Review Nab Cup 2013 Grand Final: Brisbane Versus Carlton: Review

[Mazza44]

Merrett best on ground for me. He only lost one contest all night and was an absolute rock in defence. Patful a very close second.

Great to finally get some silverware! Especially against the scum

 

[Wickzki]

Congratulations Lions.

As I thought would happen one team went out there to play Grand Final football and (hopefully) the other team went out with round 1 on their mind. Regardless, take absolutely nothing away from your performance it was great to see some absolutely special young lads on your team play some top notch footy. Also good to see Daniel Rich simply dominate. Is this the year he really steps up into the elite mids in the game? I hope so for your team.

Josh Green is a gun too by the way - loved watching him play.

 

[Wickzki]

Merrett best on ground for me. He only lost one contest all night

That's because we had absolutely no forward line. It reminded me of last year -- we get the ball at the half backline or even in the midfield and there's absolutely no one forward of center.

Dayne Zorko for mine.

 

[loyallion]

I'm absolutely stoked at the moment. To be honest I was worried at half time,W in the 2007rltone looked so tired etc etc but at the end of the game...Well you can imagine how I feel lol. Well done boys Yes its only the Nab cup but still goes to show we are starting to get a great little team together. just remembering my little episode this time 6 years ago when I was drunk and got red carded for a week for writing w/e I wrote it wouldnt have been nice LOL ironically that was when we were playing Carlton in the 2007 Nab cup final LOL. I like this a whole lot better though ^^^^ Yes I have been drinking lol

 

[Panthera]

Just home from the game, boys were great.

A few points overall:

A lot more confidence overall, especially in each other.
Game style seems to be known by the majority of players.
Skills much better - minimal silly turnovers.

Individuals:

Merrett amazing in patrolling the D50, together with Patfull, Maguire and Adcock.
Yeo, class act. Will be a very good player.
Rich, one of the best kicks in the AFL. Confidence growing.
Longer, better body than Leuey to play AFL. Gun in the making. Needs to buy a compass though
Green is becoming a very handy player. Does most things really well.
Moloney; perfect aquisition for us.
Karnezis. With a run of senior games in the midfield, could be dead set unstoppable.
Cornelius + Bewick, both average and not really in the play a lot. Looking for Rd.1 for these blokes.

All in all, a good nights work

 

[LMac2012]

For me Merret was best on ground. He was just incredible. he led that resistance that saved the game in the 2nd quarter. Rich, Brown, Green were great.. don't anyone ever say "brown is past it" again... The whole team was amazing tonight, this team could be anything this season. Martin and Moloney were exceptional, great pick ups. everyone was good, only exceptions were Redden (quiet), RohBew (quiet ).. that's about it. everyone was solid.

The free kick count at 1/2 time was 21 - 8 in Carlton's Favour, simply mind blowing. I have never seen that in the 26 years i've watched the game. To the umps credit they appeared to take note of the count at the half and correct a bit.

Can anyone help me out with that Longer stuff up on the wing? The umpire didn't indicate which way the free went or set a mark, just stood there and held his arm, longer nearly kicked it the wrong way he was so confused, he then didn't indicate play on and let him be tackled, Both Blues and Lions fans all looked around at each other disbelief, again, i've never seen that happen before.

Patty K continues to grow but bloody hell.. he took a bit more time than he needed on about 6 occasions, the speed of the mid field still seems a bit beyond him at times.

I predicted Corny would go missing pre game, he did. This is a massive concern with him.

 

[Matt_BL]

I underestimated our fitness base, thought we wouldnt have the legs but we run the game out really well. The birdman knows what he is doing. Yeo played very well, looks like a player far more experienced than someone who has only played 7 games of AFL. Will be interesting to see what Golby gets for his hit on Murphy, might get a week but also might get a warning with some points, hopefully the latter.

Martin is a freak, once he can put it all together he will be hard to stop. Would have liked to have seen Merrett get the medal but Rich was deserving. Proves that 23 effective possessions can be better than 34 that Lucas for Carlton had. Think many people and the commentators are starting to realise Rich is becoming an A grader.

 

[Toffee Lion]

 

[pulpdriver]

Just home from the game, boys were great.

A few points overall:

A lot more confidence overall, especially in each other.
Game style seems to be known by the majority of players.
Skills much better - minimal silly turnovers.

Individuals:

Merrett amazing in patrolling the D50, together with Patfull, Maguire and Adcock.
Yeo, class act. Will be a very good player.
Rich, one of the best kicks in the AFL. Confidence growing.
Longer, better body than Leuey to play AFL. Gun in the making. Needs to buy a compass though
Green is becoming a very handy player. Does most things really well.
Moloney; perfect aquisition for us.
Karnezis. With a run of senior games in the midfield, could be dead set unstoppable.
Cornelius + Bewick, both average and not really in the play a lot. Looking for Rd.1 for these blokes.

All in all, a good nights work

I'd agree with all the player review except for Bewick.

 

[loyallion]

That kid is gonna be a star yes hes 24 BUT damn can he play!!!

 

[Toffee Lion]

That kid is gonna be a star yes hes 24 BUT damn can he play!!!

What do you mean 'Gonna'?

He already is mate.

 

[lionbear]

I think the batch of kids we have is alot better than what I thought it was.

Think the side we are developing will be great in a year or two.

Well done tonight, love the direction of the team.

 

[karix]

Golby was a bit quieter tonight I thought, he let Betts free too often, still played a solid game, cleaning up from the back.

He did play a great game, but what we need from any and all of our small defenders is to be able to control players like Betts better.

Hanley provided great run, and apart from a few early mistakes where I was pretty mad, he got better as the game got on and his dash and speed is vital to the Lions.

I agree with you completely. He was so exciting to watch, and although his mistakes were frustrating his run and carry was the stuff that dreams are made of....

Redden I feel was a bit quiet tonight, apart from a score assist to Rich and nice runs from the half-back line, he didn't do much. His first game back, it's okay, he'll get up for Round 1.

Caiphus pointed out to me that he was actually playing the role of a tagger since Raines was not on till late in the match. When he was instructed to play head to head he had an immediate impact and then Raines came on to set him free from any and all tagging responsibilities.

Moloney. Moloney my man, how did the Demons let this guy go? Clearance king, his mature body in the midfield, his hard tackles made the Carlton midfielders look average and he was just spectacular. His kicking was a bit off though, no doubt he'll want to improve in that area of his game. Apart from that, he'd be proud of his effort tonight.

I know right? His clearance work was almost supernatural. Yes there were a couple of bombs into the forward line, but I noticed he pulled that back in and lowered his eyes after half time which is all we can ask for. Love his work tonight, such an awesome pick up for us.. silly Melbourne.

ZORKO!

The smother where he kept his feet, gathered the ball and ran into the f50 to shoot on goal was unbelievable. I wish he had run close for an easy shot on goal instead of going for the 9 pointer, but it was still amazing. I woke the kids up with my excitement as he steamed towards goals

Sad to say, Cornelius was poor tonight. He was one of the lowest possession getters, apart from the 3 substitutes. Is it because the defenders were actually AFL standard, and he struggled because of a lack of body pressure? Don't know, I'm not so sure his place in the Round 1 side is still secure. Because of Bewick standing up, and his overhead marking being great, it's going to be interesting who steps up the plate for Round 1.

Ace is still in limbo. He's not a strong second fiddle stats wise, but he does demand a defender attend him which simultanously stops him from getting shots on goal (because he can't deal with body contact), but gives Brown a better chance at getting shots on goal (because he either has just has their strongest defender, rather than their strongest + their weakest (and sometimes) their 2nd best defender.

Green was amazing tonight, his pressure around contests was good, his goal kicking was at its best again.. Can't wait to see him in action again.

He really was awesome, the banana kick on goal had me worried because he had safe options if he had looked inside, but his vision and patience when he had ball in hand was a credit to him. Tonight I saw him evolve from a quick goal sneak into a play maker with that inbound step that resulted in Karni scoring on the run.

Martin and Longer.

How funny was it to hear the commentators sounding dumbfounded about Longer's leap at the contest. Made me smile every time.

Martin is another great get, I think by the end of this season he will blossom into a dangerous player. Just needs to be immersed in a culture that values winning and be mentored and surrounded by men that want to win. Rather than whatever it is the Demons value.

Polkinghorne I believe had one of his better games over the pre-season.

I loved his snap on goal, but beyond that I still found him lacking in the forward line. I'd like to see him play in defence a bit more, possibly as the defender that tags the mid who rests in the forward lines (ala Swan), because Raines is no good at tagging a forward.

Beams, how good is he?! Intercepting a Yarran pass, gathering his own ball, breaking 2 tackles, and kicking a perfect drop punt to Zorko to set him up for an easy goal. Another confirmed Round 1 start.

Amen brother, he was awesome, I'm shocked he wasn't on earlier.

And who can forget the brilliant coaching of Vossy and co

Vossy beating Micky Mouse.. doesn't get any better...

 

[T Factor]

Even Kezz can't support that. Luckily, his footy spoke in spite of his awful style choices.

True he did play a game worthy of our best and fairest. We now have one of the best defensive units, they all played well tonight.

 

[chopperduck]

The thing that pisses me off with the umps and the free kick count is where they are paid. Opposition teams constantly get soft or 50/50 free kicks paid to them. I think the blues first 5 goals were from free kicks. We never get that kind of love from the umps in front of the sticks. As is often the case, thy even up the ledger in the second half of the game, but most are in defense, not in our F50.

 

[Simba Moyo]

Sheedy, Buckley & Malthouse in consecutive weeks.

Great job boys, can't be said enough. They really showed heart and soul for the club. This for me highlights our hard work over the past couple years and hopefully can bring in some more members out of the woodwork.

 

[T Factor]

Zorko torpedo from 5m out, my fav moment...

 

[Vipertooth]

YOU LITTLE BEAUTY

Pumped is an understatment, we are on the comback trail

GO LIONS

 

[Judge]

Isn't it great to just enjoy watching your team play footy again?

I feel like we're heading towards the end of that tunnel now, hope has turned to cautious optimism, expectation is the next stop.

And it would be remiss of me not to mention our defenders tonight - they were all great but Merrett and Patfull were just exceptional.

 

[Simba Moyo]

Zorko torpedo from 5m out, my fav moment...

Zorpedo

 

[LMac2012]

I also think the 80 interchange cap worked to our advantage, did anyone notice how free flowing the game was?

 

[lionshine]

Lol, body language says so much.

So...good win Vos- Ah ffs shut ya flamin gob Demetriou. "Turns away" "Mr Demetriou left with a stunned face similar to that of someone who was randomly slapped in the face with a raw fish".

 

[loyallion]

That kid is gonna be a star yes hes 24 BUT damn can he play!!!

What do you mean 'Gonna'?

He already is mate.

Very true mate, God this team reminds me of the 1995 Bears and we know what they did and turned out to be.

 

[Haso]

Malthouse gave our defensive line, specifically the 3 tall defenders Merrett, Patfull and Maguire, a huge vote of confidence towards the end of his presser. He said that key forwards across the season would have a hard time kicking goals on them.

Perceptive man, that Malthouse

 

[christoff91]

Congratulations on the win tonight! You Guys look great!!