Lions on alert for Martin menace
BRISBANE has been warned stopping Dustin Martin is the Lions’ No.1 priority amid Richmond’s forward line riches as the Tigers finals hero prepares to prove his fitness this week.
Triple Brisbane premiership star Alastair Lynch said on Sunday the Lions had to send elite small defender Brandon Starcevich to Martin ahead of Shai Bolton, Noah Cumberland or Maurice Rioli Jr.
Martin is still far from a certainty to take on Brisbane, with Richmond senior club adviser Neil Balme saying he might prove his fitness as late as Wednesday.
The triple Norm Smith medallist will train on Monday and Wednesday after nine weeks out.
It means Martin will likely spend more time forward, where Bolton has taken over as footy’s most dangerous midforward in his absence, Rioli is a tackling machine and Cumberland has kicked 18 goals in seven games.
Cumberland will play after a kick to the shin and Tom Lynch (groin) is a certain starter but Balme said the Tigers had to ensure Martin was fit enough to avoid a recurrence of that hamstring strain.
Lynch said the suspension of small defender Noah Answerth made the match-ups tougher for Chris Fagan.
“Brisbane will get Cal Ah Chee back (from concussion) and Marcus Adams so those two will be a big help down there,” Lynch said.
“Starcevich goes to Martin and then you have some flexibility with who goes to Lynch – Adams or Harris Andrews. Those two inclusions certainly help down there.
“Even a half-fit Dusty can do some damage so he will be causing an enormous amount of anxiety for the defenders. Dusty playing even more forward is going to be a real handful down there.
“But the biggest thing is the pressure up the field. At stages in the past month the ball has just been flying into the Lions’ defence. I know there has been criticism about the defenders but up the field will tell the main story.”
Lynch said the Lions’ inconsistency was a major concern.
“Brisbane’s best is good enough. The problem in the past month is we have seen the best and the worst. The gap is a fair gap,” he said.
“We saw early in the Richmond game and against Carlton and St Kilda the very good Brisbane, and in the same games we saw lapses where they drop off for a period and the opposition scores back to back goals very quickly.”
Balme said Martin wasn’t over the line to play just yet.
“He hasn’t played for quite a while so we can’t take a risk on him,” he said.
“He has been training very well, I would be very positive.”