Robbo’s backing Charlie to reign

BRISBANE midfielder Mitch Robinson knows forward Charlie Cameron will bounce back from his MCG mauling by Richmond’s Dylan Grimes in next week’s AFL qualifying final.

Cameron kicked two goals but managed just seven touches in last Sunday’s 27-point loss to the Tigers with Grimes basically suffocating the dynamic small forward out of the game.

While the Lions query if all of Grimes’ off-the-ball tactics were legal, Robinson believes his teammate is experienced enough to deliver when the teams meet again at the Gabba on September 7.

“We know he can get in and out of those situations of being held or being mishandled behind the ball,” Robinson said. “It’s happening a lot this year, it’s not like the first time it’s happened.

“Charlie gets some of the best defenders every week and there’s a lot of players in the competition that have gone to him and Charlie’s won those battles.

“He’s had a lot of challenges, he’ll take it head on.”

Cameron was one of three Lions picked in the All-Australian team along with Harris Andrews and Lachie Neale after a 54-goal season.

Grimes and fellow Tigers defender Bachar Houli were also selected but a surprising omission was Brownlow medallist Dustin Martin. The Tigers midfielder was a prominent presence throughout last Sunday’s match, including a goal where he burst through two Lions tacklers before kicking home. Robinson is confident the Lions will find a way to negate Martin’s influence next weekend.

“You can stop him. I’ve seen players do it before,” he said. “I’ve had a couple of times where my role is on him and I’ve, self-proclaimed, won that battle at stages.

“It’s more a team defence ... we’re not just going to focus on Dusty because we saw that [Dion] Prestia can pop up and have 30 [disposals] and other blokes can have an impact. It’s not like we’re all going to go to him, I think Fages has spoken ... about focusing our hunt.

“We won a lot of key statistics last week that didn’t correlate to the scoreboard but hopefully we can tidy up a few things.”