Fagan backs gun duo to fire against West Coast

BRISBANE senior coach Chris Fagan has lavished praise on milestone men Grant Birchall and Harris Andrews as the Lions prepare for the “very, very best” version of the wounded West Coast at the Gabba tonight.

Captain Dayne Zorko has been named but is no certainty to play and will be given every opportunity to overcome an Achilles issue for the clash when Birchall (250 games) and Andrews (100 games) reach significant marks.

The Eagles were thrashed by the Gold Coast last Saturday night and have lost star defender Jeremy Mcgovern to suspension but Fagan expects a fired-up West Coast to bounce back like the proud club and genuine premiership contenders they are.

And he could not be happier to have Birchall and Andrews in his backline to repel the likes of Eagles spearheads Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling.

Tasmanians Fagan and Birchall have a long association. Fagan’s first football coach was Birchall’s late grandfather and Birchall’s mother was best friends with Fagan’s sister at primary school. And they were also at Hawthorn together for four premierships before Birchall – who has been hampered by injuries the past few seasons – followed Fagan north.

“Grant Birchall is probably one of the underrated all-time great players for the Hawthorn footy club. Four-time premiership player … his four grand finals as a halfback flanker he averaged 24 possessions per game,’’ Fagan said.

“On the big stage, he stepped up. His average in grand finals is better than his career average, which is 22 (possessions). That tells you how good he is.

“When you look at the guys that he played alongside (Lance) Franklin, (Jarryd) Roughead, (Cyril) Rioli, (Sam) Mitchell, (Luke) Hodge, (Jordan) Lewis. He probably didn’t get the kudos he really deserves.’’ Fagan cited the statistic that of the 16,000-plus people to ever play senior VFL/ AFL football, Birchall was just the 246th footballer to hit the 250-game mark.