Review Round 9, 2020 - Brisbane Lions vs. Essendon

Who were your five best players against Essendon?


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Brisbane had a dream run by the umpires last night. Never seen that many soft free kicks in a game for us. I actually felt sorry for the Bomber players esp. in the 2nd quarter. Disgraceful effort from the umps.

Glad we got the win though. Ran on top of them, harder at the footy.

Don't think Lester will ever get another game with Witherden and Ainswerth playing like they did last night.

Ballenden - cheese joke from the commentator forgot who said it but was certainly an interesting comment. Penis jokes on TV.... hmmm
 

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Best we've played all season! The inclusions were all fantastic. And we started kicking straight 😁
Yes the ins went well. Ballenden showed that from next year and a bit more size he could be the 2nd ruck/forward option. Hopefully now the coaches realise Lester is not in best 22. Answerth/Witho and Payne should rotate depending on opposition. Confident Payne would do well at this level. I also d0n't see Adams when back in best 22.
Not sure if Witho/Answerth or any of the other young guys Hinge etc will be too enthused to hear Hodge say Birchall goes around again next year. Also Steph too old next year to go around. Time for a couple old players to hang up the boots after this year, because we have depth, and for short term gain, risk losing some of them, which will have an impact longer term.
 
It was great to have a good win but we still only fired for about half the game. That was all it took to win easily and given the next game is just a few days away, probably all we needed to do in the grander picture of this group of games.

We outplayed them at most contests and they were playing at a slow ponderous speed. If they were coached to do that it was an awful tactic given the size of their forward line. They were terrible but we clinically used their tactical weaknesses against them.

I think against Richmond we will need a bit of faster ball movement ourselves and particularly work on recovery from turnovers because that is where the Tigers hurt most teams. Our smaller defenders play an absolutely critical role to stop their run on turnovers.

I think we are in a phase of development where our systems need to stand up to personnel changes - five players came in but the systems still looked good. It is what Richmond have been very good at doing for the last few years. I think we have the depth to do it. Players, new or old, play their roles and we can beat Richmond but it will require a four quarter effort.

I can see Rayner getting to be a smarter player every game now. He doesn’t have to have 25 disposals to contribute and his midfield time is getting higher quality each game. He is making better decisions and becoming a reliable performer. It feels like he has learned how to stay in the game even when things aren’t really coming his way.

Jarryd Lyons’ game was excellent but he is the master of slipping under the radar. Neale does stuff that people notice. Lyons has an ability to stay near invisible but still contributes so much value to the team. While McCluggage was comparatively quiet he has an extraordinary ability to get out of trouble in congestion and clear the ball out of the contest.

Lachie Neale just about has the surest hands in close of any player I have seen. So clean and quick.

And Robbo in his 200th: he adds more to the team than just his footballing ability. There are dozens of guys in the comp that have his level of footballing ability and his level of athleticism. But Robbo is different. And better. He defines the level of courage and commitment and effort that Lions players can aspire to.
 
Yeah. He's currently a bit static as far as his career goes and doesn't seem to be improving like we would like and you can sense a lot of inner frustration with himself.

But I think we stick with him. CHF is the toughest position on the ground ,I wonder if we could afford to find a different role for him for parts of games just to ease the pressure.
He’s a 22 year old forward who has kicked 30, 37 and 35 goals in the last 3 seasons so I’m pretty happy if that’s considered static. Yes he hasn’t had the best year but god some supporters are prone to over reaction when it comes to a couple of our players.
 
So much for Cutler being given away for 'free' and was about to dominate for Essendon.

He hasn't changed much from his Brisbane playing days.

Unfortunately there is some element not quite there for Tom. He should be better than he is. It has always felt like he plays most of his games on autopilot. Never quite involved enough. Maybe it will come in time.
 

You can tell the commentator crew were watching tv screens and weren’t at the ground. Mitch copped a very decent in the back immediately before that and had a very reasonable argument for spitting the dummy. All they could do was laugh at the aftermath though, hardly any vision on why it happened in the first place.

You’d think if you have a hub up here then you could at least send some more commentators up too...

edit: speeling.
 
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My Footy almanac piece

I don’t like Essendon. When my kids were little we would sit with the Lions’ cheer squad when the Lions were playing in Melbourne. Only at the Essendon games would fluids be thrown down from the level above, and there were a few Essendon ferals that would come around every match and have a go at cheer squad members. Eventually security was tightened up and the problems disappeared.

However, last year when we played the Bombers we got comprehensively towelled up, with AMT playing some sublime footy. The Bombers were red hot in the first quarter, playing the best footy I saw all year. I actually enjoyed watching the match later in the week.

Last night’s match was an important match for both sides. The Bombers have a match in hand, lots of injuries and have had a good run with the draw. The Lions are in second place and have finally had some injuries. The Lions have the better squad which came starkly into view in the first quarter. Answerth, number 43 for the Lions, came into the side to play on AMT, number 43 for the Bombers and I immediately tried to think of a larger combined numbers playing on each other,

It was all one way traffic between the two as AMT was rarely sighted while Answerth had the ball on a string. This difference in squad depth was the story of the night. Witherden, in for his first game this year, had a night out and CEY, Skinner and Ballanden all contributed at times during the game. The Essendon ruckman Draper had an encouraging start to his AFL career but has a terrible haircut which I want to talk about.



A big issue in the AFL is haircuts. Boy I have seen some shockers but the young lads are cooped up and its much better they get a wicked haircut than get a permanent scar (tattoo). I want a haircut of the week on the AFL site along side mark and goal of the week. Should be easy to get a sponsor, etc. and I would call it the Doc Weildon award, in honour of that great Fitzroy character.



Brisbane opened up the match kicking three unanswered goals and then withstood some Essendon pressure until half time. In the second half the Lions kicked nine goals to zip and it appeared to me the Bombers injuries (Stringer and Heppal in particular) had left them without any players who could kick goals against the run of play.

Brisbane were miserly in defence, keeping Essendon to their lowest score for years. Witherden and Answerth will both feature in the coach’s award. Up forward Balladen and Skinner came in and seemed to fit. Hipwood had the fumbles again, missed a relatively easy shot at goal, nailed a snap forty yards out, from the boundary line and took two really tough pack marks only to find out they had both been touched off the boot. To add insult to injury, after one of those ‘marks’ he actually conceded a HTB free!

Real questions will be asked of Essendon and they need to respond quickly. A few more players back from injury is probably what they need most of all.

The Lions have shown some real depth in their list and those injured players might be a tad nervous. I’ve always thought a few injuries early in the season isn’t a problem as it forces some experimentation.



Derrinalphil’s On Baller Free Votes



3 Votes Answerth

2 Votes Witherden

1 Vote Andrews



ESSENDON 1.3 2.3 3.4 3.10 (28)
BRISBANE 5.3 5.5 10.6 14.7 (91)

GOALS
Essendon:
Smith 2, Parish
Brisbane: Cameron 4, Neale 2, Ellis-Yolmen, Ballenden, Hipwood, Lyons, McCarthy, Rayner, Skinner, Zorko

BEST
Essendon:
McGrath, Hurley, Ridley, Parish
Brisbane: Neale, Witherden, Berry, Zorko, Answerth, Cameron

PS. When will clubs realise they Have to tag Neale?
 
Not to be a Debby (apologies to all Debbys) but Ballenden and Skinner are a concern but early days and not sure there is the depth there that some here think. On the flip of that I was really impressed by Answerth and Witherden, great game by both and feel very confident with them back there.
Unfortunately I think Sam is a touch slow and probably lost some agility after three ACL's. I was so glad he scored a goal, but it does take time to get the pace of the game and has not played ressie matches lately as been emergency for most of the year, so maybe just needed time to adjust to the game. Ballenden just needs a bit more size and learn to use his frame. He will stay in the side for most of the year because of Stephs injury. I see him as permanent backup ruck/forward option next year and hope Steph does not get extended.
Been saying for a few weeks Lester not best 22 (nor Adams) and Witho and Answerth played well. Depending on the opposition such as Richmond, Carlton etc that play 3 talls Payne comes in, on some type of rotation basis. Our best 22 does not have to be a lock each week, it depends on the opposition.

We have to give the young guys more than 1 game, up until this year, commentators have been saying Hippy and Andrews still learning. So Skinner and Ballenden in this Tuesday. Payne should be in, possibly with Birchall rested. Witho and Answerth stay. Also opportunity against Dogs and especially North to give some of the young guys a chance. Not sure if we were very good or Bombers just awful. Couple umpiring decisions went against the Bombers, but overall a good % boost. Bring on Tuesday night!
 

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Ballenden is a much bettter option at Full Forward than McStay. Loved his strength in the air and enjoyed watching the players get around him when he marked strongly directly in front and then gave the goal to Charlie. On the down side, just rewatched the game and Hipwood was terrible. He is completely out of form. Also interesting to see Fagan giving him what appeared to be a bit of a “bake” in the third quarter. Based on last night a Ballenden / Skinner combination offers more than a McStay / Hipwood combo. Really looking forward to seeing how they go next week.
Answerth was great all night and Witherden played a very solid game. Oscar was sensational again and I loved his work around the ground. Charlie Cameron was deadly in attack, but how good was his run down tackle in the last quarter! Cam Rayner has also turned the corner and he looks comfortable and dangerous on the field. Lyons, Neale and Zorko were bulls all game and CEY has to be a lock for the rest of the year. Berry was strong and Bailey was solid. That was our best win this year.
Hardly surprising you’d be here to bag McStay but I figured you at least watches our games and realised he spends little to no time at full forward.
 
Bernie Quinlan ? Richard Osborne? Alastair Lynch?
I’d take any one of those, but who knows what Ballenden can become? We have seen what McStay has to offer as a forward and he has had multiple seasons to take his game to the next level and he hasn’t. Ballenden deserves a chance to make a career at Full Forward. It is in the club’s best interest to put games into him because I am positive his ceiling is much higher than McStays.
 
So much for Cutler being given away for 'free' and was about to dominate for Essendon.

He hasn't changed much from his Brisbane playing days.
Still hates doing the hard stuff and absolutely only loves running one way.
Watching Robbo and Clug along with many others bust their arses chasing in defence makes it much more noticeable.
 
Did anyone else hear (Carey I think) get asked a question about Brisbanes form and he said "oh well I haven't seen them every week".

Are commentators seriously not watching the bookies flag favourite every week? Surely that's a requirement of your job? How these guys keep their job completely baffles me sometimes.
I actually admired him for saying that rather than make up some BS like 95% of people would have. But I get your point
 
You can tell the commentator crew were watching tv screens and weren’t at the ground. Mitch copped a very decent in the back immediately before that and had a very reasonable argument for spotting the dummy. All they could do was laugh at the aftermath though, hardly any vision on why it happened in the first place.

You’d think if you have a hub up here then you could at least send some more commentators up too...
Subconscious bias. Annoys me that they highlighted and continually discussed bad decisions against the Bombers but not the Lions. Also, discussion about how poor the Essendon forward line was, but not wrapping the two inclusions. Quite incredible that these two were in the top five players on the field IMHO. All they said that we had played WC and Port of the top teams but didn't mention Geelong. Bruce barraking for the Bombers for the first three quarters until he jumped off a sinking ship.
 
Culter kicked two points so you tell he was an ex-Lion
Loved some of his early games with us but he demonstrated in this game why he is probably going to be one of the last few picked each week.
 
Great win. We should all be grateful, yet again, for the dominant performance the boys put on. Awesome for MRobbo #200.

I was watching Zorko really closely tonight, as I firmly believed he could get off the chain (with CEY & Berry playing more mid minutes). His foot is really affecting him. I reckon he’s @ 75% capacity max currently. There’s no affect on his one-pace running I.e running long, however, there is a definite & noticeable inability for him to sprint and hunt anywhere near his best. His zip & pressure is the hallmark of his game, and that was off,

On The Lions Roar, he admitted himself it was an injury that could only be resolved with an extended rest, by the start of next year. I love Zorko, in fact he would be in my top three of all time.

Given we are likely to contend in 2020, what are everyone’s thoughts regarding the risk v reward of playing DZ week in // week out? I‘m no medical expert, but IMO we’re basically saying another kid like Coleman or Cox @ 100% or Zorks @ 70%,
The Plantaris (which is now ruptured), was rubbing against Zorkos achilles tendon, causing tendonitis. So the problem causing it is gone, it just needs to heal. Tendonitis is one of those injuries that can actually react pretty well to an increased load rather than rest. So I don't think the staff are doing the wrong thing to see if it'll get better this way. But I agree if it doesn't get better soon he needs a month at least.
 
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The commentary team is an insult to the publics intelligence. BT should not be allowed anywhere near a microphone. He made it his job last night to critique every umpiring decision. I guarantee you had that game been played at the MCG on a Saturday arvo and the Lions were copping the bad decisions we wouldn't have had much out of the commentators.

I have no hesitation saying we got the rub of the green with umps last night but as Lions fans know thats a rare thing especially when we play in Melbourne.

Even Bruce who use to be a very good commentator has become a side kick to BT. Just call the game and stop the utter dribble.
 
I’d take any one of those, but who knows what Ballenden can become? We have seen what McStay has to offer as a forward and he has had multiple seasons to take his game to the next level and he hasn’t. Ballenden deserves a chance to make a career at Full Forward. It is in the club’s best interest to put games into him because I am positive his ceiling is much higher than McStays.
Think Ballenden and some of the young guys deserve a chance. Also think longer term Ballenden is our forward or at least forward/2nd ruck. I would keep Ballenden in, even after Mcstays suspension ends. Have to give him and some of the other young guys a chance for at least a few games as part of their development. Saw Witho and Answerth play well last night after being out of the team, they look hungry.
 
Skinner and Ballenden were ok last night. Won some footy. If they can have similar games against a team that actually applies some pressure in the midfield then they’ll start to pressure McStay and Hippy.

Skinner needs to tidy up his kicking and Ballenden his second efforts and bodywork.
 

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Review Round 9, 2020 - Brisbane Lions vs. Essendon

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