sharp9
9th May 2003, 12:59 PM
Was trolling through enemy territory looking for word on teams etc. and discovered that the Jungle masters have been paying us a bit of attention.
Talking us up and taking us very seriously. Could go either way. I mean on the one hand they could be setting themselves up to be only human on Sunday :cool:
....on the other they could be making sure that complacency will not be a factor at the SCG :mad:
Lynch back for Swans Sunday
lions.com.au
6:49:07 PM Thu 8 May, 2003
The AAPT Brisbane Lions will revert to twin focal points at full forward for Sunday?s SCG clash with the Sydney Swans after Alastair Lynch was given the green light to return from a two-week lay-off.
Lynch, the Lions? leading goal-kicker of the last three years, was named tonight in his customary spot at full forward. And beside him for what will be his 100th AFL game is long-time goal-kicking ?partner? Daniel Bradshaw, the club?s leading goal-kicker this season.
Lynch has missed the past two games and three of the past four through illness, but was cleared to resume prior to tonight?s selection meeting. Likewise Beau McDonald, who was a late withdrawal last week against Geelong with a shoulder problem.
And selectors were confident enough in the fitness of vice-captain Justin Leppitsch, who has admitted concerns this week over his recurring groin problems, to name him in his customary spot.
Leppitsch, who has finished the last two games on the interchange bench, will be assessed at final training tomorrow night (Friday).
Also added to the 25-man squad required by the AFL on Thursday nights for a Sunday game were back-up key position player Shane Morrison and utility pair Blake Caracella and Robbie Copeland.
Morrison, who deputised for the injured Jonathan Brown in Round 3, beat an alleged striking charge at the AFLQ tribunal on Tuesday night to come into selection consideration.
Omitted from the side which beat Geelong last week were Brown, who is nursing a hairline fracture in a small bone in the sinus area following a head clash with teammate Jamie Charman, and back-up ruckman Dylan McLaren (omitted).
The unbeaten Lions, six points clear at the top of the AFL ladder, will defend a 7-2 head-to-head record against the Swans post-merger, including 4-1 at the SCG.
In other Lions news today, Anthony Corrie, the club?s fourth pick in the 2002 AFL National Draft from Darwin and winner of the B&F medal at last year?s national U18 carnival, will be sidelined for six-eight weeks following surgery to repair a badly damaged tendon in his finger. He was released from hospital today (Thursday) after surgery on Wednesday.
And in selection news from the Swans, Lewis Roberts-Thompson, son of former Queensland football champion Barry Roberts-Thomson, is in line for his AFL debut against the Lions on Sunday
Roberts-Thomson, a 19-year-old 196cm key position player with a rugby background, is a second-year player with the Swans after earning All-Australian U18 selection two years ago. His rookie season in the AFL was curtailed by injury problems last year, limited to eight VFL games with Sydney?s then feeder team Port Melbourne.
He was add with Ryan O?Keefe and Scott Stevens to the side which beat Collingwood in Melbourne last weekend. They were bracketed with Nick Davis, James Meiklejohn, Mark Powell and Rowan Warfe in a seven-man interchange group that will be cut to four tomorrow night.
Swans out to ruin party
lions.com.au
4:50:43 PM Thu 8 May, 2003
Quality clubman Marcus Ashcroft is hoping his winning run with milestone games in Sydney will continue on Sunday when he plays his 300th game against the Swans.
Ashcroft played his 250th game at the SCG in Round 7 two years ago, and received AFL Life Membership for his 300th game including state-of-origin, pre-season and International Rules appearances in Round 1 of last year.
Both times the Lions were victorious.
Despite that, Sydney is not one of his favourite places to visit, but Ashcroft said: ?It?s ironic I have played my last three milestones there. Hopefully it will be the same result because we won our last two games there and I enjoyed them.?
The club is flying down Ashcroft?s parents Denis and Mandy, and wife Bekky for his big day.
?They?ll all be down there and I think a few relatives that live around the area in Sydney will pop by as well,? he said.
It softens the blow of not being able to celebrate his becoming the first Queenslander to reach the 300-mark in front of his home crowd at the Gabba, although he was not overly concerned.
?Hopefully I?ll play my 301st up here the week after and hopefully that will make up for it,? he said. ?I?ve played a lot of my milestone games away. They?re good to look back on but you can?t plan to play them at home ? I?ll take it whenever.?
A fortnight ago this clash loomed as a ?ho-hum? encounter, but two outstanding wins over Melbourne and Collingwood have placed a whole new complex on the Swans? prospects.
?They?re going really well ? their second half against Melbourne the week before was sensational,? Ashcroft said. ?They came from behind and won. Last week against Collingwood they were great on the road.
?They?re in really good form now and that?s a good thing, because we?ll really have to be on our game to beat them.
?We?ve been playing in quarters and halves and bits and spurts so it really makes a challenge for us to improve on that and put a four quarter performance together.?
Ashcroft discounted any theory that the Lions might be leg weary entering their second back-to-back travel in six weeks, and following on from three games on the road during the pre-season.
?I don?t think so ? Starce and the rest of the strength and conditioning coaches haven?t trained us too hard,? Ashcroft said. ?I don?t think we?re feeling fatigued from the travelling side of it. Everyone?s feeling pretty good.
?We?ve done a lot of recovery work and we?ve really focused on that over the last three to four weeks. It may look that way but I don?t think it?s an effect.?
The workload might have eased marginally, but Ashcroft is still doing his utmost to keep himself at the top of his game. Before training last night, he did an extra 30-minute sprint session.
?There?s a few of us that like to do a bit of extra speed work at training on a Wednesday night,? he said. ?I suppose the older you get you don?t want to slow down, so I?m trying to keep ahead of the pack.?
The only time he feels like he has played 299 premiership games of AFL football is after a match.
?But during the week it doesn?t,? he said. ?I?m still feeling pretty good in myself.
?I?m still only 31 so you wouldn?t think I?m an old footballer, although I have played a bit of footy. I?m feeling pretty good.?
Lions watch Swans take flight
lions.com.au
12:17:15 PM Mon 5 May, 2003
The Round 6 fixtures fell in favour of the Brisbane Lions when they were able to get a close look at their next opponent Sydney ? and just as well.
The Swans were rank underdogs against vanquished grand finalists Collingwood at the Telstra Dome on Saturday night, but notched their second successive win with an impressive 17-7 to 13-11 triumph.
?They?ve played really, really well,? admired Lions vice-captain Chris Scott.
?A few of our guys went out and had a look at the footy on Saturday night and the rest watched it on TV. They (Sydney) played really well.?
Scott was adamant that Sydney, who led by 46 points at one stage in the last quarter before the Magpies booted five quick goals, were good rather than the Magpies being bad.
?People are starting to question Collingwood a little bit, but I wouldn?t, because I thing Sydney played really well,? Scott said.
?They?ve got players that are particularly dangerous up forward and midfielders that have got real pace, and inside at Telstra Dome they certainly used that to good effect.?
While the Lions have been questioned in some quarters for not winning by bigger margins against the lowly Western Bulldogs (27 points) and Geelong (14 points) in recent weeks, Scott suggested the opposition were not being given enough credit.
?Geelong were pretty good and I think most people underestimate the evenness of the competition,? Scott said. ?At the moment, the general trend within the media is to get carried away with the sides that are going well, and to criticise a little bit heavily the sides that haven?t been performing too well.
?Yesterday goes to show that on any given day, any side in the competition can push any other side.?
He admitted, however, that several of his teammates were still searching for their personal best.
?We?ve had a few individuals that have had really good starts to the season ? Nigel Lappin and Michael Voss couldn?t be faulted with their first six games,? Scott said. ?To be honest, there?s a general feeling that a lot of the guys are yet to reach their full potential so far, which is a positive sign.
?To sum up the general feeling of the team, it?s Round 6 and there?s a long way to go. We?re still building our season ? in an ideal world we?d like to be playing our best football at the end of the season, not the start.
?We get frustrated ? all sides have frustrating aspects to their game, but the positive side is we?re winning
?At this stage of the year, that?s all you?ve got to do when teams are jockeying for position to give themselves the best chance in the finals.
?As long as we?re winning we can?t complain too much. Having said that, we feel our best football is in front of us.
?We always knew we had a tough start to the season playing some really good sides and having a tough preparation leading into a few of our games. To get away without losing is a good effort.?
Talking us up and taking us very seriously. Could go either way. I mean on the one hand they could be setting themselves up to be only human on Sunday :cool:
....on the other they could be making sure that complacency will not be a factor at the SCG :mad:
Lynch back for Swans Sunday
lions.com.au
6:49:07 PM Thu 8 May, 2003
The AAPT Brisbane Lions will revert to twin focal points at full forward for Sunday?s SCG clash with the Sydney Swans after Alastair Lynch was given the green light to return from a two-week lay-off.
Lynch, the Lions? leading goal-kicker of the last three years, was named tonight in his customary spot at full forward. And beside him for what will be his 100th AFL game is long-time goal-kicking ?partner? Daniel Bradshaw, the club?s leading goal-kicker this season.
Lynch has missed the past two games and three of the past four through illness, but was cleared to resume prior to tonight?s selection meeting. Likewise Beau McDonald, who was a late withdrawal last week against Geelong with a shoulder problem.
And selectors were confident enough in the fitness of vice-captain Justin Leppitsch, who has admitted concerns this week over his recurring groin problems, to name him in his customary spot.
Leppitsch, who has finished the last two games on the interchange bench, will be assessed at final training tomorrow night (Friday).
Also added to the 25-man squad required by the AFL on Thursday nights for a Sunday game were back-up key position player Shane Morrison and utility pair Blake Caracella and Robbie Copeland.
Morrison, who deputised for the injured Jonathan Brown in Round 3, beat an alleged striking charge at the AFLQ tribunal on Tuesday night to come into selection consideration.
Omitted from the side which beat Geelong last week were Brown, who is nursing a hairline fracture in a small bone in the sinus area following a head clash with teammate Jamie Charman, and back-up ruckman Dylan McLaren (omitted).
The unbeaten Lions, six points clear at the top of the AFL ladder, will defend a 7-2 head-to-head record against the Swans post-merger, including 4-1 at the SCG.
In other Lions news today, Anthony Corrie, the club?s fourth pick in the 2002 AFL National Draft from Darwin and winner of the B&F medal at last year?s national U18 carnival, will be sidelined for six-eight weeks following surgery to repair a badly damaged tendon in his finger. He was released from hospital today (Thursday) after surgery on Wednesday.
And in selection news from the Swans, Lewis Roberts-Thompson, son of former Queensland football champion Barry Roberts-Thomson, is in line for his AFL debut against the Lions on Sunday
Roberts-Thomson, a 19-year-old 196cm key position player with a rugby background, is a second-year player with the Swans after earning All-Australian U18 selection two years ago. His rookie season in the AFL was curtailed by injury problems last year, limited to eight VFL games with Sydney?s then feeder team Port Melbourne.
He was add with Ryan O?Keefe and Scott Stevens to the side which beat Collingwood in Melbourne last weekend. They were bracketed with Nick Davis, James Meiklejohn, Mark Powell and Rowan Warfe in a seven-man interchange group that will be cut to four tomorrow night.
Swans out to ruin party
lions.com.au
4:50:43 PM Thu 8 May, 2003
Quality clubman Marcus Ashcroft is hoping his winning run with milestone games in Sydney will continue on Sunday when he plays his 300th game against the Swans.
Ashcroft played his 250th game at the SCG in Round 7 two years ago, and received AFL Life Membership for his 300th game including state-of-origin, pre-season and International Rules appearances in Round 1 of last year.
Both times the Lions were victorious.
Despite that, Sydney is not one of his favourite places to visit, but Ashcroft said: ?It?s ironic I have played my last three milestones there. Hopefully it will be the same result because we won our last two games there and I enjoyed them.?
The club is flying down Ashcroft?s parents Denis and Mandy, and wife Bekky for his big day.
?They?ll all be down there and I think a few relatives that live around the area in Sydney will pop by as well,? he said.
It softens the blow of not being able to celebrate his becoming the first Queenslander to reach the 300-mark in front of his home crowd at the Gabba, although he was not overly concerned.
?Hopefully I?ll play my 301st up here the week after and hopefully that will make up for it,? he said. ?I?ve played a lot of my milestone games away. They?re good to look back on but you can?t plan to play them at home ? I?ll take it whenever.?
A fortnight ago this clash loomed as a ?ho-hum? encounter, but two outstanding wins over Melbourne and Collingwood have placed a whole new complex on the Swans? prospects.
?They?re going really well ? their second half against Melbourne the week before was sensational,? Ashcroft said. ?They came from behind and won. Last week against Collingwood they were great on the road.
?They?re in really good form now and that?s a good thing, because we?ll really have to be on our game to beat them.
?We?ve been playing in quarters and halves and bits and spurts so it really makes a challenge for us to improve on that and put a four quarter performance together.?
Ashcroft discounted any theory that the Lions might be leg weary entering their second back-to-back travel in six weeks, and following on from three games on the road during the pre-season.
?I don?t think so ? Starce and the rest of the strength and conditioning coaches haven?t trained us too hard,? Ashcroft said. ?I don?t think we?re feeling fatigued from the travelling side of it. Everyone?s feeling pretty good.
?We?ve done a lot of recovery work and we?ve really focused on that over the last three to four weeks. It may look that way but I don?t think it?s an effect.?
The workload might have eased marginally, but Ashcroft is still doing his utmost to keep himself at the top of his game. Before training last night, he did an extra 30-minute sprint session.
?There?s a few of us that like to do a bit of extra speed work at training on a Wednesday night,? he said. ?I suppose the older you get you don?t want to slow down, so I?m trying to keep ahead of the pack.?
The only time he feels like he has played 299 premiership games of AFL football is after a match.
?But during the week it doesn?t,? he said. ?I?m still feeling pretty good in myself.
?I?m still only 31 so you wouldn?t think I?m an old footballer, although I have played a bit of footy. I?m feeling pretty good.?
Lions watch Swans take flight
lions.com.au
12:17:15 PM Mon 5 May, 2003
The Round 6 fixtures fell in favour of the Brisbane Lions when they were able to get a close look at their next opponent Sydney ? and just as well.
The Swans were rank underdogs against vanquished grand finalists Collingwood at the Telstra Dome on Saturday night, but notched their second successive win with an impressive 17-7 to 13-11 triumph.
?They?ve played really, really well,? admired Lions vice-captain Chris Scott.
?A few of our guys went out and had a look at the footy on Saturday night and the rest watched it on TV. They (Sydney) played really well.?
Scott was adamant that Sydney, who led by 46 points at one stage in the last quarter before the Magpies booted five quick goals, were good rather than the Magpies being bad.
?People are starting to question Collingwood a little bit, but I wouldn?t, because I thing Sydney played really well,? Scott said.
?They?ve got players that are particularly dangerous up forward and midfielders that have got real pace, and inside at Telstra Dome they certainly used that to good effect.?
While the Lions have been questioned in some quarters for not winning by bigger margins against the lowly Western Bulldogs (27 points) and Geelong (14 points) in recent weeks, Scott suggested the opposition were not being given enough credit.
?Geelong were pretty good and I think most people underestimate the evenness of the competition,? Scott said. ?At the moment, the general trend within the media is to get carried away with the sides that are going well, and to criticise a little bit heavily the sides that haven?t been performing too well.
?Yesterday goes to show that on any given day, any side in the competition can push any other side.?
He admitted, however, that several of his teammates were still searching for their personal best.
?We?ve had a few individuals that have had really good starts to the season ? Nigel Lappin and Michael Voss couldn?t be faulted with their first six games,? Scott said. ?To be honest, there?s a general feeling that a lot of the guys are yet to reach their full potential so far, which is a positive sign.
?To sum up the general feeling of the team, it?s Round 6 and there?s a long way to go. We?re still building our season ? in an ideal world we?d like to be playing our best football at the end of the season, not the start.
?We get frustrated ? all sides have frustrating aspects to their game, but the positive side is we?re winning
?At this stage of the year, that?s all you?ve got to do when teams are jockeying for position to give themselves the best chance in the finals.
?As long as we?re winning we can?t complain too much. Having said that, we feel our best football is in front of us.
?We always knew we had a tough start to the season playing some really good sides and having a tough preparation leading into a few of our games. To get away without losing is a good effort.?