NAB Challenge 1 - Richmond v Melbourne

[Redleg 38,200]

The bigger picture.

Ah yes, the panorama.

[jumbo returns 6,598]

Maxwell's clash with Burbury was quite sickening.

Anyone think he could have pulled up??

[DemonOX 8,551]

Told my kids that the footy was on tomorrow night and their response was "great another arse kicking, hope we don't lose and would be nice to win for once".

This club has a lot of ground to make up especially to the younger supporters and hopefully it starts tomorrow.

[BarnDee 287]

it will

[DemonDave 1,078]

watching the game tonight really emphasises that we need to leave a good impression on prospective members/supporters by, if not winning, at least being competitive. if you were a lions supporter right now you'd be demoralised at the prospects for your season (regardless of circumstances and available personnel they have shown absolutely nothing)

[DemonOX 8,551]

watching the game tonight really emphasises that we need to leave a good impression on prospective members/supporters by, if not winning, at least being competitive. if you were a lions supporter right now you'd be demoralised at the prospects for your season (regardless of circumstances and available personnel they have shown absolutely nothing)

It actually reminded me of the way Melb played during last season tbh.

Must admit i am nervous about this season and at the same time a bit excited.

Edited February 13, 2014 by DemonOX

[dees189227 11,175]

Well im still in cricket and winter olympics mode. I really have no interest in the nab cup which is unusual for me. I think the last 5 years or so has just knocked the stuffing out of me. Also I didnt have the greatest experience last year with richmond supporters behind me.

But my sister in law got us free tickets so I guess im going. Im nervous as hell and the media will be on us and what we can produce. We cannot have a thrashing.

However im looking forward to seeing vince and barry and what they can produce.

[BarnDee 287]

hopefully you will get a nice surprise , I still think we will be better than ok , ok , enjoy

[dees189227 11,175]

Well I dont think we can do any worse than what brisbane dished up tonight

[old dee 23,143]

Well I dont think we can do any worse than what brisbane dished up tonight

Hells Bells we will need to be one hell of a lot better.

[BarnDee 287]

we can knock off the yellow striped , mob tomnite , well im confident , wait and see I guess

[CBDees 3,162]

I think Roos will leave Dunn back if that's where he see's him playing this year. He seems to want to create some stability in the playing group and has told each of them what is expected from them. If he is a core player which I'm assuming he is then he will stay back even if an argument could be made for this game to move him forward.

The bigger picture.

Georgiou has been recruited as a [tall] backman so perhaps he shouls be played there tomorrow night. I accept your comment about Dunn however he has been in the system a for quite a few years now and is equally suited to helping out forward or back. For tomorrow at least his presence would be more beneficial in the forward line and his playing there tomorrow evening should not upset Roos plans or the need for stability. Personally, i would have him as one of the interchange, being capable to assist either front or back.

[Whispering_Jack 28,099]

Well I dont think we can do any worse than what brisbane dished up tonight

I certainly hope we don't do worse because they were positively abysmal and I hope we're beyond that sort of performance under Roos. The easy excuse is that they were undermanned and had a dozen of their regulars missing through injury or being rested and it's a fair excuse for getting beaten at this time of year but not for the rubbish performance. It looked to me as though a number of players weren't prepared to give anything. Their skills and execution were poor, they didn't defend well or work hard enough to keep the ball forward and there didn't appear to be any game plan or tactics in place. Their young kids appeared overawed.

While I might sound harsh and I concede they didn't have anything near the best team on the ground, the game demonstrates that the Lions are below par in terms of depth and they will struggle. Collingwood also had a weak team in last night but showed a lot more and probably should have won the game.

Also disappointing was the small crowd. Probably more than at Centurion but only just.

[Satan 2,786]

I certainly hope we don't do worse because they were positively abysmal and I hope we're beyond that sort of performance under Roos. The easy excuse is that they were undermanned and had a dozen of their regulars missing through injury or being rested and it's a fair excuse for getting beaten at this time of year but not for the rubbish performance. It looked to me as though a number of players weren't prepared to give anything. Their skills and execution were poor, they didn't defend well or work hard enough to keep the ball forward and there didn't appear to be any game plan or tactics in place. Their young kids appeared overawed.

While I might sound harsh and I concede they didn't have anything near the best team on the ground, the game demonstrates that the Lions are below par in terms of depth and they will struggle. Collingwood also had a weak team in last night but showed a lot more and probably should have won the game.

Also disappointing was the small crowd. Probably more than at Centurion but only just.

interstate side, 7.10 start, school night

[DeeSpencer 23,569]

I certainly hope we don't do worse because they were positively abysmal and I hope we're beyond that sort of performance under Roos. The easy excuse is that they were undermanned and had a dozen of their regulars missing through injury or being rested and it's a fair excuse for getting beaten at this time of year but not for the rubbish performance. It looked to me as though a number of players weren't prepared to give anything. Their skills and execution were poor, they didn't defend well or work hard enough to keep the ball forward and there didn't appear to be any game plan or tactics in place. Their young kids appeared overawed.

While I might sound harsh and I concede they didn't have anything near the best team on the ground, the game demonstrates that the Lions are below par in terms of depth and they will struggle. Collingwood also had a weak team in last night but showed a lot more and probably should have won the game.

Also disappointing was the small crowd. Probably more than at Centurion but only just.

It looks bad for the lions but they can bounce back in the second nab challenge game and be on their way for a reasonable season. I don't think they had any real illusions about making top 8 anyway.

Also remember they had their starting ruck (Leueny), starting key forwards (Brown, Staker), starting key defenders (Merrett, Patfull), starting midfield (Rich, Redden, Rockliff, Moloney, Hanley) and a few other handy players - Adcock, McGrath, Paine out. They didn't just have a few missing but they have key structural pieces missing. I totally agree their depth has taken a huge hit. Longer, Karnezis, Polec, Docherty and Yeo probably all would've played tonight and potentially played well. Instead they replaced those guys with kids and Trent West as a back up ruck.

Either way to me I'd say if they have a good run with injuries they still have enough midfield and backline talent to be someone closer to the 8 than the bottom regardless of tonight. If they lose a few with injuries they may sink low enough for a bottom 4 run.

I don't want to sound too cocky but one thing about Brisbane is if they lose Brown and Staker (who's not really a key forward anyway) then the kids and mix of retried talent like McGuane and Lisle based on the evidence tonight might not be much better than our own depth battler in Pedersen.

[rjay 24,129]

Georgiou has been recruited as a [tall] backman so perhaps he shouls be played there tomorrow night. I accept your comment about Dunn however he has been in the system a for quite a few years now and is equally suited to helping out forward or back. For tomorrow at least his presence would be more beneficial in the forward line and his playing there tomorrow evening should not upset Roos plans or the need for stability. Personally, i would have him as one of the interchange, being capable to assist either front or back.

I think it may be more about Dunn's and other players need for stability. Roos and the other coaches seem to be very definite in their instructions to and requirements of the players, you don't just throw that out for a pre season game.

[Curry & Beer 5,444]

Well I dont think we can do any worse than what brisbane dished up tonight

hah yeah as sad as it is, the culture we have gotten accumstomed to is 'please can we not be the absolute worst'

hopefully those days are behind us, 20 goal loss for the lions to start the year that's gotta sting

[DeeSpencer 23,569]

If Dunn was a tall bloke capable of bringing the ball to the ground and filling the structure role of a Dawes or Hogan I'd be all for it but he's not anyway. Pedersen has already been swapped from defensive back up to forward for that reason. As Dunn is currently in line for a round 1 spot in the backline I'd leave him there. We will still have the 2 rucks in Spencer and King it just means Spencer does the major work load but that's out. And we still have 2 key forwards in Pedersen and Howe. Ok one is no good and the other in undersized but I don't see it as a massive issue.

If we are keen for a guy to spell Pedersen and fill in as a big body and do some hard leading up at the ball I'd actually prefer Tommy McDonald. In fact I would consider using him for a short 5 or 10 minute spurt at some stage just in case it's something that can be implemented in the season proper.

[Curry & Beer 5,444]

The easy excuse is that they were undermanned and had a dozen of their regulars missing through injury or being rested and it's a fair excuse for getting beaten at this time of year but not for the rubbish performance.

agree with that in spirit but let's be clear: the side we take in tomorrow is short about 8 players, but they largely occupy vital roles in the side. We will probably get smashed but no matter which way you spin it the missing personnel is signifigant

[rjay 24,129]

If Dunn was a tall bloke capable of bringing the ball to the ground and filling the structure role of a Dawes or Hogan I'd be all for it but he's not anyway. Pedersen has already been swapped from defensive back up to forward for that reason. As Dunn is currently in line for a round 1 spot in the backline I'd leave him there. We will still have the 2 rucks in Spencer and King it just means Spencer does the major work load but that's out. And we still have 2 key forwards in Pedersen and Howe. Ok one is no good and the other in undersized but I don't see it as a massive issue.

If we are keen for a guy to spell Pedersen and fill in as a big body and do some hard leading up at the ball I'd actually prefer Tommy McDonald. In fact I would consider using him for a short 5 or 10 minute spurt at some stage just in case it's something that can be implemented in the season proper.

Tommy Mc did come to the club as a CHF but I don't think we'll see him back there. Not a bad thought though.

[Curry & Beer 5,444]

Tommy Mc did come to the club as a CHF but I don't think we'll see him back there. Not a bad thought though.

disagree, in terms of sticking with his man and nullifying him with spoils - tmac is the real deal, it's what happens when the ball is in his hands that is an issue.. wouldn't like to see him at the other end of the ground.. one thing I constantly question is this: he is considered the best runner at the club alongside nicho, but so far we have seen almost zero application of this strength on gameday.. does that mean we are under-utilising him or does it mean that being a great runner means f all on gameday? should we be seeing him streaming out defence or what?

[Je Roos Salem 661]

Frawley does a fair bit of goalkicking at training. I think it's possible he might kick a few this year

[DeeSpencer 23,569]

disagree, in terms of sticking with his man and nullifying him with spoils - tmac is the real deal, it's what happens when the ball is in his hands that is an issue.. wouldn't like to see him at the other end of the ground.. one thing I constantly question is this: he is considered the best runner at the club alongside nicho, but so far we have seen almost zero application of this strength on gameday.. does that mean we are under-utilising him or does it mean that being a great runner means f all on gameday? should we be seeing him streaming out defence or what?

Have you been watching?

1. Ability to stick with the likes of N. Riewoldt

2. The fact he's never blown up and headed to the bench + that he plays huge minutes

3. Repeat efforts after a spoil he's quick to find his feet

4. He does run well out of defense and link up when he's around a contest

I've seen plenty of his run from the backline but we do need to see more I will agree on that. We also need to target him from kick outs as with a decent pair of hands and tall body plus the endurance he should be a target running to open space.

Just to play CHB as a young player requires a big tank. I think he can take it up a notch a tad but remember the more you run off your opponent the further it is to get back on to them if the ball is turned over. There's probably a limit of how useful top quality endurance is as a tall defender compared to a midfield but McDonald has been using his now he just has to step it up. He's a decent runner to get the ball and link up but needs to improve his skills so he trusts himself to do it more.

[DeeSpencer 23,569]

agree with that in spirit but let's be clear: the side we take in tomorrow is short about 8 players, but they largely occupy vital roles in the side. We will probably get smashed but no matter which way you spin it the missing personnel is signifigant

I don't know. It's not unreasonable to suggest at any stage during the season to be missing 1 key forward (Hogan), 1 ruck (Gawn), 1 midfielder (Viney), 1 best 22 defender (Garland) plus a surplus midfielder or flanker like Kent and Riley.

It is pretty bad to be missing all your back up rucks, ruck/forwards and key forwards so I suggest that will have some impact on the game but the backline and midfield are entitled to fall apart just because Garland and Viney are missing.

MIssing personnel will not be an excuse if we get blasted off the park like Brisbane. Mainly we should expect a lower than achievable forward 50 scoring rate and a few extra turnovers across half forward. But clearances (when Spencer is in), defensive structures and moving the ball from the backline can't be blamed on missing mainly big forwards and rucks.

[Little Goffy 12,857]

Grammar nazi, feminazi, econazi - they bring out my Godwinazi.

I'm just quoting this so it appears again.

Also, I've finally found my way to the AFL Global website, and since ALL internet connections in Vietnam are unlimited download, I'm gonna be watching whole games quite happily.

Set it up just in time to have a chuckle at Brisbane's new beginning. At least we know what our benchmark against Richmond is!

But seriously, I expect an... interesting... game for us tomorrow. Buggered if I know how it will pan out - I wouldn't expect even our new improved midfield to be able to keep up with the fast-breaking Richmond midfield, which after all is so perfectly attuned to the requirements of february. But I'm hoping for a respectable result and who knows, a bad day from Jack Riewoldt and a solid day from our other defenders on their half-arsed forwards, and Spencer going all team-first predator on Maric... we can prevent them from getting away from us and keep ourselves right in this game.

Pardon my optimism, I know it is unseemly.