Having a look through the lions list and noticed that they are lacking serverly in tall defenders with Patfull and Merret rulled out for 4 weeks.
I cannot see them having a suitable match up for either Roo or Kosi and as they have no tall defenders i expect Gards to spend some time in the FWD 50 as well to exploit this weakness.
Their tallest known Defender playing this week is Drummond standing at 188 cm. I doubt he has the ability to play on roo or kosi, and the lions would lose to much having him focusing on a big FWD rather than getting him into a position to recieve the ball and set up from the backline.
Their next tallest known defender is Joel McDonald standing at 187cm. I beleive he is a good player but once again he does not have the tools required to take Roo or Kosi.
They may have to look at moving Brennan into the backline to help out. he is 192cm but not known for playing in defence.
The above outlines the reasons as to why i cannot see brisbane getting over us. We have the best defence in the league up against one of the best FWD combo's in the league, Brown and Bradshaw, and they have one of the worst current backlines up against another fantastic fwd Combo in Roo and Kosi.
I also see our midfield a long way infront of theirs. Especially for depth:
Hayes
Dal
Joey
Ray
Goddard
Gram
Ball
CJ
V
Black
Power
Rich
Adock(who may be required to play back)
selwood
stiller
rischitelli
Brennan
They have no where near the amount of Midfield depth as us. And as we all know games are won and lost in the midfield!
Match-Ups V Lions
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super dooper
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thirty-seven!?
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Their defence hasnt actually been too bad this year, however, it doesnt look too stable without Patful or Merrett
They will most likely bring in Henderson to play full back. He was drafted at the end of '07 as a tall forward/ Defender... He will most likely take Kosi, and your suggestion of Brennan to Halfback isnt a bad one - otherwise McDonnald MIGHT - but he is generally preferred as a rebounder like Drummond...
Their Forward line is their biggest asset - Brown is always hard to beat, and they will most likely play Sam on him (i think he did last year), and have Blake as 3rd man up... Dawson will get Bradshaw, which will probably be his biggest test yet, as Bradshaw is a great mark and very strong! Whilst out defence has been very strong, it is not impenetrable... They have two very strong marking forwards (the first time we-ve come up against some of their standard this year), so the "bomb it long" philosophy could work with them if our defence if off their game! Also, Rhan Hooper may be back - a small livewire forward, who is often very hard to contain!
We are the stronger midfield, but i wouldnt have thought theirs is as weak as you say... Power has been in good form (and i can see Clint going to him - or even McQualter, as he is similarly tough to Power). Black has his good days and Rich is a great kick... You are right though that their second tier mids are definately well behind ours, but their elite players are definately elite!!
In saying all that, i feel confident this weekend!! I loved watching Kosi this week! He is looking so much more powerful and reliable than in previous years! Roo has no appropriate match-up, so anything less than 4 or 5 goals would be disappointing!
Cant wait for this match as it should be another great test!!
Carn the Saints!!
They will most likely bring in Henderson to play full back. He was drafted at the end of '07 as a tall forward/ Defender... He will most likely take Kosi, and your suggestion of Brennan to Halfback isnt a bad one - otherwise McDonnald MIGHT - but he is generally preferred as a rebounder like Drummond...
Their Forward line is their biggest asset - Brown is always hard to beat, and they will most likely play Sam on him (i think he did last year), and have Blake as 3rd man up... Dawson will get Bradshaw, which will probably be his biggest test yet, as Bradshaw is a great mark and very strong! Whilst out defence has been very strong, it is not impenetrable... They have two very strong marking forwards (the first time we-ve come up against some of their standard this year), so the "bomb it long" philosophy could work with them if our defence if off their game! Also, Rhan Hooper may be back - a small livewire forward, who is often very hard to contain!
We are the stronger midfield, but i wouldnt have thought theirs is as weak as you say... Power has been in good form (and i can see Clint going to him - or even McQualter, as he is similarly tough to Power). Black has his good days and Rich is a great kick... You are right though that their second tier mids are definately well behind ours, but their elite players are definately elite!!
In saying all that, i feel confident this weekend!! I loved watching Kosi this week! He is looking so much more powerful and reliable than in previous years! Roo has no appropriate match-up, so anything less than 4 or 5 goals would be disappointing!
Cant wait for this match as it should be another great test!!
Carn the Saints!!
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Their mids are more than capable of clogging up stoppages.
Honestly, with their 'outs', I'm not sure what else they could do other than flood like buggery, try to smash and bash the ball forward, and slow the game right down if they get a sniff.
I suppose the flipside is they could open it right up and try to outshoot???
I reckon Brennan, with his inate athletic ability will go to Roo. But geez he plays loose, Brennan. If Roo gets anything like recent delivery you'd think he could well snag a bit of a bag...
And then there's no 23...
With Gardy drifting forward and the Roo, Kosi double up and about I'm not sure Bradshaw's gonna be all that helpful...
Geez, we have options this year...
I was a bit nervous about this one before. Not as much now now that they've lost a couple of key players.
Still, I hope we go in like mad rage-fuelled bulls.
Honestly, with their 'outs', I'm not sure what else they could do other than flood like buggery, try to smash and bash the ball forward, and slow the game right down if they get a sniff.
I suppose the flipside is they could open it right up and try to outshoot???
I reckon Brennan, with his inate athletic ability will go to Roo. But geez he plays loose, Brennan. If Roo gets anything like recent delivery you'd think he could well snag a bit of a bag...
And then there's no 23...
With Gardy drifting forward and the Roo, Kosi double up and about I'm not sure Bradshaw's gonna be all that helpful...
Geez, we have options this year...
I was a bit nervous about this one before. Not as much now now that they've lost a couple of key players.
Still, I hope we go in like mad rage-fuelled bulls.