dlanod
Moderator
- Sep 14, 2006
- 54,167
- 86,655
- AFL Club
- Brisbane Lions
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- GWS; CCMariners; NQCowboys; Ravens
- Moderator
- #1
Date - Sunday June 7
Time - 1:10pm AEST
Venue - Spotless Stadium
Preview by dlanod
I'm going to apologise in advance because I really don't think there's going to be a lot of good news in this preview so I will attempt to distract everyone in an obvious and transparent manner.
Our injury list has hit 20+.
Our reserves have gotten so low on bodies they're playing coaches, and we had only six senior listed players there last week, half of which were this year's draftees, and now we've copped at least another four injuries that have ruled players out (Rocky, C. Beams, Adcock and Aish) with Rich having a sore hip. At least Harwood isn't ruled out? And Hanley might come in?
Having said that, GWS looked decidedly ordinary on the weekend. Much like West Coast earlier in the year, it appeared to be them showing up expecting to win while the opposition turned up to play in possibly a season-defining match. It definitely was for West Coast, and it might be for the Doggies. Either way, we now get them on the rebound. When it rains it pours.
Our defence has been one area that's held up ok considering it was being held together by a 21 year old former rookie and two players drafted in the last two years. Now with one of those two out we're down to our last two real KPDs, with rookie options Beasley undersized and Bourke not showing much in the reserves by most accounts.
The issue? An AA and almost Coleman winning forward. A player who is currently looking likely to romp in the Rising Star despite being a key position forward, and having one of the best second years for a KPF since the other guy. And a third tall that's almost two metres tall and can take a grab. Can't kick straight, so let's hope for small mercies.
Best case might see Clarke on Cameron, Paparone on McCarthy and Andrews on Stewart. The McCarthy matchup seems the worst of the three since while he doesn't have the strength to dominate but he does have a great leap and always marks the ball at its high point, both of which have caused issues for Paps before.
With the relatively good news of our backline out of the way, time to visit the desert that is our forward line.
Our only choice key position player is a ruck who can't mark. Our forward line of Close, Freeman and McStay, with senior backup of Staker and McGuane, and Merrett as a pinch hitter? All sidelined. Our smalls are, relatively speaking, a shining light but without someone to bring the ball to ground consistently we are frequently exposed in the air.
We saw this a couple of weeks ago against Essendon, and now we're up against a team with three of the best intercept marks in Patfull, Haynes and Shaw. Davis should also come back into the team for Shaw. I suspect this is where, once again, we'll fall apart due to ineffective forward entries.
Due to these turnovers we're often on the back foot and the Giants are one of the best at scoring from turnovers. The speed and class in their midfield means they can get the ball from one end of the field to the other very quickly, with the likes of Shiel and Coniglio having career years, and Ward, Treloar and Whitfield continuing their consistently good efforts. Griffen has been up and down as he's seemingly been parked in the forward line or kept quiet every second game. Unfortunately that was last week, so this week he'll be on fire.
The funny thing is that at full strength our midfield actually matches up fairly well on paper to the Giants. Martin, Beams, Rocky and Hanley is one of the best combos in the comp, and second stringers of Rich, Redden, Taylor and the many others that can rotate through is nice depth. It's just amazing to see how far those depths have been plumbed. If we were fully fit, I'd see a nice even game with that mid lineup and a fairly solid back three making up for a questionable forward line. However we're dealing in the real world here - the Giants have two best 22 and another three borderline players out. We're down nine or ten.
If we show up and things bounce our way like the first quarter against the Saints or some of the Essendon game I can see us making a game of it for at least a half. The Port game seems so long ago and almost a third of that team has been injured since then. Unfortunately I struggle to see how we can put together a full game with the shit sandwich the AFL gods have dealt us. I'm going to be at this game, for the first time the Lions have played at Spotless. I'm going to be in my Lions jumper. I fully expect to be leaving with a bad taste in my mouth and looking for a box to hide in.
Prediction:
Giants by 24, and that's my optimistic feeling.
Time - 1:10pm AEST
Venue - Spotless Stadium
Preview by dlanod
I'm going to apologise in advance because I really don't think there's going to be a lot of good news in this preview so I will attempt to distract everyone in an obvious and transparent manner.
Our injury list has hit 20+.
Our reserves have gotten so low on bodies they're playing coaches, and we had only six senior listed players there last week, half of which were this year's draftees, and now we've copped at least another four injuries that have ruled players out (Rocky, C. Beams, Adcock and Aish) with Rich having a sore hip. At least Harwood isn't ruled out? And Hanley might come in?
Having said that, GWS looked decidedly ordinary on the weekend. Much like West Coast earlier in the year, it appeared to be them showing up expecting to win while the opposition turned up to play in possibly a season-defining match. It definitely was for West Coast, and it might be for the Doggies. Either way, we now get them on the rebound. When it rains it pours.
Our defence has been one area that's held up ok considering it was being held together by a 21 year old former rookie and two players drafted in the last two years. Now with one of those two out we're down to our last two real KPDs, with rookie options Beasley undersized and Bourke not showing much in the reserves by most accounts.
The issue? An AA and almost Coleman winning forward. A player who is currently looking likely to romp in the Rising Star despite being a key position forward, and having one of the best second years for a KPF since the other guy. And a third tall that's almost two metres tall and can take a grab. Can't kick straight, so let's hope for small mercies.
Best case might see Clarke on Cameron, Paparone on McCarthy and Andrews on Stewart. The McCarthy matchup seems the worst of the three since while he doesn't have the strength to dominate but he does have a great leap and always marks the ball at its high point, both of which have caused issues for Paps before.
With the relatively good news of our backline out of the way, time to visit the desert that is our forward line.
Our only choice key position player is a ruck who can't mark. Our forward line of Close, Freeman and McStay, with senior backup of Staker and McGuane, and Merrett as a pinch hitter? All sidelined. Our smalls are, relatively speaking, a shining light but without someone to bring the ball to ground consistently we are frequently exposed in the air.
We saw this a couple of weeks ago against Essendon, and now we're up against a team with three of the best intercept marks in Patfull, Haynes and Shaw. Davis should also come back into the team for Shaw. I suspect this is where, once again, we'll fall apart due to ineffective forward entries.
Due to these turnovers we're often on the back foot and the Giants are one of the best at scoring from turnovers. The speed and class in their midfield means they can get the ball from one end of the field to the other very quickly, with the likes of Shiel and Coniglio having career years, and Ward, Treloar and Whitfield continuing their consistently good efforts. Griffen has been up and down as he's seemingly been parked in the forward line or kept quiet every second game. Unfortunately that was last week, so this week he'll be on fire.
The funny thing is that at full strength our midfield actually matches up fairly well on paper to the Giants. Martin, Beams, Rocky and Hanley is one of the best combos in the comp, and second stringers of Rich, Redden, Taylor and the many others that can rotate through is nice depth. It's just amazing to see how far those depths have been plumbed. If we were fully fit, I'd see a nice even game with that mid lineup and a fairly solid back three making up for a questionable forward line. However we're dealing in the real world here - the Giants have two best 22 and another three borderline players out. We're down nine or ten.
If we show up and things bounce our way like the first quarter against the Saints or some of the Essendon game I can see us making a game of it for at least a half. The Port game seems so long ago and almost a third of that team has been injured since then. Unfortunately I struggle to see how we can put together a full game with the shit sandwich the AFL gods have dealt us. I'm going to be at this game, for the first time the Lions have played at Spotless. I'm going to be in my Lions jumper. I fully expect to be leaving with a bad taste in my mouth and looking for a box to hide in.
Prediction:
Giants by 24, and that's my optimistic feeling.
