PC2011/12RP Restoring The Lions Pride

[TheHairyGamer]

The Brisbane Lions today, shocked the football world after Justin Leppitsch was replaced as head coach of The Lions. It is believed that there is no ill will on from either side of the camp at this point in time.

Leppitsch was asked what he would do now that he was no longer senior coach and he stated "I might take a year off to see if this is still something I want to pursue." The lions made the following statement "We want to thank Justin for his time and effort as coach here at The Lions, and he will always be one of our favourite sons. However, at this point in time we both felt that it would be best for both parties to separate before any issues began to surface."

The Lions continued to name an unknown coach in Hairy Gamer. While little was know about him before the press conference, more is known now. Gamer was asked what made him the right candidate for the job to which he responded "Well for one, I grew up bleeding the club and colours. There is nothing I wouldn't do to see this club as great as it once was. While I may have never played in the AFL, I have spent countless years studying the art of coaching."

One reporter inquired as to where Gamer sees the list "Honestly we have been at the bottom end for quite some time now. We know we have some really quality players in Beams, Rocky, Rich and a few other boys through the middle. Our main issues are depth and at ether end. This year I plan to find out a lot about this list and see where we are really at come seasons end."

When asked how he plans to do that, Gamer responded "Well we are going to play those players. The ones we don't know about, they will be picked first. The blokes we know can play, well they will fill in the gaps. This may not be an easy year, but it is the only way to truly evaluate where we stand. I'll tell you all this as well, expect major changes in the off season as well."

Certainly some interesting comments from The Lions new head coach. We will be watching very eagerly to see if this tactic works for the lions.

 

[haydo]

Looking forward to this. Always a tough battle with the Lions. Good luck

 

[TheHairyGamer]

Pre Season Wrap Up

After losing by only 4 points to the Hawks, the young lion cubs had some belief, however that was dashed at the hands of North Melbourne who accounted for them to the tune of 32 points. With the lions preseason over with focus will be looking forward. The first notable change was the placement of Dan Merrett on the long term injured list after a broken arm. 2 Upgrades have taken place in Jackson Paine and Archie Smith.

"We need to see where these 2 guys in particular are at to know if we should continue having them at the club so these upgrades let us do that. We are hoping the answer is a huge yes and who knows, maybe they will stay on the seniors list." Gamer said when asked about the elevations

"Improvement will happen, maybe not overnight but it will happen. Young list means it takes time."

 

[TheHairyGamer]

After the first 4 rounds the lions are yet to grab their first win. Languishing on the bottom of the ladder Gamer was asked if he was expecting this kind of start to the season "Yes and no. I spoke when I first came to this club about how hard this year would be while we evaluate the list. We have certainly started seeing that. We have Jono Freeman as our leading goal kicker with 11 so far, that's not too bad after 4. Of course we would love for it to be higher and have a few wins on the board but this year is about discovery and growth. We certainly are discovering who is and isn't part of this clubs future."

Gamer wouldn't make any further comment at this time. Hopefully the lions can pick up a win soon to show the hard work and youth policy paying off for them

 

[TheHairyGamer]

Round 9
This week sees the lions get a rising star nomination in young forward Josh Watts. He kicked 2.1 this week taking his tally to 12 goals.

"It s great to see one of our kids get recognised for his efforts and Josh deserves that this week. He played well and bagged a couple." Gamer said.

While the lions are still winless aproaching the halfway point of the season, this is a good sign that playing the young cubs first may be making some progress.

 

[haydo]

Watts gets a regular spot with the Lions and is a handy player. When I've simmed through a few seasons he becomes a vital cog in the side. Good to see him rewarded with a rising star nomination.

Just a few hints, loving the work you're doing currently, if you had some time, add in some pictures and bold some of the wording. It makes the whole presentation a hell of a lot better. If you have a look at MrCricket1009 and Tigz_09 stories, that'll give you a handy guideline to copy from.
Keep up the good work though

 

[TheHairyGamer]

ROUND 11

Despite being yet to register the first win of the year and languishing at the bottom of the ladder, some good news out of the Gabba today as Jaden McGrath has been announced round 11 NAB Rising Star nominee.

His performance of 22 possessions, 8 tackles and kicking 1.1 was enough to earn the lions the second nomination this year.

"Yeah we are please to see Jaden get the nom this week. He has been improving leaps and bounds since the start of the year and this is a nice reward for the kid." Gamer said when asked his thoughts on it

"Obviously we want to get a few wins but the kids being acknowledged for their hard work is pretty good for us too."

 

[TheHairyGamer]

ROUND 13

BYE

Still yet to score a win the lions are in the now all too familiar position of being last on the ladder. While not all bad news for the lions at their first bye of the year

"Yeah we have had a tough year but this is shaping these boys. We have had 2 Rising Star nominations already an who knows, we may get a couple more for the rest of the season. We have big Jono Freeman as our leading goal kicker showing he can be the key forward we all thought he could be here. He is on 23 right now, so almost 2 a game. Considering he is a little under developed physically, we are happy with his output. Our list is starting to take shape and soon we may be able to slowly introduce some key players to this side to get some experience to them as a group." Gamer stated


Freeman celebrates a goal

"Now is the time where we ask our fans to trust us, trust the system we have set up and see that it is working and will work in the long term moving forward."

With the lions having 10 games left for the year, we here are very intrigued to see how the young lion cub continue to develop while being given games ahead of the older brigade.

 

[TheHairyGamer]

Round 21

The Brisbane Lions today made a big announcement regarding the remainder of the year and next year. Coach Hairy Gamer said as follows

"We have 3 games left this year. and I think we now know what line up we want for next year. That means it is time for some of the more experienced players to come in and play the last couple of games. I know it has been tough watching the boys lose each week, but I truly believe this has been the best way to evaluate all the players on our list and move forward towards finals" Gamer Said

"Some of the ins this week will include, Zorks, Green, Lewy Taylor, Beams and Rich, as well as giving big Dan Merrett a send off. After his injury we spoke with him and we have agreed that he won't be offered a new contract at seasons end. It's a tough call but we all agreed it is what was best for the club moving forward."


Taylor, Green and Zorko all expected to play out the season

"This will move us forward as a club, we will be very active once the season is over to re-sign the players we need and bring in some new boys to make us stronger as a group"

 

[TheHairyGamer]

SEASON WRAP

In what has been a bleak season for the lions, focus now moves toward recruiting during the trade and draft periods. Finishing the season on the bottom of the ladder but gaining 2 wins in the last 3 games showing that perhaps there really is light at the end of the tunnel.


The lions look dejected after another loss

Jonathon Freeman led the goal kicking with 37 majors while at the other end of the ground Justin Clarke not only won the Best and Fairest, but he also was named All Australian Full Back. It is clear the lions have a plan, and in some respects it has become a little bit clearer as to what that is.

As the club looks to bring new players in, it has already confirmed unless a trade can be made Daniel Merrett will be delisted bringing and end to his career.


Merrett celebrates a goal in his last game for the lions

With trade week starting Monday, the lions having the first pick and knowing who they are happy to move on, we await to see what coach Gamer has in store moving towards next season

 

[TheHairyGamer]

TRADE WEEK

DAY 1

The lions started off Trade Week making the first trade of the trade period. In a deal with Carlton that saw Matthew Kreuzer join the lions for young forward Michael Close.

Lions coach Hairy Gamer said the following
" We are excited to say we will have Matthew at the club next year. With our current ruck stocks aging we knew we needed some fresh blood and ideally a ready made ruckman to join us to improve. With Michael, we could love to have been able to keep him on our list, he has a lot of promise, however with how we see the list, he would probably be our 5th choice forward so we talked with him and came to agree he would get more opportunities at another club. We certainly wish him all the best at Carlton and hope he has a long career with them."


Matthew Kreuzer to join the lions next year

 

[TheHairyGamer]

TRADE WEEK

DAY 2

The lions finished day 2 of the trade period adding 2 new players to its list. They traded Tom Bell for Jarryn Geary of St. Kilda while moving some later picks of 52, 88 and 122 for Ben Newton of Melbourne. Gamer had this to offer.

"We felt we could get Geary to the club and managed to do that in a deal that saw Belly go to the saints. No disrespect to Belly, but we feel Jarryn has more to offer us as a club. Also getting Newt from Melbourne, we are glad to welcome him here and he will have to fight for his spot in the best 22. We were very comfortable trading away 3 later picks in this years draft as we have some plans to try and bring in some early picks to go with pick 1, 18 and 20 we already have."

The lions newest players Geary and Newton

In what has been a busy opening 2 days of trade week and 3 days left, we are interested to see what else the lions have up their sleeve

 

[TheHairyGamer]

TRADE WEEK

DAY 3

The lions had a busier time today, securing the services of 2 new players, both of which coming from the saints. In 2 seperate deals that saw Josh Clayton and Nick Robertson leave the club while David Armitage and Jack Steven have joined.

"We think we identified the players well we wanted and have done that. We have a few more offers on the table to deal with tomorrow that we will take a serious look at. These guys will just add a bit of grunt in the engine room. I feel we need that and now we have it." Gamer stated

 

[TheBeardAmigos]

TRADE WEEK

DAY 3

The lions had a busier time today, securing the services of 2 new players, both of which coming from the saints. In 2 seperate deals that saw Josh Clayton and Nick Robertson leave the club while David Armitage and Jack Steven have joined.

"We think we identified the players well we wanted and have done that. We have a few more offers on the table to deal with tomorrow that we will take a serious look at. These guys will just add a bit of grunt in the engine room. I feel we need that and now we have it." Gamer stated

nice pick ups.
Those two always seem to be traded after one season! haydo169

 

[haydo]

nice pick ups.
Those two always seem to be traded after one season! haydo169

Yeah they always seem to be up for trade. I'm guessing it's due to the Saints salary cap. Might have to go through and actually change all the contract $$ by the time the 2017 lists are released. Can't have the samw players coming out of contract each year like we have with the Saints

 

[TheHairyGamer]

TRADE WEEK

DAY 4

Today saw the lions make 2 more trades, this time for picks. Sydney sent pick 14 to the lions in exchange for youngster Josh McGuiness. While that helps improve the lions standing in the draft it was the next trade that saw the most shock from the football community. Fremantle gave pick 16 for the lions while the lions sent homegrown talent and starting 22 player Dayne Zorko over to the west. Gamer had the following to say on these trades;

"First we at the lions would like to thank both Josh and Dayne for all they have done for us as a club. We wanted to make sure we had plenty of prized picks in this years draft and when Sydney offered pick 14 for Josh it was something we had to jump at. We feel that we have a young and talented forward line, with the likes of Schache and Paparone most likely taking us forward as our 2 key forwards so this was a pretty easy decision for us."

"As for Dayne it was a tougher decision. Freo put this offer to us on day 1 and we took a lot of time contemplating it. In the end, the blokes we brought in with Geary, Armitage and Steven we feel would cover any loss we would feel right away with Dayne leaving so we decided that the extra pick would suit us better in this case. Now we have 5 of the top 20 picks coming up."


The mark of Zorko is heading to Fremantle

"That is it for us for trades though, now we will move to list management and deal with any delistings to make way for our picks, and start looking at who to take in the draft."

 

[TheHairyGamer]

The Brisbane Lions today have announced that 5 players have been delisted from the senior list. As we understand it those players are Daniel Merrett, Rowan Bewick, Ryan Harwood, Ryan Lester and Archie Smith.

Coach Gamer made the following remarks

"We want to thank the boys for all the time they spent here at the lions. Sometimes it is best for parties to split and part ways. We think with these guys that time it now. Dan in particular is a tough one, but he got to have a good farewell and even kicked a goal which he didn't do a lot of normally. We have no doubt that if those guys choose to continue playing footy we will run in to them again."

 

[Tigz_09]

cleaned a fair bit of the house out. good luck with the next season and the ladder climb. should get some good results

 

[TheHairyGamer]

Gamer today spoke on the upcoming draft.

"I think we are pretty ready for the draft.We have picks 1, 14, 16, 18 and 20 that we know we will be using and maybe pick 37 as well, we will wait and see. We know what kind of players we need, it's no secret that we need a younger Ruckman with West and big Stef not getting any younger. Yes we brought in Matty Kreuzer but we want someone who is under 20 to develop over the years to make sure our ruck stocks are in good hands. We also want some good quality mids to come in as well. We have a pretty good idea who our number 1 pick will be but after that we will see who is available at our next pick."

We wait with eagerness to see who the number 1 pick will be for the lions.

 

[TheHairyGamer]

The Brisbane Lions today would like to welcome the latest group of draftees to the club. The following is what coach Gamer had to say about each of them;

PICK 1: Mark Membery - 19 years old, 201cm, 97kg, Ruck
"We knew we wanted Mark from the start. We needed a young ruck who could play in his first year or 2 if needed and continue to develop past that point. While he may not be the kind of ruckman who spends a lot of time forward, we think he will be able to ruck most games out by himself or with some small support throughout the game."

PICK 14: Max Hines - 18 years old, 185cm, 85kg, Inside Mid
"Max we saw as one of the better inside mids in this years draft and we needed to address that situation with our list. He might play a few games next year if the opportunity arises and I don't think he will have any issue slotting in to an AFL side."

PICK 16: Landon Trill - 18 years old, 183cm, 87kg, Outside Mid
"Landon was a good get for us, we wanted to add a couple of silky users to our group and Lando does that in spades. We know he has had a few issues with form later in the year but we felt that what he was able to produce early on warranted his selection."

PICK 18: Brady Holderby - 18 years old, 183cm, 92kg, Outside Mid
"We were actually surprised that Brady wasn't picked up earlier than this, he is a young kid who can play in the middle but also knows where the goals are. I would expect he might make his first few appearances as a forward while he continues to develop his skills."

PICK 20: Jacob Dyson - 18 years old, 206cm, 101kg Ruck
"We honestly weren't sure if we would take Jacob until moments before our time expired, in the end we decided that having an extra ruck who is 18 would be great. We hope he develops well and maybe he and Mark could form a strong duo working together for years to come."


PRE SEASON DRAFT

PICK 1: Dyson Heppell
"We all know what a star Dyson is, when he decided he would prefer to start fresh at a new club after his suspension ended it was an easy call. We would have gone with Hurley, but we feel our backline is very settled and introducing a new element, especially a key back, would take something away from that. We are rapt to have Dyson here and can't wait to see what he can do on the field."


Heppell joins the lions through the pre season draft