Road warrior Lions set sights on crashing AFL top-four
Justin Chadwick |
Brisbane coach Chris Fagan says he’s a relieved man after watching his team secure a finals berth for a seventh straight year — and now he wants them to go chase a prized top-four berth.
The Lions booked their spot for September with a crushing 57-point win over Fremantle in Perth on Friday night.
The 15.11 (101) to 5.14 (44) win improved Brisbane’s record to 15-6-1 with just one more match to go – a tough fixture against Hawthorn at the Gabba next week.
Brisbane’s finals hopes would have been on thin ice had they lost to Fremantle, and Fagan was thrilled with the win on enemy territory.
“It’s a big relief,” Fagan said.
“I was sitting in my hotel room today thinking, ‘if we lose tonight and we lose next week, we could miss finals having 14 wins and a draw – that’s unheard of’.
“But it was just a relief to have that out of the way. And it allows us to plan a little bit forward.
“This is our seventh year in a row that we’ve qualified for finals. That’s hard to do, particularly if you’re an interstate club because you’ve got to travel more and there’s a few more obstacles.”
Brisbane won the flag from fifth place last year.
Fagan would love to see the Lions secure a double chance by finishing in the top-four this time around.
“I’m sure it’ll drive the group – that desire to finish top-four,” he said.
“I mean, there’s probably 1001 different ways the ladder could end up next week, but we’re in control of our own destiny.”
Brisbane have won 17 of their past 21 games away from home – a remarkable feat.
“So we just should travel somewhere and play next week, to be honest,” Fagan quipped.
One major downer to come out of Friday’s win was a dislocated shoulder to midfielder Jarrod Berry.
Berry’s left shoulder popped out when he was bowled over by Andrew Brayshaw in the final quarter, and it remains to be seen whether it will be a season-ending injury.
“His other shoulder is the one he’s had operated on … so now the other one’s popped out,” Fagan said.
“I don’t know the full extent. Obviously, there’ll be scans and stuff like that.
“It didn’t look good. But sometimes they can find a way to strap them up and get them through the season and have an operation at the end of the year.”
AAP
