Brothers fit the bill
Coach hoping Lions siblings develop great partnership
THE Brisbane Lions have a history of fielding brothers-in-arms.
And senior coach Chris Fagan hopes the Berry boys – Jarrod and Tom – can add to the rich tapestry of sibling success at the Gabba.
Premiership winners Chris and Brad Scott played at the highest level together, as did their captain Michael Voss and his brother Brett – though he missed out on a flag – and Dayne and Claye Beams.
Irishmen Pearce and Cian Hanley also called Brisbane home for a period of time and the Lions currently have Jarryd and Corey Lyons on their list.
Tom Berry, 20, will make his AFL debut when Brisbane host Fremantle today, with older brother and established Lions star Jarrod, 22, joining him on the interchange bench.
Unfortunately, their Victorianbased father Troy, who normally heads north to Lions games in Brisbane, will not be able to watch the match in the flesh due to Queensland’s border closures.
But he should get plenty of opportunities to see his boys play together in the future, Fagan said.
“It’s great to see the brothers together. It’s a pity that their dad Troy can’t get up here to watch the game – it’s a real pity,’’ he said yesterday.
“Two lads from Horsham get the opportunity to play together and hopefully it’s the beginning of a really good partnership. Not just a once-off.
“We are a really young side … still the second or third youngest in the
AFL. It’s a great opportunity for anyone between the age of 18 and 23 to become a part of hopefully a really strong Brisbane outfit for the years to come.’’
Fagan said Tom Berry had impressed in the pre-season hitout against Carlton and the two intraclub matches, and would be deployed in the forward line to put defensive pressure on the Dockers
“He’s a tough, quick, pressure forward,” the coach said.
“He’ll complement guys like Charlie Cameron and Linc McCarthy and Zorks (captain Dayne Zorko) and (Cam) Rayner in our forward line.
“He will bring pressure and hardness at the footy.”
Fagan is a traditionalist who prefers 20-minute quarters but says it is too early to condemn the revised 16minute terms for the coronavirus-hit 2020 season.
“We haven’t got a lot of evidence yet. We’ve only had one round of footy and one game last night,” he said.
“You probably need to re-ask that question in six to eight weeks’ time to see how everything is panning out.
“I like the game the way it was. A test over two hours, a physical test ... but having said that, we’ve prepared for the 100-minute game.
“We know it’s going to be a bit more intense than usual and there’ll be some other things that we learn along the way.”
“To be honest, I don’t really care if it is 100 minutes or 40 minutes, we are back playing, that’s the main thing.”