Lions left to rue the one that got away

AFTER spending his first year coaxing a traumatised young footy side out of their shells, Chris Fagan is not about to risk sending them scurrying back in with too much criticism.

The second-year Brisbane coach was a disappointed man on Saturday night when the Lions fought back from a 37point deficit to draw level with the Demons, only to hand momentum back to them with a series of errors.

Melbourne was good enough to cash in on the momentum swing and a late flurry of goals turned a potential upset into a 26-point victory at the Gabba.

“We’re just going to keep going for it because it’s the only way we are going to get better,’’ Fagan said.

“I can’t tell them off for mucking a pass up or saying you shouldn’t have done this or you shouldn’t have done that because they will go right back into their shells.

“We’ve got to keep going for it, just like we did last year, and the team got better with their disposal as the year went on. So we won’t be defeated on that.’’

For the second week in a row the Lions could not find another gear when the opposition lifted in the final quarter, but Fagan said it was not physical fatigue.

“It’s not fitness, it’s young teams being able to finish out games,’’ he said. “You can only hold momentum for so long and a few little things happen and the bubble bursts. That’s just mentally getting stronger and a young team growing up and that’s a process, it doesn’t happen in five seconds.’’