Lions’ shuffle squeezes in final intra-club game

BRISBANE have reshuffled their players’ CBA leave to squeeze in a final intra-club game after conceding senior players Darcy Gardiner, Marcus Adams and Stef Martin were unlikely to be fit for JLT Series action.

The Lions usually give their players four days off, as negotiated in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, over the weekend between the end of the JLT series and the start of the premiership.

However, this year they scheduled that break last week to leave them with the option of playing one final intra-club scratch match on that bye weekend to give the injured trio an opportunity for a competitive hit-out.

Football manager David Noble last night confirmed it was unlikely any would be ready for the final JLT game against Melbourne on March 9.

“Maybe at a stretch Darcy or Stef could get up for the second JLT game but at this stage we think we might use that weekend for a final hit-out,’’ he said.

“The older they get and when they have played a lot of games they have the capacity to go into a premiership match without much match practice so we’re comfortable there.’’

The Lions play their opening game of the pre-season tournament against Hawthorn at Burpengary on Sunday.

They will stick with the trial of Harris Andrews in attack for periods of the JLT despite the injuries to defenders Gardiner and Aams.

Andrews had a tough afternoon at Metricon Stadium on Saturday against Suns defender Rory Thompson.

He managed to get in position on a few occasions to take a contested mark deep in attack but his normally sure hands had deserted him. He finished back in defence.

But stand-in coach Jed Adcock said it was always the club’s intention for Andrews to spend time at both ends of the ground.

Gold Coast have some tough selection decisions to insert leaders David Swallow, Touk Miller, Pearce Hanley and ruckman Jarrod Witts as well as AFLX players Jack Martin, Jarrod Harbrow and Lachie Weller after some youngsters grabbed their opportunity in the trial against Brisbane on Saturday.

Second-year player Wil Powell was a standout on a wing and number 3 draft pick Izak Rankine shone up forward and both would be rightly aggrieved if they were overlooked.