Jordan Lewis - a retrospective

[picket fence 17,137]

5 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Yes

Emphatically YES

[mo64 5,874]

I'm pretty sure that Max mentioned in a podcast that he sort Jordan Lewis' advice in the week leading up to the Grand Final.

Whilst Daniel Cross was the ultimate pro, and set training standards during his time at the club, Jordan Lewis would have had a greater impact on our premiership team.

[jnrmac 20,058]

1 hour ago, BoBo said:

Does anybody know of or remember anything other Dees players said about Lewis?

I just did a quick google search and I can’t find much on what they thought.

I’m not implying anything here, would genuinely like to know what the players had/have to say about Lewis.

My recollection is that they used to hang off every word he said..

He was a superstar with 4 flags. They had never played up close with someone like that before.

[Ethan Tremblay 30,856]

Meh. Present and the future. 

Edited March 30, 2022 by Ethan Tremblay

[rpfc 28,381]

Jordan doesn’t wax lyrical about this when prodded by Garry Lyon and other Fox people that know - but he had the ear of Oliver and Petracca and Gawn long after he retired and even came down to the club in the pre-season ahead of 2021. He considers himself someone with a split allegiance which is simply stunning when you consider what he achieved at the Hawks.

He was better than people remember and the people that matter got a lot out of him.

[jayceebee31 760]

6 hours ago, Dee Dee said:

I’d put Daniel Cross in the same category: not a premiership player but came to the club with a very professional attitude and IMHO greatly helped revive our fortunes.

Agree totally.

[BAMF 4,347]

5 hours ago, DeeSpencer said:

I'm trying to stick to a resolution to be a bit nicer since the premiership but so far in this thread there's 2 posts that strike me as being based in actual reality and then a whole lot of over the top praise.

Why not just post your opinion all the time? You used to be the poster I tended to agree with the most about a decade ago. I have found that I disagree with you a lot of the time nowadays, but I will still always read your posts and take on what you have said.

It's Demonland. Just post what you are thinking and try not to overthink the responses that come your way.

Edit: by the way. You are wrong on this one! 

Edited March 30, 2022 by BAMF

[Little Goffy 14,520]

4 hours ago, bing181 said:

Also, though perhaps in a lesser measure, Bernie Vince. I think people forget how lacking we were for senior players of any kind of quality across that period.

For sure. I would say the only reason he isn't mentioned here is that there is no debate to be had! B&F, endless smiles, showed a way to be successful and professional without being a robot. Highly valuable and I hope I'm sure he had fun celebrating the premiership!

[Deefiant 441]

3 hours ago, BoBo said:

Does anybody know of or remember anything other Dees players said about Lewis?

I just did a quick google search and I can’t find much on what they thought.

I’m not implying anything here, would genuinely like to know what the players had/have to say about Lewis.

Brayshaw said a lot of nice things about how he guided the team on inside Melbourne back in 2018

[Lucifers Hero 39,732]

In addition to his on-field work there were some great off-field things.  Two I vividly recall:

1.  Immediately after we beat Geelong in the 2018 Elim final, when the player excitement would have been right up there, he took them aside with no coaches and no staff present and told them 'you've achieved nothing yet'. They went on to beat his Hawks in the next final only to fall in the Prelim.  In 2021 they got it!!.

2.  He helped instill in the players a sense of selflessness, in an off-field sense, by saying the Hawks were successful because players forfeited the big $ for the ultimate prize.  The signing of our star players last year is testament that they were paying attention.

Regarding what the players thought.  I doubt the club would have kept him as a (part-time) development coach if players weren't happy with him.  Not sure if he is still.

Edited March 30, 2022 by Lucifers Hero

[Deemania since 56 6,634]

18 hours ago, DeeZone said:

Jordon Lewis knew what it would take to become a Champion team, he and his former teammates had already achieved the ultimate goal on four occasions, he chose us and our young champions were like sponges soaking up Jordons knowledge and work ethics. Yes Jordon Lewis was worth every cent.!!!

Fully agree. For some time now, I have often wondered (and hoped) that Lewis would '... join/have more to do with...' the Dees in the coaching/motivating mode, as a complement to the Goodwin-Yze-Chocko-specialist arrangements due to the recency of his experience and its success, including his great communications skills at the player level. I am not sure if this is overload, too crowded, unnecessarily top-heavy, or just plainly a waste of time but I do hold his knowledge and communications in very high regard. Lewis, as a footballer, so often displayed that 'killer' and unexpected flair in the crunches; that is something we could always benefit from - an adjunct to good form, execution and intent.

[Guest]

On 3/30/2022 at 7:54 PM, rpfc said:

 He considers himself someone with a split allegiance which is simply stunning when you consider what he achieved at the Hawks.

Wow.

If that is so, that is absolutely incredible. 

While my biased lens remembers Lewis in his time as a Demon, it makes total sense why pretty much everyone else remembers him as a 4 time premiership winning player at Hawthorn. I would never begrudge Jordie or Crossy if they identified with the Doggies or Hawks more so than us after they retired. However, I remember reading an article in the Age where Crossy basically said it was going to be hard for him to choose a GF team last year as while he did play with the Dogs a lot longer, the bulk of the blokes who took the field on our side had been at the club when he was there.

On the comment earlier about Crossy playing another year, I believe @dazzledavey36had a beer with him after a match when he had suited up for the Albury Tigers. Didn't he admit basically at the end of 2015 that he was cooked, Dazzle? Or am I thinking of someone else?

[Swooper1987 3,322]

Jordan was actually a pretty decent player in his first year with us (2017).  He placed equal third in the Bluey, tied with Jones and behind Oliver and Viney.  That was after being suspended for a couple of weeks as well.  His 2018 season was mixed but he was an important player in the first couple of finals, and by 2019 he was cooked.  Overall, he made a great contribution in his time at the Demons.

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

2019 was by far the worst year I’ve experienced as a Melbourne supporter but without it we don’t have Pickett, Jackson and Rivers.

Was it worth it? Absolutely.

 

[layzie 33,793]

Jordan's contribution to MFC will always be something that can't be measured in statistics or anything we were able to see with our eyes. Leading on the training track, bringing an attitude the resembled a winner and something we did not have.

For what it's worth I thought his first year at the club was actually pretty good on the field. And for most of 2018 (barring the finals) he gave us composure down back. There were some down games and no doubt the moment they happened someone on here would bring out the pension contract line but I'll always be thankful for his time with us. 

[Sydee 4,411]

On 4/9/2022 at 11:39 AM, Clint Bizkit said:

2019 was by far the worst year I’ve experienced as a Melbourne supporter but without it we don’t have Pickett, Jackson and Rivers.

Was it worth it? Absolutely.

 

Count yourself as a very lucky supporter 😀

[Old Bear 388]

I’ll get bagged for this but I’ll say it anyway 

Hated seeing him in a Melbourne Jumper

[The heart beats true 18,123]

I somehow seem to have caught a bit of Jordie speaking on various shows over the last few weeks. I find him knowledgeable without being sensationalistic.

I’ve noticed that his relationship with Melbourne seems very immediate. He’s nostalgic about Hawthorn - but there’s very, very few players left from that era, and he watched as many of his mates left (some of them in circumstances that we now know were less than ideal).

He has a lot of the older brother vibe with our players. I think they treated him with a bit of reverence in his time at the club and he appreciated it. He’s genuinely happy with where the clubs at, and he seems proud of his contribution - as he should be.

[Left Foot Snap 2,399]

3 hours ago, Old Bear said:

I’ll get bagged for this but I’ll say it anyway 

Hated seeing him in a Melbourne Jumper

I won't bag you but I don't agree. Thought it was strange at the start, but he wanted to come to us and he seemed to me give his all for us, accepting that age caught up with him. I thought he was all in with us and love hearing in the media now.

[Demons1858 1,760]

More mportantly he created hope and options for those that are follicly challenged

[rpfc 28,381]

10 hours ago, Old Bear said:

I’ll get bagged for this but I’ll say it anyway 

Hated seeing him in a Melbourne Jumper

I won’t bag you but a champion player chose us to come to, helped us overachieve, continued to help his former teammates years after he left as they won a flag, and refers to himself as a former Hawthorn and Melbourne player.

Perhaps it’s time to recollect differently.

[binman 42,885]

On 4/9/2022 at 11:39 AM, Clint Bizkit said:

2019 was by far the worst year I’ve experienced as a Melbourne supporter but without it we don’t have Pickett, Jackson and Rivers.

Was it worth it? Absolutely.

 

We also don't have the same ability to control the tempo of matches or play controlled football if not for 2019.

Or for that matter a defensive system as good as it is now.

Goody was super clever that season. And brave.

I'm positive we could have won a few more games that season if we played more in our 2018 style.

But goody took the opportunity the horror run with injuries gave us and introduced new methodologies, sytems and tweaks to the ballistic game style that got us to a preliminary in 2018, but was vulnerable to giving up mutiple goals in quick time and wasn't going to get us go the promised land.

Edited April 12, 2022 by binman

[binman 42,885]

11 hours ago, The heart beats true said:

I somehow seem to have caught a bit of Jordie speaking on various shows over the last few weeks. I find him knowledgeable without being sensationalistic.

Agree. 

I was actually just thinking that given fox use clueless dinasaurs like brerereton so much it weird how little air time they give Lewis.

I wonder if that is his choice?

[Wrecker46 2,966]

This is slightly off topic but Jordan Lewis is the only player who I have ever seen who could hook or slice it from set shots at goals depending on where he was positioned.

Most players have a natural shape but he shaped it whichever way he wanted to suit the angle he was on.

[David-Demon 563]

On 3/30/2022 at 5:48 AM, mo64 said:

I'm pretty sure that Max mentioned in a podcast that he sort Jordan Lewis' advice in the week leading up to the Grand Final.

Whilst Daniel Cross was the ultimate pro, and set training standards during his time at the club, Jordan Lewis would have had a greater impact on our premiership team.

Look I agree with your thoughts but add Daniel Cross brought professional to the MFC in 2014 that he alone developed, his first year at the D's but I feel Jordan Lewis with Grand Finals under his belt and a protege of No 23 - Alistair Clarkson probably just pips him. It was sad that we had to lose them due to the "Soft Cap" Salary reduction in 2021.