If it's good enough for Lenny....

[Joffa Burns]

‘IF IT’S GOOD ENOUGH FOR LENNY...’: ROSS LYON’S HILARIOUS DOCKER GIBE

Michael Randall
There are some famous Ross Lyon stories.

On the eve of his 300th game as coach, former Fremantle star Michael Barlow has added another to the Dockers coach’s pantheon.

Barlow revealed who Lyon’s favourite players are at Fremantle — Michael Walters, Stephen Hill, Zac Dawson and Nat Fyfe — but none could ever hold a candle to St Kilda legend Lenny Hayes’.

“This one particular day, it was half-time, we were getting smacked and Ross brought everyone in and Garrick Ibbotson’s sitting in the front row and Ryan Crowley,” Barlow said on SEN this morning.


“Ross goes, ‘who (didn’t) do their recovery this morning?’.”

“So Gibbo and Crowls put their hands up, admitted guilt — you never lied to Ross, you just admitted guilt.

“Put their hands up and he goes “Have a look at ya, you two, front row, how you going boys?”

“Here I am, 2010, I’m at St Kilda, and I’m just getting up. I’m having my bacon and eggs on the balcony, I’m scratching my fat arse.

“I’m looking over the balcony — there’s Lenny.

“He’s chugging away in the pool, up and back.

“If it’s good enough for Lenny, it’s probably good enough for you.”

Barlow paid tribute to his ex-coach as he prepares for his 300th game in charge.

“He’s a really caring and personable coach for me and he really invested in you as an individual,” he said.

“I’m really indebted to Ross, the opportunities he gave me.

“He had an open door policy. If you ever had anything going on in your life, big small or marginal, whatever it was… you didn’t feel super comfortable (going in), but you’d always walk out just knowing he was in your corner and would support you to the hilt.”

[Scollop]

Dawson the adopted son...or was he Ross's fluffer...not sure!?

[bigred]

That's great.

Go flower yourself with a cheese grater Ross.

[saynta]

Dawson the adopted son...or was he Ross's fluffer...not sure!?

Obviously the latter.

[SaintPav]

I'm convinced we would have made the finals again in 2012 under Ross.

[tedtheodorelogan2018]

Groundbreaking.

[satchmo]

Everybody loves Lenny.

[Moods]

Best coach I've seen coach Stkilda. He wasn't perfect but gee we all held our heads up high when he coached us. Don't reckon we can say that for a long time. At least 7 years.

[Scollop]

With the right leaders and a new head coach we could be holding our heads high in 3-4 years

Saw BT go up to DeGoey when he was doing Roaming Brian and Jordy had his top off. The guy is built like a brick shithouse and had a neck and shoulders more like a leaugue player rather than a footy player. We just need to develop our own bull type players like DeGoey or recruit a star similar to him and it will change the dynamic at our club. Also have to have all our young guys busting their arses in the gym over the next few years.

[shanegrambeau]

Nothing against Zac, but I always felt that the love came at Maxy Houghton's expense. Still, Lyon has charisma, no doubt about it.

[B.M]

The StK players

In particular Star Roo, Dal, BJ, Lenny, Joey and Milney but also Role players Blake, Gardiner, Jones, Dawson and McQualter were in love him.

He gets signed up as coach 2012 onwards, we keep BJ and Dal (no way he would of let Pelchan off load them, and they would have stayed under Ross)
We also would have played finals 15/16 but not have been a contender.

[Scollop]

In 2012 we still had all the gang together but they left their run too late. Didn't have enough belief or hunger and too worried about more important things like how much petrol the Mercedes 4WD was burning, because of the extra travel to Seaford

Lenny was injured but the team was in ripping form late in the season and we were the team that most of the ladder leaders feared the most if we could just sneak a place in the top 8.

Problem was that there was too much negaitivity within the playing ranks and Roo himself had admitted that when Lenny went down early in the season in 2012, that he personally had given up on the season.

Watters realised that a rebuild was required and changes needed to the leadership if the team was going to be a challenger again. What we got instead was more power to the playing group and a delay in the inevitable succession planning required to rebuild the playing list.