Shades of 2019 in Lions’ win
SILKY Brisbane Lions midfielder Hugh McCluggage says the Lions got back to the onetwo punch of patience and power in their 30-point win over West Coast at the Gabba on Saturday night.
After a slugfest in slippery conditions, the Eagles led at halftime before Brisbane went up a gear in the third term with five goals to blow the match wide open and claim its second straight win.
McCluggage said it was how the Lions planned it.
“We try to grind early and hopefully we can take off late in games, which is what we were able to do last year,’’ he said.
“We knew we had to play hard footy in that first half given it was quite wet and the Eagles are a tough side.
“We had the fitness to be able to push on in the second half and usually that’s when things start to open up a bit.
“That Freo game last week, we looked to be taking off at times but then we’d give away a couple of silly free kicks or make a few silly mistakes and we’d just let them back in it.
“Against the Eagles, we were able to play our best footy in the third quarter, so when they threw a punch at us, we were able to stop it.’’
Along with Lachie Neale, McCluggage was outstanding with his class and skill rising above the conditions to finish with 26 disposals, 12 contested possessions, two goal assists, 10 score involvements, three clearances, five tackles and eight inside-50 entries.
“I was able to use the ball a lot better than what I did in the first two rounds and I was probably one of the boys that ‘Fages’ (coach Chris Fagan) was talking about when he said some people were a bit below par against Fremantle last week,’’ he said.
McCluggage said the crowd of 1965 played a role but Brisbane could not rest on its home ground advantage against Adelaide on Sunday when 10,000 would be allowed in.