Lions aim to cut top Giant’s supply
AFL: Cut off the supply lines to Jeremy Cameron and you win the match.
Coach Chris Fagan reckons that’s the key for his Brisbane Lions if they are to stand any chance of notching their second win of the AFL season when they take on the in-form Greater Western Sydney today.
Cameron is second on the league’s leading goalkickers list with 32 – a quarter of the Giants’ total this year.
While Fagan is confident young defender Harris Andrews can handle Cameron one-on-one, his preferred option is to starve the Giant of the ball in the first place.
“Cameron’s a superstar player, but what he relies on is good supply,” Fagan told reporters yesterday. “So the battle in the midfield is the critical battle. If he gets too many looks at it, it doesn’t matter who’s playing on him.
“Harris has been in great form and that’ll be a good challenge for him ... but (winning) territory is critical to it all and how much pressure we can get on the ball when it comes in.”
Rhys Mathieson has been brought into the Brisbane side to boost their contested ball ability, joining a midfield unit led by stars Dayne Zorko and Dayne Beams but largely filled out by inexperienced faces.
They’ll come up against a silky GWS contingent – coming off great wins over Adelaide and Gold Coast and freshened by a week off – that will be bolstered by the return of vice-captain Stephen Coniglio.
“Their midfield’s an A-grade midfield, there’s no doubt about that. It has been the case for a long time now,” Fagan said.
The Giants beat the Lions by 34 points in round six.