Lions count on grit, speed
BRISBANE coach Chris Fagan is unfazed by the Melbourne midfield’s reputation as tough nuts, saying he believes the Lions’ engine room has its own quota of hard men.
With young bulls such as Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver stepping up in 2017 to join established ball winners Nathan Jones, Dom Tyson, Jordan Lewis and the injured Jack Viney, the Demons now boast one of the most physical midfields in the competition.
Fagan has heard the discussion around the Dees’ tough nuts on the various footy shows but says assuming it was an area where the Lions would be at a disadvantage tonight at the Gabba did not do his side justice.
“We’ve got plenty of tough blokes ourselves in the midfield. ( Dayne) Beams is pretty tough, ( Jarrod) Berry is pretty tough, ( Rhys) Mathieson, the guy we brought in is tough, ( Dayne) Zorko’s tough,” he said.
“So we’ve got our group of players who are handy in that department as well,”
To match fire with fire, Fagan brought Mathieson straight back into the side for today’s clash at the Gabba after he missed Round 1 with a tight hamstring.
He replaces Brisbane’s most combative plater Mitch Robinson, who was rubbed out by the MRP.
“He ( Mathieson) was very, very good against Sydney in the JLT ( Challenge) and he has trained well enough for us to believe he can get in and have an impact,” he said
“He’s a really good contest- ed ballplayer and in a game against Melbourne, who are a team that is very strong in that area. We thought he was the logical inclusion.”
Fagan said the Lions relished the opportunity to test themselves against the Demons, whose approach to the contest is something the Lions are trying to emulate.
“They are very good at it, they base their game around it and we are trying to,” he said.
“We are looking forward to the challenge of playing against them. We have stood up to some teams in the last month or so, Sydney, Gold Coast and St Kilda who are all pretty strong in that department and we’ve competed equally well if not better than they have in that area.”
He also went for some pace with the selection of the electric Cedric Cox, who replaces the injured Daniel Rich.
He hoped the Lions could expose Melbourne’s lack of pace, but said that strategy would only work if they were able to break even at the contest.