Retired Ashley McGrath (2000-2014)

[Grimreepah]

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McGrath added to give Lions more speed
April 18, 2008 - 7:08PM

Brutally honest Brisbane Lions coach Leigh Matthews admitted he was throwing an "underdone" Ash McGrath in against heavyweight Hawthorn at the Gabba on Saturday night in a desperate bid to find ground level goals.
Small forward McGrath will play his first game of the season after coming back from knee and ankle complaints.
"He is underdone and he is not in as good a condition as we would like him to be," Matthews said.
"The main quality is that he has got speed.
"(And) we are not getting enough ground level goals.
"When you have got big forwards inevitably they are a bit slow on the chase because they are big marking targets.
"So you try to supplement quickness around your big marking forwards."
McGrath will hope to add crumbing goals, complementing what Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson on Friday described as the AFL's "most potent forward line going around at the moment" - Jonathan Brown and Daniel Bradshaw.

 

[konstas_87]

ash made such a huge difference to our fwd structure V the hawks. there was actually some1 standing at ground level when the ball spilled from a marking contest. would have set up at least 3-4 goals in addition to the ones he kicked himself.

great to have him back.

 

[Hollow Knight]

ash made such a huge difference to our fwd structure V the hawks. there was actually some1 standing at ground level when the ball spilled from a marking contest. would have set up at least 3-4 goals in addition to the ones he kicked himself.

great to have him back.

Will be alot better for the run too... will be even more dangerous next week.

 

[Grimreepah]

Link

If selected, Lions premiership player Ash McGrath will reach his 100th AFL game this Sunday afternoon against Melbourne at the Gabba. McGrath, who turns 25 next month, was drafted to the Lions from South Fremantle with Pick No.13 in the 2000 AFL National Draft.After playing only 10 matches in his first two seasons with the Club, McGrath enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2003 when he won the Lions’ Best Rookie Award and was an important member of the team’s premiership triumph over Collingwood.
Widely regarded as a dangerous small crumbing forward, McGrath was the Club’s second top goal-kicker in 2005 and kicked the third most goals at the Club in 2007 despite missing seven matches through injury.

 

[konstas_87]

he's not playin

 

[Jubair]

why was he dropped, i didnt see last wk's game but saw that he kicked two goals, obviously taking the scoring pressure off.

 

[Grimreepah]

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Small forward Ashley McGrath has been omitted from the team that lost to Hawthorn by 12 points last week. The 24-year-old overcame an ankle injury which hampered his start to 2008.

"He's just not fit enough at the moment and we think he'll get fitter quicker in the reserves unfortunately," Matthews said. "We need his talent but we need him fit and well."

 

[campbell]

Link

thats odd IMO.

He played well against hawthorn.

If he is still injured he should not be playing anywhere.

He gave us a crumbing option,,and he did his job well last week,

 

[mish33]

I reckon Lethal really wants Ash in there, but he's just not fit enough to go into the mid-field rotations yet.

We've got guys like Harding, Proud and Polks blitzing the twos and playing those forward crumbing roles- should give those boys a go first IMO.

But can't wait to see a fully fit Ash in a couple of weeks

 

[notting18]

thats odd IMO.

He played well against hawthorn.

If he is still injured he should not be playing anywhere.

He gave us a crumbing option,,and he did his job well last week,

It is not that "odd" IMO. You need to remember that he missed a lot of the Pre-season, so being not-injured doesnt equal "fit" and he will get a lot more of a run into his legs in the 2s than in the 1s.

 

[Hollow Knight]

Both Ash's goals last week were from marks, not crumbs.

Hooper was doing some crumbing drills yesterday and boy he looked sharp. I still think he has potential to do that role.

 

[Grimreepah]

Link

Lions supporters will have to wait and see on the possible return of small forward Ashley McGrath. McGrath was expected to suit up for his 100th match last weekend before his surprise omission from Matthews' 25-man squad.
The 24-year-old responded to his axing by booting four goals in the reserves over the weekend.
But against him is the performance of crumbing forwards Rhan Hooper and Anthony Corrie who goaled 7.4 between them in the destruction of the Dees.

Link

Ash McGrath took his omission from senior ranks on the eve of his 100th senior game squarely on the chin, working hard against close attention from one of Broadbeach’s best players over the season Nathan Lyons.

McGrath had to work for every kick, but did more and more damage as the game wore on.

He finished with four goals, including one late in the third term to give his side 21 points’ breathing space at the last change, and another midway through the final term that put the game out of reach.

McGrath also made some nice clearances in the second half after Broadbeach matched the Lions around the bounces.

 

[notting18]

I was reading the members' update email and realised I had forgotten that since McGrath has been selected for this week, he will play his 100th game.

Congrats Ash!

 

[Cousin Jed]

Interesting to hear McGrath say he was given a bit of a talking too by the leadership group for basically being overweight.

 

[Grimreepah]

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McGrath finally makes 100
Roger Vaughan and Laine Clark
May 2, 2008 - 5:22PM

Ashley McGrath's relatives had booked their tickets and were all set to be at the 'Gabba last weekend to watch him play his 100th AFL match.
But McGrath's fitness levels and the Lions leadership foiled the family celebration.
McGrath revealed today he was dropped for his milestone game as punishment for letting his fitness slide.
He will return to the senior team for tomorrow's Skilled Stadium match against Geelong, meaning some hastily-revised travel plans for the McGrath family.
"I finally got there, it was a bit of a disappointment last week being dropped by Leigh, most of the family were booked ready to come up, so it was a bit of a rush for mum to come up from Tasmania to try and get to the game," McGrath said.
"It has been a long while coming, but I am looking forward to it.
"I was a bit undisciplined in my actions off the ground, I took it on the chin, there's no use crying about it.
"The leadership group sat me down, they were going to fine me for a while there but they decided to drop me for my 100th game.
"I went off and did plenty of work off the field and finally got things right ... my skin folds were a little bit too high, I was behind the eight ball in my fitness."
While not going into specifics, Brisbane coach Leigh Matthews confirmed McGrath had fallen foul of club-imposed guidelines.
"There were some parameters that we put in, last week he wasn't within them, this week he was," Matthews said.
After a bad run with injury through 2006 and 2007, McGrath returns to the team for his second senior game this season.
"It is a relief, I have pencilled it (100 games) in for a while now, a few injuries went against me, but I am just happy to get there," he said.

 

[Hollow Knight]

Anyone get an almost Chris Johnson circa 2002 vibe with some of Ash's running and weaving out of the backline tonight?

Great game Ash.

 

[notting18]

Great game Ash.

I was surprised to see him start down back, but I was certainly glad with the output. A really good performance from Ash!

 

[Grimreepah]

When in form McGrath is quite a clever player. He is good in difficult situations and he is dangerous when he runs with the ball. I prefer him in the midfield than up forward. He still looks less lean than in previous years but who cares if he plays like he did tonight.

 

[whatboutbob]

Anyone get an almost Chris Johnson circa 2002 vibe with some of Ash's running and weaving out of the backline tonight?

Great game Ash.

I popped into this thread to pose the exact same question. I thought he was a revelation down back last night.

 

[knaf]

Agreed whatboutbob. Mcgrath could be the missing ingredient in our back six. Early in the season we didnt appear to have anyone to play on the opposition's small, quick, clever forwards and generate a bit of run going the other way. Mcgrath's body language was really good. He looked like he really relished the challenge of the role.

The form and potential of Hooper means that Hooper is probably going to be our preferred small forward. And our mid-field rotation is looking stronger with Riska and Sherman's form improving. Mcgrath may have found a role that suits him and fits with the current team structure.

 

[King of Torts]

I popped into this thread to pose the exact same question. I thought he was a revelation down back last night.

I was gonna write the exact same post.
18 Possessions
83% efficiency
104 Champion Data Points (4th for the Lions)
5 Rebound 50's (equal first for the Lions)

Dashing game.....added some much needed run from half back.

 

[mish33]

Anyone get an almost Chris Johnson circa 2002 vibe with some of Ash's running and weaving out of the backline tonight?

I can't help comparing guys in our current team with our premiership heros.

Ash was very CJ-esque on Saturday night. I'd like to see him take a few kick ins

Others my mates and I reckon are pretty similiar:

Rog - Mal
JBizzy - White
Hooper - McRae
Roe - Leppitsch (This one is a bit of a long straw, but Roe shows glimpses of the dash and flair that Leppa had)

 

[Crimso]

Agreed whatboutbob. Mcgrath could be the missing ingredient in our back six. Early in the season we didnt appear to have anyone to play on the opposition's small, quick, clever forwards and generate a bit of run going the other way. Mcgrath's body language was really good. He looked like he really relished the challenge of the role.

The form and potential of Hooper means that Hooper is probably going to be our preferred small forward. And our mid-field rotation is looking stronger with Riska and Sherman's form improving. Mcgrath may have found a role that suits him and fits with the current team structure.

Ash to Milne?

 

[Dylan12]

Unless alot of you posters didn't see any of 2004, Ash's 19 games were almost exclusively played down back, so Leigh playing him there is nothing new, but a fantastic game played by Ash nonetheless.

 

[chopperduck]

Ash to Milne?

i think ash would have to be a shoe in for milne. he is the dangerman for the saints against us. need someone like ash to stick to him like glue up forward, and im sure ash could get the better of him running it out of defence. Milne is a sneaky lil player, but i dont think he is overly fast, not ash fast anyway.