Injury-hit Lions stare down tough-as-nails fixture
Justin Chadwick |
Brisbane are in an almighty battle to keep their premiership defence alive, and AFL fixture boss Josh Bowler probably shouldn’t expect a Christmas card from Lions coach Chris Fagan this year.
In what has become a uniquely strange race to lock down a top-eight berth, only two wins separate the second-placed Cats (15-6) from the ninth-placed Bulldogs (13-8).
It means one unlucky team could finish with 15 wins this year and still miss out on a finals berth.
Brisbane, with 14 wins and a draw to their name, hope that unlucky team won’t be them, but the fixture gods aren’t on their side.
After facing fourth-placed Fremantle (15-6) in a blockbuster clash in Perth on Friday night, Brisbane will round out their regular-season campaign at home to Hawthorn (14-7).
If you glance at Brisbane’s overall fixture this year, the last 11 games are the stuff of nightmares.
The Lions faced ladder leaders Adelaide (16-5), GWS (14-7) and Geelong (15-6) during a tough stretch before their bye.
A two-game spell against Port Adelaide and Carlton gave Brisbane some respite, but the past four weeks have pitted them against the Bulldogs, Gold Coast (14-6), Collingwood (15-6) and resurgent Sydney (11-10).
Fagan is acutely aware of the tough hand his team have been dealt, and the high-stakes nature of each clash.
“Well if you have a look at our draw, we’ve been playing finals every week for the last six,” Fagan said.
“We played the Dogs, Suns, Collingwood, Sydney, who are going like a top-eight side at the moment, and now Fremantle, then Hawthorn.
“It’s been pretty solid. Whoever invented that draw at AFL House certainly made sure that if we’re going to get into the finals, we’re going to earn our spot.
“It’s an extraordinary year. I don’t think there’s ever been a year in AFL footy where 14 wins and a draw, which is what we’ve got at the moment, doesn’t get you into the finals.
“That was what we had last year, and we finished fifth.”
Brisbane’s finals hopes were dealt a blow in last week’s two-point loss to Sydney.
But in reality, it’s their growing injury list that has been their biggest concern.
Lincoln McCarthy (knee), Jack Payne (knee) and Noah Answerth (achilles) are out for the rest of the season.
Two-time Brownlow Medal winner Lachie Neale (quad, two weeks), Conor McKenna (hamstring, two weeks), Keidean Coleman (quad, six to seven weeks) and Kai Lohmann (calf, one week) are still unavailable.
In some positive news, defender Ryan Lester will return from concussion against the Dockers, while Brandon Starcevich (hamstring) is a chance to join him.
“I don’t know whether people noticed, but four of our backline from last year’s grand final didn’t play last week,” Fagan said.
“We’re doing it a little bit tough at the moment with injuries.
“We’ll deal with it. We had a little bit of a crisis in the middle of the year last year and lost some blokes with ACLs and bounced back from that.”
AAP
