The Brisbane Lions new recruits Trent West and Jackson Paine at the Gabba. Picture: Darren England.
LIONS recruits Trent West and Jackson Paine met as teammates for the first time.
When pre-season training resumes on Tuesday they will also become rivals for the same patch of grass on the Gabba.
West, a premiership player with the Cats in 2011, is a ruckman who intends to reinvent himself as a key forward who plays stints on the ball.
Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player.
The 194cm, 98kg Paine desperately wants to shake off the third tall tag Collingwood had pigeonholed him under to claim a key position.
Meanwhile, Brent Staker flirted with a move to Carlton before finally agreeing to terms with Brisbane and intends to make that third tall forward position his own.
The Lions also secured Tigers forward Luke McGuane as a delisted free agent.
And with Stefan Martin and Jordan Lisle in the wings, the battle to join and eventually replace Jonathan Brown as the focal point inside the 50m arc is on in earnest.
West was one of five ruckman at the Cats last season and despite a standout 2012 found his chances of regular senior games were diminishing.
Under Michael Voss, Brisbane were reluctant to play two recognised ruckmen together, which frustrated Billy Longer and ultimately led to his departure.
And with Matthew Leuenberger in career best form, West has come a long way on the hope new Lions coach Justin Leppitsch holds different selection philosophies.
"Yes, it is a long way to come, but I have spoken to Leppa and we did talk about possibly playing two ruckmen,'' West said.
"But if not I'll work on other parts of my game to try to get a game.
"If I can go forward and play a bit more there, that could work.''
With James Podsiadly gone from "the Cattery'' and question marks over the long-term future of Tom Hawkins, who battles back problems, West had a big choice to make when Brisbane came knocking.
"You can throw all that into the equation but I just thought it was time to get up here with new possibilities,'' he said.
"It is exciting times, it is a young list and who knows what might happen.
"I just think the opportunities up here outweigh the opportunities at Geelong.''
Paine managed six games in his first season with the Magpies but was unable to get a senior call-up in 2013.
However he showed enough in the VFL, where he kicked 45 goals in 19 appearances, to convince Brisbane to give him a shot.
He admits the knowledge that Brown's career was winding to a halt and Brisbane would need a long-term replacement made the decision to move north a simple one.
Paine believes he has the mobility to play up the ground in tandem with Brown and eventually deep in the goal square.
"I have a bit of versatility, I enjoy getting up the ground and working my opponent over but I also enjoy the physicality,'' he said.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Paine, West meet in the den
Dengan url
http://olahragasehatiku.blogspot.com/2013/11/paine-west-meet-in-den.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Paine, West meet in the den
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar