The Brisbane Lions Reserves responded to their 100-point loss to Redland in the best possible fashion by upsetting Aspley at Graham Road last Saturday.
Heading into the match, most expected the Hornets would prove too strong for the undermanned Lions side, which featured just 14 listed players and eight top-ups from the Hyundai Lions Academy.
But the young Lions rose to the challenge, and led at every change before running out 23-point winners – 15.13 (103) to 12.8 (80).
“When we played Aspley during the pre-season, they put on a real physical showing. So we looked to address that in our pre-match focus, and the boys responded,” Development Coach Matthew Francis told lions.com.au.
“They hit every target we wanted them to – from the number of tackles laid to contested balls won. The most exciting thing was that they were able to put Aspley under enormous pressure when they had the ball.
“Our young boys were up in their face at every opportunity, and it helped develop this perceived pressure that forced opposition turnovers because they were constantly expecting physical pressure.”
While a number of experience Lions players helped lead the way, Francis said the contribution from the Academy top-ups was just as valuable.
“We had eight top-ups from the Academy, most of who had returned from playing with Queensland in a representative game against the Calder Cannons TAC Cup side in Victoria last week, and they did a mighty job,” he said.
“One thing that’s really noticeable is that the Academy boys are starting to use the same language as our listed players out on the field, and are implementing our game plan.
“One of the beautiful things about Leppa is that we have this organisation of the ball when we have it and also when we don’t have it – and it’s 100% consistent across all levels of the Club. So everyone’s learning it and implementing it under different scenarios.
“All our reserves and senior players – and even the Academy – are practising the same thing, and although it might take some time to get used to, it’s not going to change. Eventually there won’t be any weak links in our structures because all our players will be well drilled.”
Please find below Matthew Francis’ appraisal on each of the listed Lions who played against Aspley last Saturday.
Ryan Harwood
| Ryan was brilliant in setting up our attack from defence. What was exceptionally pleasing from Ryan is that he put his head over the ball and won a couple of fierce ground level contests, which is exactly what we’re looking for. |
Jack Crisp | He was very influential at stoppages. His clearance work in the centre was outstanding, so much so that he was heavily tagged in the second half, but still had an influence. He had 24 possessions and used the ball really well this week. |
Daniel McStay | Dan gave us a lot of run and carry. He kicked a great goal from defence – his first for the Club I believe. He delivered that goal after getting a possession across half back and running hard forward before receiving a free kick inside forward 50. It was a nice attacking piece of play. All the boys got around him, and it really helped set the game up for us. |
Andrew Raines | Rainsey had 32 disposals – all of them damaging. He was a general out there. He instructed really well, and his ability to use the ball and set teammates up on attacking runs was terrific. He won a couple of important ground level contested balls and used it really well. . |
James Polkinghorne | Polks had a real impact on the game with four goals and four centre clearances. He was really damaging and was probably our best player in his first ‘full’ game back. |
Michael Close | He gave us a real focal point up forward. Took some strong contested marks and provided a lot of physical pressure up forward – he helped instigate that ‘perceived pressure’. He set us up with a couple of goals and contested marks. It was a really encouraging performance. |
Jonathan Freeman | His tackling pressure was something we highlighted in our post-match review – it was tremendous. Jono would have laid 4-5 brilliant tackles, and that’s great for a tall bloke. He also took some big marks. Probably his best game for year. |
Matt Maguire | He went down back and he was the ‘Goose’ of old, taking strong marks and being a general in defence. He held down the fort, rebounded everything, and set up our flow. He was back to his good old powerful self. |
Isaac Conway | Izzy was terrific at stoppages, clean with hands, and was able to get the ball out of congestion. He still has a bit of work to do on his skills, but had a real influence. He was moved to half-back at times to help bring an extra element to his game. |
Nick Hayes | He was terrific in terms of tackling pressure. Nick’s very clever in tight at stoppages, and one of our leading clearance players. He had 13 disposals and used the ball well. |
Archie Smith | He was exciting again. He worked into the game against a good opposition ruckman and dominated hitouts in second half. Not only did he dominate hitouts, but he also had an influence around ground with a couple of contested marks. He set-up and joined in some offensive patterns of play, and had a good impact in our score involvements. We’re all really positive about Archie’s development. |
Jordon Bourke | Jordon was really strong in the air, taking 12 marks – a lot of them were intercepts thanks to pressure from our midfielders and forwards. He reads the ball beautifully. His man did have impact at times, because he can play a fraction loose. |
Sam Michael | Played his first game back from hamstring soreness. It was a very honest performance, and he competed hard. Played forward and swapped with Archie in ruck. He competed and contest really well. It was a good first hit-out to get back into the swing on things. |
Zac O’Brien | Zac was exceptionally influential at stoppages with 10 clearances. He hit our go-to areas with pace, and was physical and damaging. We put him on the opposition’s best midfielder in Matt Payne, and he played a disciplined hard-working game on the former Grogan Medallist. He was able to keep Payne relatively quiet, and also have an impact himself with 33 touches. His effort certainly didn’t go unnoticed. |
