He’s at Lions’ disposal
ONLINE NOW DID THE BOMBERS DOWN THE BULLDOGS IN THEIR CLASH ON THE GOLD COAST LAST NIGHT ? Neale intent on making up for stutter last week Fagan says hub gives Gabba chance to host grand final
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BRISBANE Lions coach Chris Fagan has called for this year’s AFL grand final to be played at the Gabba if the COVID-19 crisis rules out the MCG hosting the decider.
Queensland has become the new home of the AFL with the relocation of all 10 Victorian
Live on Kayo, Ch 7 clubs to the Sunshine State.
Jostling for the right to stage the grand final has already started, with Western Australia and South Australia questioning the credentials of Queensland and NSW to host the match.
But Fagan said Queensland’s status as AFL’s temporary base should lead to a Gabba grand final.
“(A Queensland decider) should be given strong consideration,” he said.
“Obviously the AFL have got contractual obligations to the MCG, and I would have thought that they’ll let that ride out for as long as they can before they make that decision.
“If it gets to the point where they know they can’t have it
PERFECTIONIST Lachie Neale is out for redemption at Giants Stadium on Saturday.
Despite having 26 disposals against Geelong last week, the Brisbane star was not satisfied with himself in the Lions’ 27point loss to the Cats.
The defeat ended Brisbane’s run of four straight wins, with Neale and the Lions desperate to make amends against GWS.
“He holds himself to a very high standard,” Lions coach Chris Fagan said of midfielder Neale.
“He and I both agreed, albeit the fact it was a good game, it was his quietest game of the year.
“He wasn’t as influential as he normally is around the packs. Mind you, he has an incredibly high standard so to be slightly below that is no sin.
“That’s what makes him a great player.
“He’s got real strong pride in his performance, and if he’s a little bit below his best and he feels like he’s let the team down, no doubt he’ll be looking to respond this week the only way he can respond.”
Fagan said the Lions had played one bad term at the SCG – the third against Geelong in which they were outscored 45-1 – in their past five matches, and as a result were confident of another strong showing against the Giants.
“One quarter we got a heavy beating ... the cause of that, it’s hard to say,” he said. there, then it’s up for grabs.
“Queensland should be at the forefront The Gabba should be the forefront of calculations for a grand final.”
Fagan, who hails from Tasmania, said every state was entitled to bid for the match.
“That’s just good fun parochialism between states. You’d expect that,” he said.
“Sometimes it’s between the ears rather than what you actually do on the field, so we had a good chat about that during the week.
“We saw (Cats trio) (Joel) Selwood, (Patrick) Dangerfield and Gary Ablett ... they recognised the moment and they increased their effort.
“We’ll take a lot of learning from them. We’re a pretty young group, especially our leaders, and that was one of our discussion points this week.
“In footy, you either win or you learn. You never lose is the way I look at it, so we learnt a lot from that situation last week.”
Fagan said it was tough to nominate which teams were going to be firing at the business end of the COVID-19 affected campaign.
“It seems like injuries are popping up a bit more so that’s going to play a tremendous role in who’s going at the right end of the year,” Fagan said.
“There’s the uncertainty about where we’re playing from week to week.
“If you look at the ladder it’s a really even ladder probably from about 13th and 14th all the way through to the top.
“There’s been varying results ... there’s 1001 questions and I think that’s what makes it a fantastic competition.
“When you turn the telly on each night to watch a game, you don’t really know who’s going to win, It’s great for the fans.”
“If it was up for grabs, and I lived in South Australia or Western Australia, I’d be expecting my governments to put in strong claims to play the game there, just as the government has in Queensland.
“That’s all understandable and it’ll just add to the theatre of this football season, I’d imagine.”