Lions lick lips as schedule heats up

CHRIS Fagan admits he couldn’t have hoped for a better lead-up to the club’s drought-breaking finals campaign — three weeks at home and back-to-back clashes with genuine premiership contenders.

The Lions will take on Geelong today in front of the second Gabba sellout of the season and are also expecting a massive MCG crowd for a final-round clash with Richmond which will shape the top four.

Brisbane is locked in a three-way tie — but sits second on percentage — at the top of the ladder and could finish anywhere from first to fifth heading into their first September appearance since 2009. According to Fagan, the next two opponents, crowd size and ramifications of their final two matches will give his side “finals-like” experiences.

The Lions’ last sellout was against Collingwood and there was plenty of black and white in the crowd that day.

Fagan predicts this time will be different.

“It’s great to be playing two other teams ... who are high up on the ladder, and it gives us a good opportunity to see where we sit,” Fagan said.

“Those two teams are highly credentialed, regular finalists over the last couple of years, so we couldn’t ask for a better preparation.

“We’re going to play in front of a full house tomorrow ... which is a great show of support for our players.

“We had that earlier in the year against Collingwood but I felt like half the crowd was Collingwood. Then we get an opportunity to go to the MCG next week and I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a large crowd there. [They’re] golden opportunities for us.’’