Robbo: How Brisbane Lions solve Eric Hipwood’s confidence, form dilemma

Eric Hipwood is a 26-year-old key forward on a monster contract, but incredibly out of form. MARK ROBINSON details how Lions coach Chris Fagan should handle his talisman amid a disastrous start to the season.

Eric Hipwood of the Lions rues missing a shot on goal during the at Optus Stadium in Round 1. Picture: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

Oh, to be a fly on the wall when Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan debriefed with Eric Hipwood this week.

After one of Hipwood’s worst games since establishing himself as a key forward, and amid a hostile media evaluation, the pair would’ve attempted to find the reason why.

Hipwood wasn’t only cold against Collingwood, he was frozen, such was his low level of confidence and timing.

Fagan’s job this week was to help to restore it.

In that regard, Jack Riewoldt donned the coaching hat. Asked how Fagan would’ve approached the Hipwood conundrum, the champion Tigers forward borrowed the hat of his former coach Damien Hardwick.

It would start with love, Riewoldt said.

“This is what I’d do if I was Fagan,’’ Riewoldt said.

“I’d invite him to my house on Tuesday night before Gather Round, I’d have four beers sitting there, I’d open the computer and hook it up to the TV or the home projector, have some dinner and then sit down and ask, how are you going? Because clearly something is going on.

Eric Hipwood of the Lions rues missing a shot on goal during the at Optus Stadium in Round 1. Picture: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

“Get him to say what is (going on), air the grievances, have dinner, have a beer, and push play, and say, mate this is you at your best. And guarantee him his spot.

“Everyone is asking, is he in the best team? If he’s in your best team, just tell him, have your beer, and say this is what I need from you.’’

Fagan won’t axe the 26-year-old. He said as much at his press conference on Wednesday, when he stressed that you “just stick with what you know that works’’.

“I think sometimes the biggest mistake you can make is to jump around too much and change too many things – and then you lose the essence of who you are as a team, and blokes really start not believing in themselves,” Fagan said.

Riewoldt agreed.

“He (Hipwood) is contracted until 2029; it defeats the purpose of dropping him,’’ he said.

“The thing is, they’re all playing poorly (at the Lions), every one of them. No one’s winning their position at the moment, and Collingwood was exactly in the same boat last week.

“They need to get a few individual wins on the board and then everyone plays well.’’

The focus is on Brisbane at 0-3, and Hipwood after his eight-disposal and zero goal game against the Pies. But Riewoldt argued Hipwood was only a cog in the machine.

“System football – which everyone plays now – is one part helps the next part, which helps the next part, and if six of the 18 parts on the ground aren’t working, it’s not a surprise the other 12 parts aren’t working either,” he said.

“You can get away with two or three positions not functioning at top capacity, but when it works, it’s undefeatable. Think Richmond of 2019 in the grand final, Geelong in their grand final (2022). When you get it exactly right, it’s near impossible to beat.

“But when it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work.

“They rely on this sense of predictability and as soon as that goes out the window, everyone’s guessing. The guy with the ball is guessing, even the coaches are guessing about why it’s not working.’’

The spotlight on Hipwood this week comes because of frustration with his performance. In some games he is dangerous and dominant; in other games he looks uncompetitive.

Fagan noted Hipwood did kick three goals against Fremantle in Round 2.

“He probably gets stuck in this key forward mentality,’’ Riewoldt said, “where everybody says he’s a key forward and he must put on size, but he’s just a tall half-forward.’’

Overall, Hipwood has played 156 games and kicked 233 goals.

In 128 of those games, he’s kicked two or fewer goals.

The positive is that his performance in finals is equal to his home-and-away form, and across his career, his performances against top-eight teams rivals those against bottom 10 teams.

A deeper dive shows us he kicks more goals (181) when the margin is fewer than 30 points against the goals (52) he kicks when the margin blows out after five goals.

In that sense, he’s not a flat-track bully. Though, he will get the opportunity to be the bully against an undersized and inexperienced North Melbourne on Friday. He and Fagan both know he needs it.

Originally published as Robbo: How Brisbane Lions solve Eric Hipwood’s confidence, form dilemma