Review Round 19, 2023 - Brisbane Lions vs. Geelong

[LionCub29]

Ah Chee was just magnificent, clearly bog.

 

[BuntonRules]

Joe probably should have been more selfish tonight inside fifty. Multiple times had a chance to snap a goal and decided to pass it off. Love the unselfishness but he’s also the big goal kicker and had every right to take those shots.

Every time he makes that choice, he does not have the hand speed to execute, gets shut down. Joe's decision making is not an assett.

 

[Pacman82]

Very solid game from Lincoln McCarthy tonight. Kicked a couple and managed a public relations coup by celebrating with a young fan over the fence. It is so great to have a small forward in our side who has the ability to regularly take contested marks. His ability in this regard make him the complete footballer.

Kicks a couple against the Cats everytime, you can set your watch to it.

 

[Mr Ripper]

Dour win over an out-of-sorts opposition. Jittery again, but at least steadied to a degree. Cal fab. Not sure where Chuck’s at. Tackling better this week. Joe-Dunks a quinella chance in the Merrett-Murray. Umpiring disgusting as ever.

 

[luthor]

Cal was magnificent.

Let's hope he get's a good run at it for the rest of the season without any more concussion issues or other injuries.

Hippy and Harris were great. Dunks is a rock and Lachie continues to do Lachie things. Centre bounce and clearance beast

Kiddy was exceptional, apart from one or two poor disposals Jack Payne must have done a lot right to keep Hawkins in his box. Loved it when the Hawk totally stuffed up his only realistic set shot at goal

Hugh continues to build nicely but does seem to fade a bit in the last quarters.

I would normally have given Joe a vote but he was too unselfish on three or more occasions , where the best option was for him to have a ping himself instead of trying to bring another player into a goals scoring position. Really , he is on a bit of a hiding to nothing.......have a go himself and miss and everyone is all over him. Dish it off and stuff it up and everyone is all over him.

Charlie's kicking looks to me to be lacking in penetration. Two shots fell well short and his only goal from 40 out right in front only just made the distance. His pace and acceleration has dropped off a bit too overr the last 4 or 5 games and I'm wondering if maybe he's carrying a foot or lower leg injury.

Got the W despite some last quarter palpitations but the most concerning moment of the night was Washcroft going down.

Please be kind footy Gods

Edit:

Umpiring soooo bad.

Totally inconsistent application of the rules of the game. It felt like they were really trying to give Geelong a leg up, especially in the last quarter. Cats frequently got away with throws, incorrect disposals and other misdemeanors, whist getting the rub of the green with a few really soft frees.

 

[Lace Out]

Strange times

 

[3KZ is Football]

Cal was magnificent.

Let's hope he get's a good run at it for the rest of the season without any more concussion issues or other injuries.

Hippy and Harris were great. Dunks is a rock and Lachie continues to do Lachie things. Centre bounce and clearance beast

Kiddy was exceptional, apart from one or two poor disposals Jack Payne must have done a lot right to keep Hawkins in his box. Loved it when the Hawk totally stuffed up his only realistic set shot at goal

Hugh continues to build nicely but does seem to fade a bit in the last quarters.

I would normally have given Joe a vote but he was too unselfish on three or more occasions , where the best option was for him to have a ping himself instead of trying to bring another player into a goals scoring position. Really , he is on a bit of a hiding to nothing.......have a go himself and miss and everyone is all over him. Dish it off and stuff it up and everyone is all over him.

Charlie's kicking looks to me to be lacking in penetration. Two shots fell well short and his only goal from 40 out right in front only just made the distance. His pace and acceleration has dropped off a bit too overr the last 4 or 5 games and I'm wondering if maybe he's carrying a foot or lower leg injury.

Got the W despite some last quarter palpitations but the most concerning moment of the night was Washcroft going down.

Please be kind footy Gods

Edit:

Umpiring soooo bad.

Totally inconsistent application of the rules of the game. It felt like they were really trying to give Geelong a leg up, especially in the last quarter. Cats frequently got away with throws, incorrect disposals and other misdemeanors, whist getting the rub of the green with a few really soft frees.

Outstanding summation. Incisive comment with regards to Charlie Cameron. He does appear to have lost penetration with his kicking and the general aggravation he is exuding at the minute may be frustration caused by carrying a bit of a ‘niggle’. Lester continues to do the heroic things in defense. His contested mark in the last quarter, under pressure and against one of the AFL’s leading aerialists in Cameron was sensational. McCarthy was potent and Wilmot, even though he looks a bit skittish at times, provided run, carry and an avenue out of defence.

 

[LongLion]

Gunstons best game for us today IMO

Yep, thought he had a balanced game

 

[LongLion]

Seriously, injecting McKenna and Wilmot and having the luxury of Kiddy as a roaming defender , with Lester showing form beyond whatever envisaged is a completely different look to what we've ever had since Fagan took over . With Payne and Andrews as keys and Starc as a tough back pocket this is a premiership level defence.

We know it doesn't often convert to that but this is as potent a defence as any in the game.

Gardiner had a solid game in the ressies which is a plus to have him waiting in the wings.

 

[T Rick]

Given the opposition and intensity of the game, was that the best game that Cal Ah Chee has ever played for us?

 

[mpal6]

Given the opposition and intensity of the game, was that the best game that Cal Ah Chee has ever played for us?

It was a nice touch for him to kick the winning goal for us too. Well deserved.

 

[lionshine]

Given the opposition and intensity of the game, was that the best game that Cal Ah Chee has ever played for us?

Absolutely. He has had a tough run with injury throughout his career, particularly early years with the Suns. Been slowly building in his time with us. Still only 25 and feel his best is now to come. Hoping he can stay injury free and blossom into an absolute gun for us. He doesn’t really have a weakness in his game, can play every area of the field, strong mark and tackler, above average pace and endurance, beautiful kick for goal, nice skills, surprisingly strong and very courageous. If he can put it all together on a consistent basis like last night he becomes a certified gun! Love him!

 

[lionshine]

Ah Chee spent a bit of time in the midfield last night. I wonder if he takes some of Ashcroft’s time in there? He has the skill set and ability to be a very good midfielder. The only thing that may cause the coaches to hesitate throwing him in there is how valuable he is playing as a utility at either end of the ground.

 

[Nunez]

Ah Chee spent a bit of time in the midfield last night. I wonder if he takes some of Ashcroft’s time in there? He has the skill set and ability to be a very good midfielder. The only thing that may cause the coaches to hesitate throwing him in there is how valuable he is playing as a utility at either end of the ground.

I think he'll be a pretty settled wing/forward moving forward.

He, Berry and Fletcher are a dynamic wing trio.

 

[Thomasno]

Lester’s contested mark under huge pressure in the last quarter was gold. Stood up, beat Cameron and set the example. Cameron was well held tonight. Two of his goals came from Lions passing it to him. Got to get those brain farts out of our game. Other than those two moments, our defence was awesome.

So now that both Lester and Gardiner have completely blanketed Jeremy Cameron in our last two games against Geelong… are we prepared to say that maybe he isn’t actually that good of a forward? No offence to Lester/Gardiner but neither are exactly world beater KPD types

 

[lionshine]

I think he'll be a pretty settled wing/forward moving forward.

He, Berry and Fletcher are a dynamic wing trio.

Yep agree Nunez!

Also, I’m very sad about Ashcroft guys Hoping for the best

 

[Thomasno]

RE Ashcroft - as others have said you can fairly reliably diagnose an ACL tear with clinical examination. Couple of things I noticed which give me a little bit of hope:

No ice during/after the game for one, and while ACLs don’t generally need ice if there’s any suspected damage they usually ice it anyway just in case for swelling. Gawn had ice on his knee at the start of the year, and I remember Hipwood having his knee iced when he did his ACL too.

The other thing is that Ashcroft himself didn’t look too concerned. If the doc had told him “we’re worried it’s an ACL”, I really doubt he would've looked as up and about as he was after the game, seemed business as usual to him.

Anxious wait till Tuesday still

 

[mpal6]

Seriously, injecting McKenna and Wilmot and having the luxury of Kiddy as a roaming defender , with Lester showing form beyond whatever envisaged is a completely different look to what we've ever had since Fagan took over . With Payne and Andrews as keys and Starc as a tough back pocket this is a premiership level defence.

We know it doesn't often convert to that but this is as potent a defence as any in the game.

Rich has become an after thought these days. Changing of guard I guess.

 

[mpal6]

I know Froggy's on the chopping block with some people despite the way he's played of recent weeks.

I've always had doubts but geez he stood up under pressure tonight and when he knew we were done in the contest had no hesitation in giving away the free in case the ump missed it.

Big O did that too against Dangerfield. Pretty smart whoever is teaching this play to the team.

 

[DERRINALPHIL]

So now that both Lester and Gardiner have completely blanketed Jeremy Cameron in our last two games against Geelong… are we prepared to say that maybe he isn’t actually that good of a forward? No offence to Lester/Gardiner but neither are exactly world beater KPD types

Make sure 3KZ doesn't over hear you saying that.

 

[Nunez]

I hope after people let it ruminate, they appreciate just how good our defensive pressure and effort was that game. Even in the fourth, you can only imagine what was going through the players heads. "Can't let last week happen again!" etc - it would bring nerves and may make you second guess what you're doing.

Then Ashcroft goes down with what looks to be a suspected ACL.

That is a LOT for any player, let alone the team collectively. While we didn't win the last quarter, we stemmed the flow of their momentum and in that last 5 mins, did not concede a shot at goal outside of Zorkos dumb**** abuse to the umpire.

I guarantee the next time we're in that situation, we'll do it even better again. The important thing is, this team CAN do it, have shown they can and will continue to improve.

 

[martinson]

RE Ashcroft - as others have said you can fairly reliably diagnose an ACL tear with clinical examination. Couple of things I noticed which give me a little bit of hope:

No ice during/after the game for one, and while ACLs don’t generally need ice if there’s any suspected damage they usually ice it anyway just in case for swelling. Gawn had ice on his knee at the start of the year, and I remember Hipwood having his knee iced when he did his ACL too.

The other thing is that Ashcroft himself didn’t look too concerned. If the doc had told him “we’re worried it’s an ACL”, I really doubt he would've looked as up and about as he was after the game, seemed business as usual to him.

Anxious wait till Tuesday still

Yes. We can speculate all we like but until we get the scans nothing's certain. Doesn't look good but you never know.

They knew internally that Ah Chee had the capacity to do so much more than the defensive roles he'd always been given , I think the plan was to get around to it this year but he kept getting injured.

Cam's slipped down the pecking order a bit and getting him more involved and his numbers up would be a big boost for us in these last few games

 

[Milux]

I don't think we have ever used the ball so poorly and still won. Clearance numbers phenomenal. But we couldn't hit the side of a barn. Ugly, ugly win.

 

[dlanod]

push in the backs

I thought that was going to be the rule of the day in the first half -they were there but not normally paid- but there were some massive shoves later that were let go and the only thing I could notice was the jumper colours involved.

 

[mpal6]

I hope after people let it ruminate, they appreciate just how good our defensive pressure and effort was that game. Even in the fourth, you can only imagine what was going through the players heads. "Can't let last week happen again!" etc - it would bring nerves and may make you second guess what you're doing.

Then Ashcroft goes down with what looks to be a suspected ACL.

That is a LOT for any player, let alone the team collectively. While we didn't win the last quarter, we stemmed the flow of their momentum and in that last 5 mins, did not concede a shot at goal outside of Zorkos dumb* abuse to the umpire.

I guarantee the next time we're in that situation, we'll do it even better again. The important thing is, this team CAN do it, have shown they can and will continue to improve.

Dunkley was like a monster when tackling in that 4th quarter. Just watching it you can see how hard he went on tackles, set the tone in a big way for the rest. He was the missing piece against Demons too.

Gunston was really good yesterday. I think Geelong didn't pay too much attention to him, but he took full advantage of it becoming that loose player in wing to mark the D50 kick out. Good to see him pick up additional roles than feel all the pressure about kicking goals.