Dalions
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- Aug 12, 2016
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- Brisbane Lions
Preview – Round 1 – Freo v Lions
Sunday 17th March 5.50pm AEST Optus Stadium
Have had a pretty busy weekend so haven’t had a chance to post my 2 cents worth about the disappointing Opening round performance of our team.
So here is just a small review of the game and my thoughts on what was an extremely disappointing night overall.
Off to a scintillating start, pressure was good, skills were great and everything just worked.
I think the worst thing that could have happened was that we kicked the first 2 goals of the second quarter and from that point you could see that everything began to fall away, first it was the skills that fell away and the ball movement forward was sloppy at best and then the opportunities that we did happen to create and shots at goal were missed, then it was the pressure and run and defensive organisation that fell off to a point where early in the third quarter it was non-existent. Carlton didn’t have any resistance to move the ball so freely from end to end that goals were easily created.
I know that some would be talking about fitness, but it was clear at the game that this was a mental breakdown like I have never seen before during the current era. There were times when there were at least three or 4 players close to the play who were jogging back with their backs to the play and just so slowly that the ball was already gone before they had time to set. This was not a fitness issue at all and it was a complete mental block.
I didn’t notice any sort of a lift until they were around 8-10 points behind but it was too late to kill the momentum straight away and they kicked the next 2 and got in front before we were able to really kill the momentum and the game was extremely close from that point on. In fact from that point on in the game I felt as though we were once again the better team but were unable to kill off their spirit that we had handed to them on a Silver platter. If this was a fitness issue we would not have been able to play out the game the way we did and to finish the game with a pressure rating of 201 in the last quarter will a test to that.
Now to things that we (apparently) worked on over the summer:
Reaction time – Fail
Moments – Fail
Leadership – Massive Fail
The only thing in that game that I think we were successful in doing, was give one of our main competitors a leg up, handed them a Silver Platter and gave them a Launching Pad and the confidence to kick start their season in the way they required, especially with key personnel out. They will now be very hard to beat in the early parts of the year after the springboard we gave them.
Now on to Freo:
Strange thing to say I know, after what we have just witnessed but I am excited to be taking the trip over to Perth for the first time in about 35 years and for the first game ever at Optus Stadium. My 90 year (young) Mother has decided that this is likely her last year of footy so wants to go and see a couple of away games for the first time for both of us (other than the Grand Final last year) this will be the first Home and Away game for both of us outside of Qld. Have also booked a trip to see us play the Hawks at Marvel in Round 11 and Port inAdelaide in Round 15.
So this better not be the year that we fall away after the trouble that we are going to.
For what it is worth I think we will bounce back for a pretty good win against the plucky Dockers which will be their first game of the season and I think that is why we will win and win reasonably well. They will be rested after a pretty piss poor performance against Port in their Pre-Season game last week, but we will no doubt have a bit more to play for after our own piss poor performance on Friday night.
Freo will be without Ruckman Sean Darcy
PLAYERCARDSTART
4
Sean Darcy
- Age
- 26
- Ht
- 203cm
- Wt
- 111kg
- Pos.
- Ruck
Career
Season
Last 5
- D
- 10.1
- 3star
- K
- 3.4
- 1star
- HB
- 6.6
- 4star
- CL
- 2.4
- 4star
- HO
- 28.8
- 5star
- D
- 6.8
- 1star
- K
- 2.0
- 1star
- HB
- 4.8
- 3star
- CL
- 1.8
- 4star
- HO
- 20.3
- 5star
- D
- 11.4
- 3star
- K
- 4.6
- 2star
- HB
- 6.8
- 5star
- CL
- 2.6
- 5star
- HO
- 32.0
- 5star
PLAYERCARDEND
PLAYERCARDSTART
36
Brennan Cox
- Age
- 26
- Ht
- 195cm
- Wt
- 97kg
- Pos.
- Def
Career
Season
Last 5
- D
- 11.1
- 3star
- K
- 5.8
- 2star
- HB
- 5.3
- 4star
- M
- 4.2
- 4star
- T
- 2.1
- 4star
- MG
- 182.8
- 3star
- D
- 12.3
- 3star
- K
- 7.5
- 3star
- HB
- 4.8
- 3star
- M
- 4.0
- 4star
- T
- 1.0
- 2star
- MG
- 182.8
- 3star
- D
- 11.0
- 3star
- K
- 5.8
- 3star
- HB
- 5.2
- 4star
- M
- 4.2
- 4star
- T
- 1.8
- 4star
PLAYERCARDEND
Nat Fyfe will play his first game for Premiership points as a full time mid in Sundays game for the first time in God only knows how long ‘and he ain’t telling me’! Will be interesting to see how he Brayshaw and Serong can combine in their first real hit-out together and Hayden Young
PLAYERCARDSTART
26
Hayden Young
- Age
- 23
- Ht
- 189cm
- Wt
- 88kg
- Pos.
- D/M
Career
Season
Last 5
- D
- 10.0
- 3star
- K
- 6.6
- 3star
- HB
- 3.4
- 3star
- M
- 3.2
- 3star
- T
- 1.4
- 3star
- MG
- 160.0
- 3star
- D
- 10.0
- 3star
- K
- 6.6
- 3star
- HB
- 3.4
- 2star
- M
- 3.2
- 3star
- T
- 1.4
- 2star
- MG
- 160.0
- 3star
- D
- 10.0
- 3star
- K
- 6.6
- 3star
- HB
- 3.4
- 3star
- M
- 3.2
- 4star
- T
- 1.4
- 4star
- MG
- 160.0
- 3star
PLAYERCARDEND
That is one thing that Lachie really needs to learn how to work his way through (A Tag) because he tends to go missing for long periods of time under duress and doesn’t do much to change things up at all, it would be good if he can move forward or back at times to try and minimise the influence of the tagger, but unfortunately that is not really his go.
And unfortunately we will be without Kiddy for the Season after doing an ACL on Friday night in a blow that will be hard to cover.
We might need to Get Richy fit and firing ready for the mid-season draft to come back for that elusive flag chance. (Not sure we can do that because I think he would need to have applied for the National Draft to be eligible).
If Carter Michael can get himself on the track it might be the best opportunity yet to cement a spot in the team in the second half of the year. He has shown an ability to put himself In the hole and take an intercept mark and also has good skills to go with that, in a similar vain to Kiddy. So would be a possible replacement later in the year.
In the meantime I think we are left with Connor McKenna to be a straight in or we role AhChee or Zorko back. McKenna will come in if fit but he is more of a running type of player but can be very creative with his kicking.
Payney and Harris both had stinkers against Carlton and the midfield in general were down, I thought that it was the worst performance live that I have ever seen Lachie play (So indecisive) every time he got the ball, especially in tight. That will have to change if we are to be any chance of bringing home the 4 points. So many player went missing during the period of carnage and where were the leaders to steady the ship.
It is a really hard game to preview because we have no real form of Freo to go by, which is why I have come up with all of the other spin.
I think the odds are around about right with the Dockers at $2.79 to the Lions $1.45.
It is one of those games that even although we are away we should win comfortably but we all know the Lions and it might be a ‘strap yourself in moment’ because anything could happen.
I know a lot of the blame will be put on Fages and the Coaching staff, but I am inclined to think that this was all on the players and it will be up to them to rectify the wrongs that were written and re-write the seasonal script from the start, with a new beginning in Round 1, (how ironic), of all places to start a season.
Lions by Plenty 36 points and then some.
Go Lions
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