Review Round 10, 2020 - Brisbane Lions vs. Richmond

[The Zork]

If you want to put a smile on your pill check out Zorkos Instagram of his boys reaction to not kicking straight

 

[briztoon]

Were you referring to me? I certainly thought his ceiling as a defender was higher and his marking, even at a junior level, was significantly better in defense. Someone in the coaching team needs to have a look at that and see if they can work out why. If they can improve his marking up forward just by getting in his head it would be a big win.

For those interested this was my write up on Hipwood when he was drafted:

Eric Hipwood
Ht – 200, Wt – 84

Hipwood is one of the most interesting prospects in this draft. I personally have no idea where he ends up playing. He has played mostly up forward and done pretty well, even in senior company, but he has not really dominated and kicked a big bag. He is a consistent 2-3 goal forward who will give a contest and clunk a few. Down back is where he has looked closest to dominating and is probably where he starts his career. The left field option and the one which might turn out the best is in the ruck. I have not seen him ruck but his around the ground ability could make him a star at AFL level if he can actually compete decently in the ruck contest itself. He has the height for it. The question might be whether he can put on enough weight to compete body to body. At the moment he is very thin.

Hipwood measured in at 202cm at the Combine and he plays to his height. On top of his height he has a good leap as he showed at the Combine. For most of his playing career to date he has been a medium tall type and he has retained the agility and playing style of a smaller player. For a ruck sized player he moves fantastically well. He is a fluid mover with good speed and the turning circle of a smaller player. Agility is what often gets the ruck sized defenders into trouble but that should not be a problem for Hipwood. At the Combine he combined a 2.96 20m with a 8.38 agility test both of which were great for a guy his size.

One of the big things I like about Hipwood, and one of the reasons I see him succeeding, is his aggressiveness. He is a big kid who loves to get in there and mix it up. He will attack the man and the ball whether it is on the ground or in the air. He loves a ruck contest in his area where he can play as a midfielder and wins a surprisingly high percentage of clearances in such situations. He is not just making up numbers, he will hit the contest at speed and has nice clean hands. When he collects the ball his junior opponents often don’t really know how to handle him and he gets it away nicely. Hipwood likes to take the game on particularly when playing at the back and he will run on and present as an option going forward.

His kicking is often raised as a concern about Hipwood but for me I think he has the potential to be an elite kick. He has a very relaxed style in his kicking and he is capable of really drilling a pass. At the back he takes very aggressive options and has been prone to turning a few over. He regularly takes kick-ins when he is at the back and that is a sign that his coaches trust his kicking ability. I am hoping he is just adjusting to having the ball need to fall further than it used to. Style wise as mentioned there is a lot to like but atm things go astray a bit too often. I like the aggressive options he takes even if he misses a few targets currently. He has a “take the game on” attitude that appeals to me a lot. He is an accurate shot for goal and will convert a good percentage of his chances.

Interestingly Hipwood appears to be a superior mark when playing down back but merely average one when up forward. Down back he will play a read and react role and back himself to read the ball better and then outmark the forward. In the games I have seen he is very rarely beaten in the air when in defence. His ability to read the ball in the air is great and with his height and jumping ability he is justifiably very confident in his belief that he will be the one to come away with the ball. He often plays loose and this is a role that he does very well. Down back he likes a mark but makes good decisions about when to mark and when to spoil. Up forward he will clunk a few and he competes hard but he is not the dominating presence he is down back. He goes up strong for the ball and held his own strength wise against junior opponents. In senior company he is going to struggle for a few years whilst he builds body strength. He needs to put on a lot of bulk to be truly effective at AFL level.

Hipwood likes to be involved going forward and is a good mark and run option coming out of defence. He runs hard to present and he genuinely seems to love that aspect of the game more than others. I have heard him compared to Fletcher in body shape and the way he plays and there is some merit in that. When I saw him play the player I thought he reminded me of in defence was Josh Gibson. Up forward he reminded me of Joe Daniher with his size and his impact up forward. Daniher was certainly the better junior forward but in senior company he has looked dangerous without dominating and this is what I have seen from Hipwood this year. He contests and will pick up his 2 or 3 goals a game but he has not torn anyone apart with 8. He picked up 4 in a quarter against Tassie at the Champs but did not pick any in the second half (somewhat unluckily admittedly).

Hipwood is a real presence on the field and is someone who could be a crucial element of whichever unit he plays on. There is a fair bit of risk of him busting but on the other side of the equation he probably has as high a ceiling as anyone in this draft.

I believe he was referring to Knightmare, who believes both Hipwood and Ballenden are best suited to play as key defenders.

 

[iBeng]

Some of these are just shocking.

Starting to wonder if its either a psychological issue or if we are trying to play faster than we actually are...Rushing things because we panic because psychologically we feel we are already behind/more behind than we are.

 

[notliondown]

Geez I wish we would calm down on the "this player sucks who's next in line we can pin our hopes and dreams on" stuff. This isn't 2015/6 anymore. A revolving door for players when we are second on the ladder is utterly ridiculous and Eagles is no more a messiah than Skinner or Balleden are.

What is utterly crucial at this point in our development is consistency and confidence - and last night is proof beyond doubt of that.

At times we look like a team that is frantic - it's almost our trademark now. We move the ball in tight very quickly to other players often in not much better positions and rely on speed, skills and honestly, bravery in attack, to go forward. We do it most games, against most teams.

But when we play good teams that take our space and create pressure it can bite us. Richmond do just that. There's rarely an easy possession in close or in a better field position. We have to fight hard for every hand ball and every kick. And often we lose those 50/50 balls, we turn it over or it becomes a neutral ball simply because we want to play on - which I love.

Nothing is easy against a side like the Tigers. They wear you down. And when you start missing things you think should be easy - a hand ball, a chip kick under pressure, a pack mark, it erodes your confidence. And that just flows on to every part of the game. They make the simple things hard so the hard things become impossible. For us that becomes goal kicking which was already on our minds.

We lost that game last night between our ears.

We worked hard - really hard, but we wore ourselves out with effort because they made us. And with that we lost composure. Then our nerve.

Yes, probably too many inexpereinced players. Yes maybe we were too tall. But there's more too it I think, and it's just another lesson.

Richmond have become our "if it bleeds we can kill it" team of this cycle.

We will beat them. And it won't be on the back of dramatic change or some miraculous player that we bring in. It will be on the back of belief, confidence and faith that a footy game lasts for 120 minutes not 10. And that every game is winnable regardless of who they are or their reputation.

The team we lost too last night is not the team that beat us 14 games ago - and we need to remember that and do our best to lose that baggage.

 

[3KZ is Football]

Starting to wonder if its either a psychological issue or if we are trying to play faster than we actually are...Rushing things because we panic because psychologically we feel we are already behind/more behind than we are.

Wait till they hear Nunez and his set list:

I Like To Goal
Scoreboard Face
The Goal Square Family
Sausage Roll
Goal Hippy Goal
It’s Starting To Rain Goals
If I Had A Set Shot
Let’s Kick Goals
Off to the Coleman Medal
The Straight Through The Middle Song
I’m Kicking Goals Today
Goals
The Dancing Celebration
Friends Scoring Goals
I Am A ... Goal Scorer

Nunez and my eight year old son will turn this around!

 

[briztoon]

So when he plays well nothing is said but when he played bad it's 'I told you so'?

I get your opinion man. Darcy isn't the perfect player, but very few are. Darcy plays far more good games than bad games - I can't see how that is debatable.

This not an easy question to answer, because it’s not simply on Darcy.

When the team plays well, and particularly when our midfield is dominant, our defence naturally has an easier time of it, so our defence “played well”.

When our defence is continually under the pump, such as last night, that’s when Darcy’s flaws get exposed.

Some players manage to stand up under such pressure, such as Andrews.

As I’ve said previously, I just don’t believe Darcy is as good as most people here believe he is.

And all I did was include him in my list of players to be dropped or rested. I wasn’t suggesting he be banished, never to return.

 

[Nunez]

This not an easy question to answer, because it’s not simply on Darcy.

When the team plays well, and particularly when our midfield is dominant, our defence naturally has an easier time of it, so our defence “played well”.

When our defence is continually under the pump, such as last night, that’s when Darcy’s flaws get exposed.

Some players manage to stand up under such pressure, such as Andrews.

As I’ve said previously, I just don’t believe Darcy is as good as most people here believe he is.

And all I did was include him in my list of players to be dropped or rested. I wasn’t suggesting he be banished, never to return.

I'm confused, are you saying when our defence is bombarded and under pressure he's prone to mistakes? Him along with the vast majority of defenders in the AFL have the same experience.

As we saw yesterday, even a player of Andrews level struggles when under immense pressure. The difference between Andrews, Rance etc and players like Darcy is the ability to turn their form around mid-game and provide clutch marks/spoils.

In the end, Darcy is not an A grader - he is a role playing shut down defender. So long as he plays his role - which in 8/10 games he has done well- he is firmly best 22.

You've suggested dropping him several times - who do you suggest is a better hybrid defender on our list than Darcy?

 

[Tassie4ever]

What should come out of this- a comprehensive thumpingagainst the best-is a realisation of where the deficiencies lie.

We don't have an effective, day in, day out, forward line. Hipwood hasn't come on as expected, and to me eye lacks a defined role. Lacking one out of the box from Cameron, we don't have the firepower.

We don't have a topline ruck setup, overcome in most games by a superior centre contribution, and it shows- against the best.

We need to learn and move on. We'll beat them, but maybe not this year.

Maybe time to try a few unorthodoxies- say Eagles, say tag and harrass the crap out of their best, say don't play a ruck.

As Leigh was wont to comment- it's never as bad or as good as it seems.

 

[bungalow_bill]

Agree, the tigers had some very good players out and in Prestia and Edwards great pace and run to come back in which is an area they taught us a lesson in last night, they are such a bloody well drilled side, looks like they could play with blindfolds on, always had players where they needed to be. As things currently stand the only side I could see stopping back to back flags for them is West Coast in a Grand Final in Perth.

Looking at our age profile I still think our peak years wont start till 2022.

Tigers are like the AFL version of Lendl who played like a robot and made the most of his limited talent. Lions are the AFL version of McEnroe overflowing with natural talent.

 

[martinson]

I think it's important not to overreact to last night's loss . Personally I didn't give us much hope anyway and had we kicked straight it would've been a far better contest.

We need to work on our forward entries ,better personal will help. I'd throw Eagles in just to see whether his extra endeavour gives us something. A bit sick of the debate about our key forwards not giving us enough but you can't deny that stark difference between Richmond and us last night. Seeing we don't have a Lynch or Reiwoldt on our list we do the best with what we have.

 

[Lionwest]

Perhaps this is a question for those that were at the ground but did we just concede the corridor and push our numbers wide when we had the ball or did we try and create options in the middle/switching that the player with the ball just didn't take? It was difficult to see from the broadcast on its own.

As frustrating and disappointing last night was I believe this period of Stef being injured will be the making of Big O. I thought he took another good step forward in being our full time No 1 ruck. Also liked the Ah Chee cameo in the forward half. Small wins

 

[Macca225]

Andrews copped a fine for the tackle on lynch at the start of the 3rd quarter

Match Review: Star Tiger charged for Witherden whack

The Match Review has made its decision on star Tiger Tom Lynch

www.afl.com.au

 

[jackess]

MRO ****ing hates us

Andrews fined $1000 for a dangerous tackle on Lynch and Lynch fined $500 for slamming Witherdens head into the ground

 

[Pride of lions]

View attachment 927942

Surely worth a week

$500 fine,but Harris Andrews cops $1000 for a dangerous tackle on Lynch. Total farce,Christian should have been dumped years ago,totally Vic centric.

 

[Mighty Lions]

While I’m here, sorry for being negative in the thread during the game. I stand by my observations, but it’s not like I could do any better than the players, the game is not about me and I know the players are trying. I know I get over excited, can be too passionate and am easily frustrated. We all want the team to do well and I look forward to our next win.

If only my preview had come true

Like what The Zork said last night....please.

 

[snooplions]

MRO ******* hates us

Andrews fined $1000 for a dangerous tackle on Lynch and Lynch fined $500 for slamming Witherdens head into the ground

Michael Christian has lost the plot. Just has absolutely no idea.

 

[Big Sauce 21]

Unlike Alistair Lynch's head, have you seen Tom Lynch's head, looks like a whining little b*tch and has been ever since he was running around with Sorrento Sharks. Nothing can change that.

Real college boy head. Private school flog melon

 

[Big Sauce 21]

The Tom Lynch non suspension... my god

High Contact, Intentional, Low Impact

It's always worth a week. How the **** is it not ?

 

[jackess]

If the umps just paid a free for the bullshit punching and slapping that went on before the start of each quarter it wouldn't have escalated to those 2 fines.

Don't know why the umps allow all that rubbish to go on.

 

[Back2Back2Back]

Tom Lynch, Richmond, has been charged with Misconduct against Alex Witherden, Brisbane Lions, during the first quarter of the Round 10 match between Richmond and the Brisbane Lions, played at Metricon Stadium on Tuesday August 4.


In summary he can accept a $500 sanction with an early plea.

Based on the available evidence, the incident was assessed as Misconduct. The incident was classified as a $750 sanction as a first offence. The player can accept a $500 sanction with an early plea.

Harris Andrews, Brisbane Lions, has been charged with Rough Conduct (Dangerous Tackle) against Tom Lynch, Richmond, during the third quarter of the Round 10 match between Richmond and the Brisbane Lions, played at Metricon Stadium on Tuesday August 4.

In summary he can accept a $1000 sanction with an early plea.

Based on the available evidence, the incident was assessed as Careless Conduct, Low Impact and High Contact. The incident was classified as a $1500 sanction as a first offence. The player can accept a $1000 sanction with an early plea.

Now I expected Lynch would get a fine, was expecting $1000 though - $500 is a joke. But that's after the scrutiny of having it tweeted and on the front page of AFL.com.au, numerous news articles...

How the hell does Andrews then get double the fine for a tackle that had zero uproar at all???

 

[Bucking Beads]

Really disappointing result last night. We will need to get over this mental hurdle against Richmond and fix our goal kicking issues.

 

[Lionwest]

If the umps just paid a free for the bullshit punching and slapping that went on before the start of each quarter it wouldn't have escalated to those 2 fines.

Don't know why the umps allow all that rubbish to go on.

There was a replay from another camera angle of the Lynch/Witho incident. The Umpire was in the foreground and looking towards Lynch. How did he not pay a free kick for the high contact!?!?

 

[martinson]

If the umps just paid a free for the bullshit punching and slapping that went on before the start of each quarter it wouldn't have escalated to those 2 fines.

Don't know why the umps allow all that rubbish to go on.

We were saying the same thing at the start.

They weren't jostles ,they were direct punches to the upper chest and midriff.

Clear as day .

There's 3 umps out there ,do they need a directive from the AFL to put some control into the game ?

 

[Back2Back2Back]

There was a replay from another camera angle of the Lynch/Witho incident. The Umpire was in the foreground and looking towards Lynch. How did he not pay a free kick for the high contact!?!?

The club really needs to send a please explain to the AFL about why their umpires are failing to protect players. This is a bigger issue than Clarkson's sooking IMO. This isn't a change to a rule interpretation. This is a simple duty of care they are failing to uphold now. Big difference.

 

[jackess]

We were saying the same thing at the start.

They weren't jostles ,they were direct punches to the upper chest and midriff.

Clear as day .

There's 3 umps out there ,do they need a directive from the AFL to put some control into the game ?

A few hitting high too. It's just pointless. Pay a free and it won't happen again.