the trade goes through!

Haha the old go to the gym, sit around, play on phone, trick the mind into thinking the body has done something productive.

I don't know about those Barry drinks, they look awful.

Not even Bazlenka with his top off can sell it to me

 

[Gazzathegoat]

Gutted.

That was ours for the taking.

Brisbane came up clutch in big moments and deserved the win.

• Atkins kick gets smothered in the middle of the ground with 3 minutes to go, leading to a turnover/ Brisbane goal.
• Duncan chased down 20 metres out when he had Cameron on for the handball
• Stanley missing 15 metres out
• Ollie Henry missing in the first quarter

Then Rayner kicks a goal from 50m out on his non-preferred...

Brisbane wanted it more.

Holmes is our most important player, losing him to injury cost us the game. Losing was probably a blessing in disguise as we would have seriously struggled against Sydney without him.

Ultimately, the two best teams are playing off in the grand final. We had a chance to pull off a Hawks 2008 type season, wasn't to be.

 

[Commando]

Just seeing some of the Lions' frees / our non-frees that led to their goals for the first time.

Man oh man. I'm so glad we've had an era. Imagine if 2007-2022 hadn't happened and this was our first real shot at it? Injuries, illness, coaches collapsing, missed shots, goals conceded from dodgy umpiring.

As a grown man, I would have been in tears.

Don't want to be that guy
But a couple of goals from out of bounds they got and a couple of frees we didn't get
There's your game

 

[year of the cat]

If we’d lost with all our players fit and healthy I’d be seeing it as a lost opportunity and certainly be more upset. But unfortunately luck wasn’t with us last night. We could have still won but this week would have been rendered a monumental task just to be competitive.

Happy overall with the season. Even last night gave us some wonderful highlights. I’ve never seen and unlikely to possibly see so many Cats fans at a game. It felt like what I assume it feels like to support the Pies or Tigers in a final. Wonderful experience and atmosphere.

 

[Seeds]

Who will be our ruck then? As i have zero faith in conway.

Just because you dont have faith doesnt mean others dont have hope. Plus another year older im not sure blicavs can ruck at all. Neale can rotate between second ruck and foward. Although with rohan and hawkins going a weakness is the back up tall foward stock depth. Ideally to solve this and the ruck depth problem we need to recruit a tall part time foward/part time ruckman. Or play dekonning second ruck and foward (he is quite capable up foward I dont know why he doesnt spend more time up foward). If so there is a role for blicavs in defence.

 

[Cataholic]

Don't want to be that guy
But a couple of goals from out of bounds they got and a couple of frees we didn't get
There's your game

Nah.

It didn't help in the long run, but they weren't the root cause.

We lost fair and square.

The umpiring etc was just salt in the wound.

 

[maxy87]

Two quarters of high pressure finals footy put the microscope on several areas that have been talking points all year:

• a lack of midfield quality and experience
• a lack of leg speed around the contest
• an inability to gain ascendancy from the ruck.

Bottom line is that those above factors are enough to put you out of the conversation for a premiership, and probably top four. So in this funny old year we did very well all things considered.



Put it down to the lack of finals hardened preparation with soft kills, some players being a bit off or some poor selection calls if you like. I think the issues were more macro. We finally came up against a grand final quality opponent and were found wanting a bit when Brisbane upped the ante and their mids (predictably) got on top. It’s disappointing to get so close when you’ve put yourself in a winning position, but look a little closer: we hadn’t really beaten any of the flag fancies all year (ok we beat Brisbane but they were in horrible shape when we ran into them early in the year). We also dropped far too many games to bottom 10 sides then a team with claims to a flag would. Some good fortune and a couple of stirring wins like the Fremantle one got us into the top four, and our season profile is not one of a premiership team.



There is still lots to like about this season (including today’s game) and our prospects for 2025, especially after unearthing some young guns and the talk of bringing some quality in via trades (e.g., Bailey Smith

6

Bailey Smith

Age

23

Ht

185cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

18.3

5star

K

8.5

3star

HB

9.8

5star

M

2.3

2star

T

3.8

5star

CL

2.7

4star

D

19.8

5star

K

9.6

4star

HB

10.2

5star

M

1.8

2star

T

3.2

4star

CL

3.2

4star

D

14.8

4star

K

7.6

3star

HB

7.2

5star

M

2.0

3star

T

3.4

5star

CL

1.6

4star

perhaps) so I think we’re in good shape.

 

[Commando]

Did I read on here that every team that's won the coin toss has Lost during this finals series?

Just call it a game and save two hours after the toss on Saturday then!

 

[Sttew]

They showed the Daniher ‘mark’ in replay and the commentary team (and my eyes) thought it was a goal. I’m wondering why there has been nothing further said of it. At the very least there should be a please explain and a goal umpire dropped for not asking for a review.

Aren’t all goals reviewed?

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Just because you dont have faith doesnt mean others dont have hope. Plus another year older im not sure blicavs can ruck at all. Neale can rotate between second ruck and foward. Although with rohan and hawkins going a weakness is the back up tall foward stock depth. Ideally to solve this and the ruck depth problem we need to recruit a tall part time foward/part time ruckman. Or play dekonning second ruck and foward (he is quite capable up foward I dont know why he doesnt spend more time up foward). If so there is a role for blicavs in defence.

You didnt really answer my question about who is the first ruck if conway isnt fit though. He is a 2nd ruck at best.
Sdk could be a first ruck but for him to survive doing it with the stupid centre square ruck rule (dont start me on that) we will need to bulk him up over this offseason which means we need to decide that now or we need to recruit another ruck option.

 

[And_ROOS]

I'd take Kennedy, especially if we give away our early picks for Smith.
Smith and Kennedy would walk into our midfield.
Even if Kennedy is slow, just play him as the inside mid, he will give us first use.

Statistically this year Kennedy can do everything Atkins does but he takes significantly more marks, kicks, goals, gets more metres gained with the ball.

Atkins has him covered for contested possessions and centre clearances but then Kennedy gets a lot of uncontested possessions and inside 50s because of who his teammates are. Can't say I have seen how Kennedy goes as an inside mid.

If we can get him and Smith, then next year with Bruhn/Holmes as full time centre mids as well, and have Stewart/Danger/Atkins rolling through oh a needs basis and thats an immediate improvement on this season. Then you hope we get improvement or a break out from a Clark, or a return from Guthrie, or we find the next Mannagh.

This team is still so close to a flag, its literally a couple of quality midfielders away to start with and if Smith is a done deal thats us halfway there.

 

[frggr]

They showed the Daniher ‘mark’ in replay and the commentary team (and my eyes) thought it was a goal. I’m wondering why there has been nothing further said of it. At the very least there should be a please explain and a goal umpire dropped for not asking for a review.

Because the AFL got the result they wanted.

There's also been no talk of Cameron's mark from out of bounds either.