Game Day Round 23 2015 - Brisbane Lions V Western Bulldogs

[boydogs]

Don't take much from that, bruise free footy at its finest. One team leaving it all out there, one with bigger fish to fry

I am concerned that Roughead is starting to remind me of Andrejs Everitt

[GVGjr]

I haven't seen the game yet but will tonight so the only comments I can currently make is around the loss itself.
To be very honest I really don't like hearing and reading comments like it was a nothing game and that we were inexperienced side etc to explain why we were beaten by a bottom of the ladder side especially after a dominate scoreboard in the first quarter.

We have come too far this year simply accept results like this and unless we seriously took the foot off the pedal once the Crows result was known we should be demanding more from the club and players. Going on the scoreline we had our chances in the last quarter.

Whatever way we want to look at this we gave up the chance to control our own destiny and could have easily been off to Adelaide next week.

[Bulldog4life]

I haven't seen the game yet but will tonight so the only comments I can currently make is around the loss itself.
To be very honest I really don't like hearing and reading comments like it was a nothing game and that we were inexperienced side etc to explain why we were beaten by a bottom of the ladder side especially after a dominate scoreboard in the first quarter.

We have come too far this year simply accept results like this and unless we seriously took the foot off the pedal once the Crows result was known we should be demanding more from the club and players. Going on the scoreline we had our chances in the last quarter.

Whatever way we want to look at this we gave up the chance to control our own destiny and could have easily been off to Adelaide next week.

Judging by how Bevo has treated other loses this year I'm sure he is not going to dwell any more on this game
All the Club's energy will be on next week
This game will be quickly forgotten

[GVGjr]

Judging by how Bevo has treated other loses this year I'm sure he is not going to dwell any more on this game
All the Club's energy will be on next week
This game will be quickly forgotten

Lets see if the media lets us off the hook. I didn't expect Bevo to be too fussed but I think our supporters should be leaning towards the disappointed side.

[Bulldog4life]

Lets see if the media lets us off the hook. I didn't expect Bevo to be too fussed but I think our supporters should be leaning towards the disappointed side.

Can only talk for myself GVGjr but I have forgotten the game already:)
Onwards and upwards to next week

[The Underdog]

Lets see if the media lets us off the hook. I didn't expect Bevo to be too fussed but I think our supporters should be leaning towards the disappointed side.

I'm there. It's going to take me a few days to get myself excited about this week after that bucket of crap.

[GVGjr]

Can only talk for myself GVGjr but I have forgotten the game already:)
Onwards and upwards to next week

I'll probably be the same once I've watched the game ;)

[jeemak]

How good was Daniel's goal by the way?

Audacious little so and so, with his outside of the boot eight metre kick, run, receive and finish around the corner at full bore.

Outstanding.

[boydogs]

Unless we seriously took the foot off the pedal once the Crows result was known we should be demanding more from the club and players

We did it easy in the 1st quarter and got 5 goals up without even trying thanks to skill errors from Brisbane. From there I think we just expected it would happen for us and started thinking about next week. Brisbane got their tails up and were a much better side from there on out

Overall our performance was very much one of a side with bigger fish to fry

[always right]

Disappointing as we clearly just went through the motions. No desperation, no pressure on the ball carrier and the result was a high scoring shoutout. Only concern I have out of the game is the bad corkie to Crameri and the niggling shoulder injury to Redpath.

[Eastdog]

Dissapointing not to win today obviously and as AR said we really were going through the motions. At least we didn't rest half a team like North Melbourne and Fremantle have. It was important still for top players get a run today and not be rested. Wood has been great this year and he stood out for me as well and Stringer and Bonts.

[Mantis]

Disappointing as we clearly just went through the motions. No desperation, no pressure on the ball carrier and the result was a high scoring shoutout. Only concern I have out of the game is the bad corkie to Crameri and the niggling shoulder injury to Redpath.

Dickson also went off after a heavy collision with Merrett.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Mate, what were your thoughts watching things up close? Would really like to hear how you thought we structured up and how why we were so exposed.
It was a weird game to watch Jeemak, i started the first half high up behind the goals we kicked to in the first. From that vantage point our shape looked well defined and not dissimilar to how we've looked all year, except on the interior of our bubble shape many looked to be not paying enough attention to where the opposition were running to receive. Coupled with the dominance of Martin the Lions were able to transition quickly which left our defenders often exposed and you could see support defenders unable to get back and help out.
Also Hamling, Cordy and Fletcher all decided they were going to roll the dice and instead of trying to spoil, tried to outmark their opponents and got caught out.
But for poor ball use by Brisbane and accurate goalkicking by us we looked very lucky to end the first quarter with a 5 goal lead.
For the second half we stood right next to our dugout. I've not sat there before so don't know how it normally is, but i was surprised how quiet and non communicative the players are during the game. They really looked flat and a bit dispassionate, even late when Caleb snatched back the lead late. The only guy who showed any animation was Cordy upon being benched each time he made a mistake. He was very angry with himself.

Our setup at stoppages seemed off too and unlike how we normally play. Many times I was surprised by the latitude our onballers gave to the Lions opponents and you could see how if they got first use then they were always in enough space to get a pressure free clearance. Normally anyone playing on Wallis will have little time to get rid of the ball, but not today.
Dare i say it, we seemed to be trying not to go too hard?

[F'scary]

Somewhat a bizarre game, very high scoring and we lost by only 8 points with a number of our stars down on stats.

I was disappointed that some of our lesser lights didn't step up to the breach today. It was a perfect opportunity to stake a claim to be selected next week. I can't see why Grant or Honeychurch, for example, would want to be just cruising today.

Still, Brisbane played like a side that was desperate not to collect the wooden spoon. Good on them for the right attitude. They would have beaten a number of other sides by 10 goals or more on today's performance. We did well to be so close at final siren time.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Dickson also went off after a heavy collision with Merrett.

That was near where i was, and he was really holding the small of his back for some time after he got to the bench. He was in some discomfort.

[merantau]

Look, it was disappointing but not the end of the world. We were in front with 7 minutes to go WITHOUT our three most experienced players.
Next week is OUR time.

[Twodogs]

I haven't seen the game yet but will tonight so the only comments I can currently make is around the loss itself.
To be very honest I really don't like hearing and reading comments like it was a nothing game and that we were inexperienced side etc to explain why we were beaten by a bottom of the ladder side especially after a dominate scoreboard in the first quarter.

We have come too far this year simply accept results like this and unless we seriously took the foot off the pedal once the Crows result was known we should be demanding more from the club and players. Going on the scoreline we had our chances in the last quarter.

Whatever way we want to look at this we gave up the chance to control our own destiny and could have easily been off to Adelaide next week.


Most of our goals in the first quarter were on the back of fantastic defensive pressure keeping the ball in the forward 50 and then turning the ball over.

[The bulldog tragician]

Look, it was disappointing but not the end of the world. We were in front with 7 minutes to go WITHOUT our three most experienced players.
Next week is OUR time.

Agreed, and surely it is possible to be annoyed and disappointed with our performance, and at the same time understand that it must be extremely hard to continue to be up and have the same level of commitment in a game that meant nothing ultimately. I don't like people trying to make these viewpoints polar opposites, it's possible to have both. To be realistic about where we are at and what this game meant doesn't rule out wanting and expecting more, and the opposite is also true. It isn't making excuses, it's just reality. Of course we don't yet have the hard edged professionalism of a team like Hawthorn. That's what we aspire to and where we are heading. A slip doesn't wipe out all we've gained this year, it just says we must still keep working and improving.

[comrade]

Not going to bother trawling through this thread as I'm sure a few will probably see things different in the morning.

We played bruise free footy, full of self preservation. We played Picken and Wallis away from the middle for large chunks of the game.

The worst part was letting that grub Green get a few front running goals.

We lost. So what?

[Eastdog]

Decent sides like us especially sides very young are going to have very good and bad days and today wasn't the best day.

[G-Mo77]

Not going to bother trawling through this thread as I'm sure a few will probably see things different in the morning.

We played bruise free footy, full of self preservation. We played Picken and Wallis away from the middle for large chunks of the game.

The worst part was letting that grub Green get a few front running goals.

We lost. So what?

He's a little pimple isn't he. I was never a belter on the footy field but I'd line him up if I got the chance.

[The Underdog]

He's a little pimple isn't he. I was never a belter on the footy field but I'd line him up if I got the chance.

Modern Alan Ezard / Gary Moorcroft

[jeemak]

He's a little pimple isn't he. I was never a belter on the footy field but I'd line him up if I got the chance.

His scream into Cordy's face after he shepherded a goal through REALLY pissed me off. What a little wanker getting into the face of a second gamer, albeit one that struggled a bit.

He'll end his career as just another blip that people don't like and that will be it. It's seriously the best he can hope for.

[jeemak]

Modern Alan Ezard / Gary Moorcroft

Whilst these two were right shits, they are still premiership players. It's offensive to compare that little Brisvegas turd to them.

[Sedat]

Did our players really perform like they were playing in a nothing game?
-120 possessions, barely 50 tackles. Rightly or wrongly, we played with a decidedly lower level of intensity compared to our normal level of intensity. Was especially obvious in our midfield clearance work.

[Sedat]

We can say otherwise but reality is our form away from Etihad is poor overall.
I wasn't expecting our form even at Etihad to be anything other than ordinary this season.

If I was asked at the start of the season to sign off on a home elimination final, you couldn't get the contract over to me to sign off quickly enough.

[SonofScray]

At the ground after qtr time Brisbsne really changed the way they moved the footy and for whatever reason we just couldn't work through it. Maybe wouldn't? I felt like we were playing bruise free footy with a view of being healthy for next week. Brisbane were taking the ball very wide on the switch to drag our press across the ground before quickly going back inside up the middle. They were able to hit their target regularly and left numbers out that side to get some run. We didn't manage it well at all.

[ledge]

We did have our most experienced Back man out of the team I'm not worried at all.
One player who had played 100 games

[jazzadogs]

Since I moved away from Australia at the end of May, this is the first game that I haven't set an alarm for. I just couldn't bring myself to wake up at 5am for a match that meant nothing. Seems the players had a similar feeling.

[F'scary]

Since I moved away from Australia at the end of May, this is the first game that I haven't set an alarm for. I just couldn't bring myself to wake up at 5am for a match that meant nothing. Seems the players had a similar feeling.

If that's the case with players (and the stats support this somewhat), we were lucky that Geelong won. Otherwise, the game next week would be at Adelaide, no? I listened on the radio (3AW) and got the impression from their experts that our players were probably aware that Geelong had sown the match up before our 3/4 time siren went.

Would have been interesting if Adelaide had won. Could our guys have turned on the gas to get across the line. Not sure.

[AndrewP6]

If that's the case with players (and the stats support this somewhat), we were lucky that Geelong won. Otherwise, the game next week would be at Adelaide, no? I listened on the radio (3AW) and got the impression from their experts that our players were probably aware that Geelong had sown the match up before our 3/4 time siren went.

Would have been interesting if Adelaide had won. Could our guys have turned on the gas to get across the line. Not sure.
Me either. I'm also not sure we're good enough to flirt with form like that.