Lions member Carl Nimb puts his match committee hat on and attempts to select his 'Best 22' ahead of the Lions' season opener against Collingwood on Saturday the 4th of April.
In the second of this three part series, I’m taking on the task of reviewing the midfielders on the Lions’ list with the aim to pick my starting centre square, wingmen and bench.
I have once again tried to figure out what starting combination Senior Coach Justin Lepptisch has in mind for a Collingwood side that’s headed to the Gabba for a blockbuster season opener. The Magpies have plenty of quality midfielders in the form of Scott Pendlebury, Dane Swan and Steele Sidebottom, but are also flush with plenty of youth.
The midfielders on the Lions’ list that I considered were; James Aish, Claye Beams, Dayne Beams, Rohan Bewick, Allen Christensen, Liam Dawson, Billy Evans (Rookie), Pearce Hanley, Matthew Leuenberger, Stefan Martin, Sam Mayes, Zac O’Brien (Rookie), Marco Paparone, Jack Redden, Daniel Rich, Nick Robertson, Tom Rockliff, Archie Smith (Rookie), Trent West and Dayne Zorko.
Starting with the centre line I have opted for a combination of pace, precision, and ball-winning ability.
I expect that new recruit Allen Christensen and Daniel Rich will be named on each of the wings.
Christensen is one of the most exciting midfielders in the competition and comes from Geelong with Finals and Premiership winning experience. At his best, he is a hard two-way running machine that knows how to kick goals and he was a great recruiting coup for the Lions in last year’s trade period. Christensen had a tough 2014 with back issues but is being primed throughout this pre-season to be ready for the Round One encounter with the Magpies.
Rich is almost like a new recruit for the Lions after missing virtually all of 2014 with a knee reconstruction suffered in the Round Three defeat at the Gold Coast. Rich dedicated himself from the minute his rehabilitation began to get himself ready for the 2015 NAB Challenge with the view to making himself available for Round One. A solid hit out against Sydney in Coffs Harbour showed that Rich has lost none of his speed or penetrating left foot. With a Lions list now with greater quality depth than recent previous seasons, Rich should see more midfield time pushing the ball into the forward 50 while also spending some time running off the half back flank.
Rich could just as easily have found himself on the half-back flank as outlined in my previous article, but I’ve decided to place him in the middle where his lethal left boot could be arguably more dangerous.
If he wasn’t already there, Lions Captain Tom Rockliff certainly elevated himself to an AFL elite midfielder in Season 2014. He had an excellent season by any measure averaging a season-high 32.7 disposals per game to go along with 9.1 tackles and was duly rewarded by winning his second Merrett-Murray Medal as the Lions Best and Fairest. He also made his first All-Australian team and was the Lions’ leading vote getter at the Brownlow Medal. While Rockliff is fit and in form, he will be the first player picked each week and with the added responsibility of Captaincy we should see him continue to solidify his standing among the top performing midfielders in the competition.
The next position to consider is the ruck combination.
I believe that Stefan Martin will be the Lions starting ruckman and his support will be coming in the form of Matthew Leuenberger.
What more can you say about the form that Martin displayed last year that has not already been said before? He operated as the lone hand in the ruck and through his performances he elevated himself to such a high level of consistent output that the Lions had no choice but to re-sign him. A two-man ruck combination with Leuenberger should see the Lions field one of the strongest ruck pairings in the League.
Leuenberger was generally the Lions first choice ruckman every time when fit and is one of the most important players in the centre of the ground. Last season was another tough campaign for Leuenberger after tearing the meniscus in his knee, which virtually wiped out the entire season. He will be back bigger and better in Season 2015 and gives a handy option to rest in the goal square as a tall target for the Lions.
The next positions to consider are the rover and ruck-rover and I expect that Lions superstar recruit Dayne Beams and Jack Redden will be starting in the centre square alongside Martin and Rockliff.
Beams comes to the Lions in one of the biggest recruiting coups for the Club since they signed Leigh Matthews as their Senior Coach in 1999. Beams is an absolutely elite AFL midfielder who comes from Collingwood as a Best and Fairest winner, a Premiership player and an All-Australian. Beams averaged 27 disposals last year and kicked 23 goals, and is a certified ball winner. At the age of 25 is just heading into his prime, which should fill the Lions fan base with immense pride and joy. He will be strutting his stuff at the Gabba from now on wearing the traditional Lions jumper.
Redden went on a 112 consecutive game streak after making his debut for the Club but was unfortunately struck down in Round 15 last year with a serious ankle injury that prematurely ended his season. He brings grunt and ball winning ability to the centre square for the Lions and is always one of the top tackling midfielders in the competition. Redden will be refreshed and raring to go come Round One against the Magpies.
Dayne Zorko produced his best season in the AFL in 2014 and was a deserved Runner-Up in the Merrett-Murray vote count. He thrived with extra midfield time and played 21 games averaging 22 disposals and kicked 18 goals during the campaign. He is part of much vaunted ”Mozzie Squad” along with Josh Green and NAB AFL Rising Star Lewis Taylor and has become integral to the Lions structure. He demands inclusion in the eighteen that start on the field, which is why he is named on one of the half-forward flanks (even though this piece is about selecting midfielders!).
The additional midfielders that will be lining up at the Gabba in Round One, I feel, will be James Aish, Mitch Robinson and Marco Paparone.
Aish came to the Club with a solid background having spent two seasons playing for the back-to-back premiers Norwood in the SANFL prior to the 2013 NAB AFL Draft. He looked completely comfortable at AFL Level, is a first class ball user and grew in confidence throughout 2014 as the season progressed. He played 21 games justifying the Lions using their first selection on him in the draft and showed how quickly he adapted at the top level by winning the ball on the outside as well as winning his own ball in the clinches. I expect another solid season from Aish and hopefully the talk of his contract renewal does not impact as the season wears on.
Robinson comes to the Lions from Carlton and brings a hard and physical edge. He will be expected to do the inside work for an exciting array of midfielders. He will get stuck into his opponent all day and if Leppitsch can harness some ill discipline that can sneak into his game from time to time Robinson will prove to be a very handy acquisition for the Club.
Paparone was used predominately on the wing in 2014 due to his exceptional aerobic capacity combined with his height of 194cm. He provides the Lions with a versatile bench option and also has the ability to play through the midfield on a wing and in the forward line or defence as a possible third tall option. If Paparone can add regular goal kicking to his repertoire this season there is no telling how high his ceiling of development can be.
Accordingly, I see the Lions’ starting midfield and the bench looking something like this:
B Gardiner Merrett Lester
HB Cutler Clarke Adcock
C Christensen Rockliff Rich
HF Zorko ? ?
F ? ? ?
Foll Martin D.Beams Redden
Int Leuenberger Aish Robinson
Sub Paparone
Last year I found attempting to pick the Lions midfield a difficult task. This year has been more difficult again due to the talent that has come into the Club through both the NAB AFL Draft at the end of 2013 and the Trade Period of 2014 along with the development of the players already on the list. The Lions now boast one of the deepest quality midfields in the AFL with their A-Grade talent a match for any other team in the League.
Having this quality of depth in the midfield is vitally important and the benefit is that should injury or form become an issue for Leppitsch in this area of the ground, there are plenty of young and enthusiastic players waiting in the wings.
Claye Beams, Rohan Bewick, Sam Mayes or Nick Robertson are ready to step into the line-up at a moments notice. All have shown that they can win their own ball and have elite endurance, which is a massive plus for the Lions list.
Liam Dawson is the new young Lion drafted from the Hyundai Help for Kids Lions Academy who showed he has bright future after a solid first outing in Coffs Harbour against the Sydney Swans. He can expect to see senior game time during the season at some stage.
Unfortunately for all Lions fans the electrifying Irishman Pearce Hanley will spend the first half of the season in the rehab group as he recovers from hip surgery that has derailed his pre-season. He stepped up his game in 2014 averaging 25 disposals, which included averaging 30 disposals in his final nine games of the year. His pinnacle was a brilliant 45-disposal effort against the Gold Coast Suns in Round 18, which won him the Marcus Ashcroft Medal for his efforts. Hanley will be sorely missed by the Lions midfield brigade until his return later this year.
Another player in the rehab group is ruckman Trent West, who is overcoming a knee reconstruction after sustaining an ACL injury in Round 11. He is expected to be back sometime during the first half of the season but will face very stiff competition from both Martin and Leuenberger to win a place in the senior team. A healthy ruck division is vitally important for any club and is something that will serve the Lions well in 2015.
The rookies including Billy Evans, Zac O’Brien and Archie Smith wont come into the senior line-up unless a long-term injury is suffered. I expect that they will all continue to work diligently on all aspects of their game in the NEAFL team. O’Brien managed five games for the Lions in the AFL last year and is a classic in-and-under midfielder and produced a superb 30 disposal effort against Geelong in Round 23. He has a taste of AFL action and will be doing everything in his power to make sure he is ready if a call up comes his way.
They are all very exciting prospects for the Lions future.
Well, that’s my wrap of the Lions’ midfielders and prediction of who will be included to face Collingwood.
The final part of this three-part series will be focusing on the Lions forwards and will be published on lions.com.au soon.
Carl Nimb is an independent writer and Lions Member (#2604559) who will contribute to lions.com.au throughout the season.
You can follow him on Twitter @CarlNimb
