Leo Barry

[Bart]

How important has this bloke become in our side. He is almost in our top 5 I'd say. I think he will finish top 3 in B&F, be an All Australian, plus at 125/1 may be worth a small each way for the Brownlow ;)

The bandage on Saturday night even added to effect, with one fan behind us calling him Rambo.

To think we almost lost him to carlton in 2000 in an attempt to snare Hammill, we have to thank Eade for reinventing him as a half back. He surely is among the elite in the comp now.

The good news is, body permitting, at having just turned 27, we will see him for another 4-5 years yet.

This season he has stepped up to an entirely different level. No longer is my heart in my mouth when he goes on his tradmark runs, he now just exudes confidence.

I think he will eventually go down as an all time great Swan.

The crowd around us were trying to get a Leee-oooooo chant going. Another day maybe !

Love the bloke.

[Damien]

I was thinking that him and Kirky might be good options for the brownlow.

Last year there was so much talk about them that umpires were sure to notice them a lot more this year...worth a thought!.

I love Leo also, great for our side. Despite the fact he gives me mulitple heart attacks!

[Triple B]

Amazing that we are only now starting to see the best of him and I'm sure he is eligible for the veterans list next year.

Been a longish ride, but the last 2 years have been superb.

[swansrule100]

i wouldnt say leo barry is almost in our top 5... he is easily in our top 5 !! he is our best defender and set up so much play...

he is not only great...but he is such a good example to the team... he has worked so hard and reinvented himself and gives his all and has become IMHO one of the best defenders in the league

[Charlie]

Eligible for the vet's list only in 2006 or 2007 I think, because there's an age requirement.

Bart, there's only one thing wrong with your post. The word almost.

Leo is comfortably inside the top 5. On this year's form he is 3rd, allowing for the past couple of years as well Goodes gets in ahead of him.

Hard to believe he's only played 134 games. It feels like he's been around for ever and a day.

[TheHood]

Originally posted by Bart
How important has this bloke become in our side. He is almost in our top 5 I'd say. I think he will finish top 3 in B&F, be an All Australian, plus at 125/1 may be worth a small each way for the Brownlow ;)

The bandage on Saturday night even added to effect, with one fan behind us calling him Rambo.

To think we almost lost him to carlton in 2000 in an attempt to snare Hammill, we have to thank Eade for reinventing him as a half back. He surely is among the elite in the comp now.

The good news is, body permitting, at having just turned 27, we will see him for another 4-5 years yet.

This season he has stepped up to an entirely different level. No longer is my heart in my mouth when he goes on his tradmark runs, he now just exudes confidence.

I think he will eventually go down as an all time great Swan.

The crowd around us were trying to get a Leee-oooooo chant going. Another day maybe !

Love the bloke.

He is seriously on fire. His courage and energy are contageous to the backline.

I have been loving his work since Round 6 last year. From up in the stand he looked like he was messing everything up and inciting nothing but heart attacks, however his game that night was vital and helped set up the win.

Leo's game lacks one vital aspect that would see him get All-Aus selection. He just lacks the polish to run that bit extra and deliver it into the F50. If he can start hitting Baz or Mick on the chest, his game I would rate even better than Wanganeen.

At the moment, when there are players like Gav that can set up goals and kick goals, they will hold out an outstanding player like Leo out of the team. Whether that's a fair thing or not I don't know, but the selectors look at stats. Goals are the biggest stat of all and assists are the 2nd biggest.

[stellation]

He did two things on Saturday night that amazed me.

1/. he ran onto his right side and kicked with his right foot (and it looked okay Leo if you are reading this!)
2/. he rushed a behind instead of taking on half of Collingwood to run it out

the rest of it is Leo, he keeps me on the edge of my seat and I love him for it. He tucks it under the arm in the defensive 50, the other team all go "hooray, we can bottle it in" and man, even though I am always nervous, he must have a good ratio in terms of getting it out of the D50 instead of getting caught when
running... and it creates an overlap sooooo often...

Nick W - there's a challenge for you statsboy. Are stats kept on the percentage of successful defensive runs versus ones that don't work (turn the ball over/bottled up for ball up) and of the successful ones what is the ratio where the defensive run (particuarly out of the D50) result in an overlap... that results in an immediate inside 50 for us... does that make sense?? Damn... now I want stats on that...

[Triple B]

My bad Charlie.

You are correct. He has the service but a player has to turn 30 during the season.

Hopefully he and Mickey are still going strong in a few years. They should be hihgly paid players we can use on the veterans list.

[stellation]

Originally posted by TheHood
Goals are the biggest stat of all and assists are the 2nd biggest.

On that, now that I have turned stats mad in the past 10 minutes, can someone point me to somewhere that would have a top 100 (or whatever) list for goal assists this year?

[Pink_Lady]

Definitely agree!

With Leo in the side I feel so confident that he will do anything in his power, and most of the time anything beyond his power, not to concede a goal...

Story in the paper, on Friday I think, summed him up as being the kamakazi kid, puts his body on the line all the time, which I just love, but only when he comes down, or comes through, un-injured....

Thing with Leo, is that when the team gets on top or is having a fantastic quarter or few moments, Leo will do anything not to swing the momentum and let his opponent get a goal.

He is an excellent player and deserves a spot in the A.A team this year, deserves a spot in the top 3 B & F players and in the top lot for the Brownlow!!

Go Leo, the skies the limit (and don't he know it)

[Bear]

It's amazing how quickly people's opinions of Leo have changed.

There was only myself and one other person (can't remember her name atm) trying to explain the importance of Leo 12-18 months ago, with most suggesting he didn't know what he was doing and one actually saying he was a dumb footballer and should not be in the side. Remember the out-on-the-full thread amongst others?

Great to see he is being recognised for what he is - a STAR who is fantastic to watch. Courageous, skillful, attacking, spectacular, unpredictable yet reliable, and most of all unique as a footballer!

[penga]

leo is the main reason why im not convinced that the pies were only short tarrant of a win... leo wouldve lined up next to him and followed him out to the wing where he gets his stats! ;) rocca wouldve been forced to CHF and goodesy wouldve run off him all night

love watching his runs

[penga]

Originally posted by Bear
one actually saying he was a dumb footballer and should not be in the side

what was that P46?

[Mark]

Originally posted by Bear
It's amazing how quickly people's opinions of Leo have changed.

There was only myself and one other person

There were more than a couple i think you will find.

It is only the usual few who want to trade everyone !

Seem to remember one who wanted both Goodes and Leo gone not that long ago, care to admit who you are ?

[NMWBloods]

Originally posted by stellation
Nick W - there's a challenge for you statsboy. Are stats kept on the percentage of successful defensive runs versus ones that don't work (turn the ball over/bottled up for ball up) and of the successful ones what is the ratio where the defensive run (particuarly out of the D50) result in an overlap... that results in an immediate inside 50 for us... does that make sense?? Damn... now I want stats on that...

Would be a great stat to check, but I've never seen it. I doubt if it is recorded (of course it would be if this was an American game!!).

[Bear]

Originally posted by Mark
There were more than a couple i think you will find.

It is only the usual few who want to trade everyone !

Seem to remember one who wanted both Goodes and Leo gone not that long ago, care to admit who you are ?

To clarify. 12 months ago a few more started coming around, but 18-24 months ago there was only two.

[Bart]

Originally posted by Bear
To clarify. 12 months ago a few more started coming around, but 18-24 months ago there was only two.

Cmon Bear, don't be holier than thou. There can't be one person on this board who could put their hand up and say they've never questioned a single player's inclusion in the side who eventually came good. Name an established Swans player, and you'll find a thread in deepest RWO cyberspace where someone has had a go. If someone can say that they've stuck by every maligned player who has since come good and at the same time farewelled every eventual hack that left the club and shed a tear for every player who DID make it after leaving us, you should be working in our recruitment dept.

We're fans. It's our job to react so, but also be big enough to say, glad I got that wrong.

[Charlie]

Well, I was one who questioned Adam Goodes.

It was early 2002, and he had developed very little in two years. Eade was seriously close to dropping him.

I suggested that if he did not improve between then and the end of the season, we should consider trading him, as I should his market value was higher than his real value.

That's all. I was more than happy that he did improve.

[NMWBloods]

I find these "I told you so" threads really annoying.

Also, if you are having a go at specific people, perhaps say who they are.

[chammond]

Originally posted by NMWBloods
I find these "I told you so" threads really annoying.

Also, if you are having a go at specific people, perhaps say who they are.

Aha! So it was you . . .

I knew you were wrong.

[NMWBloods]

Originally posted by chammond
Aha! So it was you . . .

I knew you were wrong.

What was me?

What Mark said? No.

Calling for Barry to be dropped and saying he was a dumb footballer? No.

I remember the OOF thread - it was about unforced errors, which are very costly and something we've seen from more players this year than last actually. So many people didn't seem to understand the concept of an unforced error and that regular ones should not be committed by AFL players.

This is something Barry rarely does these days, but was something he used to do more often. This is one of the key improvements to his game - his runs may be heart-in-mouth stuff, but he doesn't turn it over or make poor disposal errors these days nearly so much. He often used to run too far and get himself in trouble or put someone else under pressure - this happens far less often noways.

I do recall P46 calling Barry a dumb footballer and possibly should not be in the side, but please don't equate that to the OOF thread as it was quite different.

I talked about the possibility of trading Goodes early in 2002 when he was performing terribly and about to be dropped to the reserves. I said that he was wasting his talent and if he didn't improve by the end of the year we should consider trading him.

I don't recall ever saying we should trade Barry.

[ScottH]

If we can get Leo off the crack b4 a game he will be a "Super Star". LMAO :cool:

[liz]

I struggle to remember exactly who - or how many - thought what two weeks ago, let alone two years ago.

But two years ago, Leo was probably in the middle of his injury break, caused by a ruptured spleen. My memory of the "common view" at the time was how courageous he was and how much we would miss him. I also recall amazement at how quickly he recovered from such a serious condition and how well he played on his return.

[TheHood]

Originally posted by lizz
I struggle to remember exactly who - or how many - thought what two weeks ago, let alone two years ago.

But two years ago, Leo was probably in the middle of his injury break, caused by a ruptured spleen. My memory of the "common view" at the time was how courageous he was and how much we would miss him. I also recall amazement at how quickly he recovered from such a serious condition and how well he played on his return.

Absolutely. Leo's courage has never been questioned right from his opening season, he became "Leapin'" (apostrophe city here).

Looking back now for the first time on his career and his inability to actually glove the screamer he always promised to take, I wonder why it took so long to concede that he was actually a backman-in-waiting.

To me Leo was always in our top 22, however he has certainly gotten better and cemented that theory.

His game on Fraser was one of the best individual FB performances I have ever seen in light of his opposition on that day.

Fraser had been delivering Plugger type numbers leading up to that game. Imagine a backman destroying the Great Man and not only that, setting up the win and leading the possessions on the ground.

Leo is only goingo to get better as we get more assistance down back too.

[sharpie]

Leo struggled during the first few games of the season playing on a flank when opposition coaches managed to take him a long way back out of the action.

I think playing at FB has been an awesome learning experience for him. He is as far back out of the action as you can get now, but his rebounding has improved significantly. I think he has learnt how to handle running off a key forward superbly.

I cant wait until we get Schauble back at FB, freeing up Leo to go back to a flank, where he can wreak havoc charging up the ground, and playing 3rd man up at marking contests.

[Wardy]

Leapin Leo is fantastic!!!

On a previous thread of matching players with songs someone suggested that Leo's theme should be "The Time Warp" ( its just a jump to the left and with a step to the right..............................)

So so true - I think of that every time he gets the ball now - even though sometimes he tests your nerves with his actions, he gets out and moves the ball on - excellent!

And Dennis Commetti loves him too!

[stellation]

Originally posted by NMWBloods
Would be a great stat to check, but I've never seen it. I doubt if it is recorded (of course it would be if this was an American game!!).

Okey dokey, then I am going to try and record them this weekend... of course accurate stats collection is entirely dependent on my son going to sleep before the game starts.