Preview Round 18 - Melbourne Demons vs Brisbane Lions • Friday 14 July 2023 • 7:50 PM • MCG

[SizeMatters]

I'm a huge Gunston fan and could see what value he would bring in pre-season and one of my posts outlining this was well received. With exception to one pathetic Lions board troll.

He has changed the way we enter inside 50 or at least the way the ball is delivered for him - and he is training and guiding our other forward line warriors. That is invaluable. However, we are still trying our hardest to ensure the opposition defence have the easiest of time when kicking to all our other forwards. Maybe the likes of Hipwood, Joe, Rayner aren't natural forwards. I hope Gunners can guide those lost souls.

However, the positive with Gunners there did come some negatives. He was spudding it up big time this year so hopefully he can take some confidence out of beating up little brother and carry this form to the end of the season. Having a fit and firing Gunston would go a long long way to making it dep into finals. He's just so composed.

 

[Nunez]

That is one hell of a training block from Jack to go from a liability to elite re transition in a month.. maybe he was training with Harry Sharp during his sabbatical.

It has literally been one of his best attributes his whole career.

People also underestimate what losing a parent you're close to could have on your mental health and application. It sounds like that month off did him good in more ways than one. If he can keep that up, we'll have a genuine asset on our hands.

 

[Nathan Barley]

I'm a huge Gunston fan and could see what value he would bring in pre-season and one of my posts outlining this was well received. With exception to one pathetic Lions board troll.

He has changed the way we enter inside 50 or at least the way the ball is delivered for him - and he is training and guiding our other forward line warriors. That is invaluable. However, we are still trying our hardest to ensure the opposition defence have the easiest of time when kicking to all our other forwards. Maybe the likes of Hipwood, Joe, Rayner aren't natural forwards. I hope Gunners can guide those lost souls.

However, the positive with Gunners there did come some negatives. He was spudding it up big time this year so hopefully he can take some confidence out of beating up little brother and carry this form to the end of the season. Having a fit and firing Gunston would go a long long way to making it dep into finals. He's just so composed.

So you called Gunston bringing value to the team as did most?

Gunston has changed the way we have entered forward 50 just for himself and the other aren't catching on?

But Gunston has been shit all season until we played the worst team in the AFL in recent history?

 

[M Malice]

It has literally been one of his best attributes his whole career.

People also underestimate what losing a parent you're close to could have on your mental health and application. It sounds like that month off did him good in more ways than one. If he can keep that up, we'll have a genuine asset on our hands.

No doubt the best version of Jack Gunston would be a tremendous asset and a lock in our side, I am not convinced on 1 game against one of the worst sides in AFL history that his ability to chase is at the level we require for our defensive game plan to be effective.

Next 2 games against the Demons and Cats will tell the story, I hope he has 2 great defensive games.

 

[SizeMatters]

So you called Gunston bringing value to the team as did most?

Gunston has changed the way we have entered forward 50 just for himself and the other aren't catching on?

But Gunston has been s**t all season until we played the worst team in the AFL in recent history?

shoo away fly. go dig up 6 month old posts again so you can "laugh" emoji at them like some high schooler would. Gosh you're annoying.

 

[BuntonRules]

I reckon the big improvement is between the ears. No more cruise into retirement while kicking a few goals. More heck - I gotta take this seriously.

 

[Section 5]

Gunston heat map v Eagles
Hopefully we see something similar for the Demons game.
Image from dfsaustralia

 

[martinson]

I've been one of Gunners biggest critics , if not the biggest , being a bit miffed that we ever signed him up

But I'm quite prepared to eat humble pie if I got it totally wrong.

Personally I don't see that he changed anything at all in our forward set up , nor did he contribute much at all .

But he looked fitter and more mobile on Saturday and he's obviously applied himself very diligently to his rehab ,he's been a great player so his ego has taken a hit ,and I take Nunez's point about his dad dying which was devastating for him.

It'd be great if he could bring something like that form against the better teams. I'm happy for him to have that chance. I remain to be convinced but still happy that he could be useful for us. At least he didn't throw in the towel and came back with renewed enthusiasm so full credit to him for that.

 

[martinson]

Re changes for this week I think we need to see whether Dunks or Bez. come up before trying to work out what ifs.

I'd really prefer to get Ah Chee in against Melbourne in our forward half but ain't gunna happen unless others don't come up.

McCarthy will come back in for starters.

 

[Thomasno]

Fletcher will be dropped and rightly so, we have had a look and will be a good player but not best 22 at this point. Dev Rob is our 23rd 24th or 25th best player and that’s OK but no way he plays over Zorko. Would love Cal to come in but realistically unlikely. Yeah Gunston kicked 6, 3 of them on Jayden Hunt

5

Jayden Hunt

Age

29

Ht

188cm

Wt

82kg

Pos.

D/M

Career

Season

Last 5

D

5.3

1star

K

3.3

1star

HB

2.0

2star

M

1.7

2star

T

2.3

4star

MG

78.7

1star

D

5.3

1star

K

3.3

1star

HB

2.0

1star

M

1.7

2star

T

2.3

3star

MG

78.7

1star

D

5.3

2star

K

3.3

2star

HB

2.0

2star

M

1.7

2star

T

2.3

4star

MG

78.7

2star

who is a borderline AFL wingman so suggest no one gets too carried away. One good performance for the year against a useless team hardly suggests he has turned the corner. Get a feeling we will be suggesting he needs to be dropped this time next week. Leave Fort out- Joe is a good enough back up. Easiest decision is Madden out- he not going to make it.

Wholly disagree on Fletcher, and not sure why you think he’s not best 22. If it’s because “he doesn’t get much of the ball”, that’s unfortunately by design because he primarily plays on the fat wing. I’ve not really seen him put a foot wrong yet, and provides us with a good amount of speed and run.

 

[Thomasno]

Article on Gunston

'Another dimension': Rejuvenated forward boosts Lions' mix

After an impressive return, Jack Gunston is eager to help the Lions' strong forward line improve even further

www.afl.com.au

Shows the benefit of the training block - to be fair to Fagan he looked a lot better than i thought he would

And also again like Lyons begs the question - if he could barely train for that long - why wait so long to give him this block? Still not proactive as a club re our line-up but at least we didn't wait until round 23 this time

Sometimes you back the old blokes in to come good because they’ve been in the system for so long, it’s why senior players often start preseason much later than the younger guys.

It hadn’t really been an issue for us until we started losing games because of it, so out went the old blokes.

 

[Thomasno]

On SEN this morning Nathan Buckley was talking about Chris Fagan and how he perceives his coaching philosophy... in his opinion >

1- He has a long term outlook.
2- We don't vary our playing style to suit a particular opponent.
3- He has a style that he likes and they are just trying to refine it, improve it and trust in it.

He was very complimentary of Fagan and thinks the flag is a race in 3, Port, Pies, Lions.

On Number 2, ironic that Buckley ignored the fact that we did just that to beat his beloved magpies

 

[Thomasno]

For me the goals didn't matter. What gives me faith in Jack was his running capacity was night and day compared to earlier in the season. Someone was going to get a bag, but Jack's ability to get back to defence then back forward to be in scoring positions was elite. Also, I don't see Jack kicking some of the goals he did pre training block. Frankly, I don't think he could have with how stiff his back is.

I was sceptical but had only heard great things about his training block. I think the proof was in the performance and expect he will be able to back it up.

This is where I sit. Nobody was asking for him to kick a bag every week (although it would be nice).

But his fitness was out of sight last week compared to before, the man was rushing centre bounces from the forward 50 like an old fashioned CHF

 

[jonnobackpocket]

Wholly disagree on Fletcher, and not sure why you think he’s not best 22. If it’s because “he doesn’t get much of the ball”, that’s unfortunately by design because he primarily plays on the fat wing. I’ve not really seen him put a foot wrong yet, and provides us with a good amount of speed and run.

If he is best 22 he plays this week doesn’t he? Who you leaving out- Berry, Dunks or McCarthy to keep Fletcher in?

 

[Grasshopper17]

So many selection dilemmas... Feel like this guy

For my own sanity I need to break it down one decision at a time. But I got a real need for speed!

1. If none of the guys on our injured list are right to play, Madden still goes out, Wilmot goes back to half back and Sharp comes in on the wing. We need that running power on the MCG, after looking so slow there a month ago.
2. McCarthy comes in for Gunston. Our team defence looks so much better with only 2 tall forwards, and we also seemed more cohesive entering our forward line with that structure.
3. Lohmann comes into the starting 22 for Lyons. Dev Rob, Bailey and Rayner share Lyons' midfield time.
4. If Ah Chee recovers from his concussion, he comes into the starting 22 and plays a defensive role on Lever. Chances are that if we play the two talls, Lever probably goes to someone like Cal anyway. Don't worry about taking big contested marks, just bring the ball to ground and make him look cumbersome when it's on the floor. He replaces Lyons, with Dev Rob, Bailey and Rayner sharing that additional midfield time. Lohmann doesn't play if Ah Chee is available.
5. If Berry is available, he comes in for Sharp (who I brought in at #1). Changing on ball with McCluggage if we need a big body to go to Viney.
6. If Dunkley is available, he comes in for Zorko. I can't believe I'm saying this. Dunkley's inclusion allows Bailey and Rayner to spend more time forward, potentially allowing Rayner to tag team with Ah Chee on Lever.

Fort the sub in case we are made to look too small and slight, as opposed to too quick and evasive. That's the double edged sword with intentional mismatches... Ahead of time it's hard to predict whether they will be to our advantage or theirs. For example, if we're forced to bomb high and long going inside 50, it clearly favours Lever and May. But if we're able to enter quickly, with chaos, and get the ball on the ground, I think with that forward line we could do a lot of damage.

Either way, the future is here, let's embrace it folks!

 

[mpal6]

If we put the highly likely team together it'll look like

Starce Andrews Lester
McKenna Payne Coleman
Fletcher Dunkley Wilmot
Bailey Hipwood McCarthy
Gunston Daniher Cameron
RR: Oscar Neale McCluggage

Int: Zorko Rayner Ashcroft Fort
Sub: Robertson/Ah Chee

Berry may need another week, if not he'll replace Fletcher

If Dunkley needs another week, Lyons may need to come in

Fort to play instead of sub. I'd swap him with Deven or Ah Chee if it wasn't against Demons

 

[M Malice]

On Number 2, ironic that Buckley ignored the fact that we did just that to beat his beloved magpies

IMO Buckley was lauding Fagan re number 2, it is a confidence in our system that if we play it to a high level Fagan would back that system to beat anyone.... no doubt there would be minor tweaks to said game style with match ups and personnel during games and in season.

FWIW Buckley is one of the few footy pundits in the media that I don't mind.

 

[DERRINALPHIL]

We are eight to eight wins and losses playing outside of Queensland, an outside the eight record.

While selection is interesting this is the elephant in the room.

Can we beat good teams in Melbourne.

I discount, somewhat, our win last year in the finals against Melbourne as they had a quite poor second half of the season. Their only good win after the half way point was against us.

I have no idea how to change this and I suspect the coaches don't have either.

 

[schmuttt]

Respectfully you should win comfortably. Our form is awful, throw in our outs and we really should be 3/1 to win.

 

[M Malice]

Respectfully you should win comfortably. Our form is awful, throw in our outs and we really should be 3/1 to win.

You are very knowledgeable in footy matters, Lions by 81.

 

[Toffee Lion]

Tickets bought, off to see another MCG masterclass by the Lions

 

[rye]

Respectfully you should win comfortably. Our form is awful, throw in our outs and we really should be 3/1 to win.

the mcg staff keep putting those little guys from space jam that steal your talent into the brisbane changerooms so really it could be anyone's game

 

[Gadzorks]

I'm trying to like gunston in the team.

Yes I know he kicked six, but I'm still not convinced we have the right balance with him.

But for this week, maybe his history on the MCG might help settle the team.

 

[mpal6]

Respectfully you should win comfortably. Our form is awful, throw in our outs and we really should be 3/1 to win.

I'd agree wholeheartedly if it was Gabba.
MCG - we still have question marks over that one.

 

[Scubaveg]

Is Jake Lever

8

Jake Lever

Age

28

Ht

194cm

Wt

94kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

14.6

4star

K

9.7

4star

HB

4.9

4star

M

5.4

5star

T

1.3

3star

MG

242.0

4star

D

9.6

2star

K

6.5

3star

HB

3.1

2star

M

3.9

4star

T

1.3

2star

MG

145.4

3star

D

16.0

4star

K

11.0

4star

HB

5.0

4star

M

6.6

5star

T

1.6

4star

MG

189.8

4star

suspended?


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