Ben Lennon [merged]

[Diocletian]

Who was worse Dioc?

One of Conca (injury management), Newman or Hunt should've been subbed out before him. Vickery if we wanted to change the structure - refused to chase & tackle all night. Nearly all of Lennon's 8 touches were of high quality and had an impact - I'll take <10 from him over >30 from B.Ellis every day of the week. The type of quality over quantity player that you want at the death in a close match.

...or do you think he was worst on ground and should've been subbed out?

[Penelope]

newmans the one.
conca was one of our most important players imo. lloyd had to come on as forward, so even though hunt should be on the shortlist, it would require some juggling to achieve it. as you say vickery if you want to change the structure, but i dont think they wanted to do that.

the sooner they stuff of the sub rule the better

[Willy]

Agreed that he was unlucky but we didn't really have any passengers last night. The sub was always going to be stiff, whoever it was.
I've been impressed with Lennon since he's come into the side.

[Diocletian]

The only thing that will stop him from being as good as Deledio is his lack of pace. The one advantage he should have over Deledio is that he won't be expected to be involved in every second play and carry the side every week for most of his career and we can afford to develop & play him to his strengths from early on.

[mightytiges]

Hard to find any positives out of Friday night but Lennon showed he's a good contested mark for his size. Just needs to get a couple of preseasons under his belt and build up his tank. 

[The Machine]

How good was Lennon today?........fantastic!

[Tigeritis™©®]

How good was Lennon today?........fantastic!

I agree he's got the goods but I didn't see how "fantastic" he was today.

He's got skill, poise, he can take a good contested grab etc. but I think he's got the touch of softness about him that hopefully the club can rid from his game. He also needs to turn the heat up when he hasn't got the footy & chase, tackle and harass which IMHO he doesn't do enough.

[Diocletian]

 he can take a good contested grab 

...but struggles with the uncontested ones.....

[tony_montana]

 I have to admit, I was never sold on this bloke, but im very happy with the signs and progress he's making in this current block of games. In the space of 4-5 games he has gone from a deer in headlights to a player that looks like he knows he can play at this level. Does some pretty important key things that make you think yep, he can play

[Heart of Darkness]

I have to admit, I was never sold on this bloke, but im very happy with the signs and progress he's making in this current block of games. In the space of 4-5 games he has gone from a deer in headlights to a player that looks like he knows he can play at this level. Does some pretty important key things that make you think yep, he can play

4 weeks ago i had real concerns about Ben. He's taken huge strides though and I'm really happy with what I'm seeing. He has a touch of class that so many of our players lack. Where he previously looked slow he now looks like has "time".

As other posters have noted his defensive game at this point is non existent, he lacks fitness and he lacks intensity at some contests but give him a couple pre seasons and I'm now somewhat confident we have the mid sized forward we've been lacking for years.

[YellowandBlackBlood]

It's much easier to instill fitness and intensity into a player than skill. You either have it or you don't
Ben has skill and poise. Our club's job is to instill the easy bits.
The guy is smooth as silk. He and Corey Ellis both give us the class we have sorely been lacking and will hopefully provide that for many years.

[Penelope]

I have to admit, I was never sold on this bloke, but im very happy with the signs and progress he's making in this current block of games. In the space of 4-5 games he has gone from a deer in headlights to a player that looks like he knows he can play at this level. Does some pretty important key things that make you think yep, he can play

which goes to show the danger in making assessments of players after only one or two games.

players need a string of games to adjust to the pace and gain confidence in themselves.

A long as they are showing some good signs and are not clearly way out of their depth and having their confidence shattered, give them a decent run at it see if they have got what it takes or not.

[Andyy]

Need to keep playing this kid at all costs.

And C Ellis when he's fit too.


Still early but I may have been wrong about Lennon. Looks a player!

[one-eyed]

Lennon interview on Geelong's FM radio station K-Rock ...

AUDIO: http://www.krockfootball.com.au/round-20-sunday-august-16-richmond-vs-gold-coast-post-match-interview/


* Gold Coast game? I didn’t kick any goals but it was good to get a bit of the ball and play my role. I feel like each week I’m getting a little bit better and gaining some confidence. I’ve just got to keep on working hard and work with my coaches on the deficiencies in my game.

* What are still your deficiencies? Definitely the defensive side of the game. When you don’t have the ball you’ve got to be mindful of your opponent and that’s something I’ve had to work hard at, especially at VFL level. I’ve still got to get better but I’m trying to close that gap.

* Aims in 2015? I just wanted to try and break into the senior side.  I knew it was a pretty hard team to crack into but I had to work on my defensive side and that was probably the biggest thing for me. Once I got that opportunity, try and play some good footy at the top and just gain some confidence because it’s obviously a tough game.  I feel like my form at the moment’s been reasonable.  But I’ve just got to keep working hard and hopefully finish off the end of the season pretty well. I still have a long way to go, and I’m just taking it week by week.

Full article: http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/2015-08-19/lennon-getting-better-all-the-time

[Stalin]

how good does he kick