SOME RELIEF FOR HURTING LIONS
THE pain of defeat has eased slightly for the Brisbane Lions, with better-than-expected injury reports on key pair Hugh Mccluggage and Mitch Robinson.
Mccluggage (shoulder) and Robinson (thigh) were casualties on a bad Thursday night for the Lions, whose four-game winning streak was ended by rampant Geelong at the SCG. While Mccluggage returned to finish the match with a heavily strapped shoulder, there were fears his second-quarter injury could turn into a lengthy stint on the sidelines.
Robinson’s bad cork, which forced him off the field for most of the second half of Brisbane’s 27-point loss, also had the medicos concerned.
However, there was good news on Friday, with both midfielders considered strong chances of playing on Saturday week against GWS at Giants Stadium.
“Hugh’s been in to have some scans today. The pleasing thing is there’s no fracture so his shoulder’s intact which is really good news,” Lions general manager of football David Noble said.
“It’s settled really well, we’ve been really pleased. The benefit is that he came (back) on and finished the game, so we’re really proud of his efforts under physical duress.
“There might be a bit of muscular bruising in there, but we’ll probably wait and see, but with an eight-day break, we’re hopeful he’ll get up and play … next round.”
Noble said the longer period between matches would also help Robinson.
“He got it right at the top of that part of his thigh, and it seemed to blow up quite quickly but the docs were on top of it,” Noble said. “He had some treatment straight after the game, and it’s settled really well. He’s got good range of movement and again, with a longer break, we’re pretty confident he’ll be able to play (against the Giants).”