After being recalled to the senior team just two days earlier, Rohan Bewick produced arguably the finest performance of his 53-game career against the Western Bulldogs last Saturday night.
Bewick had a team-high 30 disposals, which was six more than his previous career-best tally of 24 disposals from back in Round 15 of 2012.
In fact, it was only the fourth time that Bewick had collected more than 20 touches in a game.
But it wasn’t just the amount of possession that would have impressed Senior Coach Justin Leppitsch – the West Australian also had five clearances, five inside 50s, two goal assists, and kicked a goal himself.
Having spent the past few weeks refining his game in the NEAFL, the Lions would be thrilled to see that same effort rewarded at senior level.
WHAT RUCK PROBLEM?
The Lions approached the Bulldogs match with somewhat of a ruck problem, given both Matthew Leuenberger and Trent West were sidelined with knee injuries.
Stefan Martin was called upon to fill the void, but after just two matches in the NEAFL upon returning from his own injury problems, the Club wasn’t certain how it would fare against reigning All-Australian ruckman Will Minson.
Not only did Martin match Minson, it would be fair to say that he took the honours in the battle – making him one of the team’s most valuable players on the night.
Martin’s 32 hitouts was the third most by a Lions player this season, while his 17 disposals (at 76.5% efficiency) and six clearances was the most of any Lions ruckman in 2014.
It was a herculean effort by the athletic 27-year-old, who can now look forward to going head-to-head against some more of the AFL's best ruckmen in Shane Mumford (GWS Giants), Aaron Sandilands (Fremantle) and Trodd Goldstein (Kangaroos) over the next three weeks.
THE ‘OTHER’ BEAMS
Claye Beams might be in his fifth season at AFL level, but it’s easy to forget that the 22-year-old been limited to just 18 senior matches, largely due to injury.
On Saturday night, in just his third match of the season, Beams had 24 disposals (the third highest tally of his young career) as well as five clearances, seven inside 50s, and a goal.
If he can stay on the park for the remainder of the season, and produce that sort of form week-in week-out, Beams will start being recognised publicly as a quality player in his own right – and not just the younger brother of Collingwood star Dayne Beams.
SHARING THE GOALS
The Lions had a season-best 11 separate goal-kickers against the Bulldogs, with Josh Green, Jack Redden, and Jonathan Brown each booting multiples.
It was the second week in a row the Club has kicked 14 goals, with nine goal-kickers getting the job done against Carlton in Round 11.
Brown maintained his position as the team’s leading goal-kicker for the season with 19 so far in 2014, while Green is a clear second with 14.
TACKLE HAPPY
The Lions might have lost the tackle count against the Bulldogs 97-70, however there were a few individuals who stood out in the clinches.
None more so than Pearce Hanley who seemed to add a harder edge to his game on Saturday night, and it was proven in the statistics. He laid a team-high and career-high 12 tackles, which was three more than his previous best.
Hanley even has the scars to prove it, with one of his contests resulting in him splitting his chin open.
Hanley was well supported by the competition’s leading tackler Tom Rockliff (10 tackles), Jack Redden (nine), and Dayne Zorko (six).
ZORKO’S IMPACT
Stats might show that Dayne Zorko had 19 possessions, six tackles, and a modest 76 AFL Fantasy points, but the pint-sized Queenslander’s influence was even more significant than they might suggest.
His energy, particularly early in the game, was a driving force behind the team’s second quarter surge. Such was his impact, that the Bulldogs sent their prime tagger, Liam Picken, to him in the second half.
Zorko not only kicked one goal (he could have probably kicked a couple more), but he also contributed three others directly with assists.
As he approaches his first AFL games milestone (50 games) at the Gabba this Saturday, it’s hard to find a player who’s made a greater impact on the field than Zorko in his first 50 games.
SUB UP TO STANDARD
For the second week in a row, Zac O’Brien wore the green vest. However, unlike the Carlton game, the 23-year-old was forced to wait until the four-minute mark of the final term before being activated.
But in just 20 minutes of game time, O’Brien proved effective just as many of his teammates began to tire.
He not only found six possessions in that time, but laid three tackles – a couple of which were critical in holding the fast-finishing Bulldogs up.
It was another encouraging performance by the mature-age rookie.
AFL FANTASY TOP FIVE
1. Jack Redden – 128 points
2. Pearce Hanley – 124 points
3. Tom Rockliff – 102 points
4. Stefan Martin – 99 points
5. Rohan Bewick – 93 points
WHO WAS BEST?
Afl.com.au listed Bewick, Zorko, Hanley, Redden, Martin, Joel Patfull, and Lewy Taylor as the Lions’ best, but who do YOU think were the team’s three best players?
Vote now online for the Club Player of the Year
