Lions shoot down Swans’ challenge
LIONS coach Chris Fagan is proud to say his midfield group is not just a one-man band.
Brownlow Medal favourite Lachie Neale was well held by busy tagger Ryan Clarke and the entire Swans midfield but Brisbane found a way to get the job done in wet conditions.
After being limited to three touches in the first term, Neale racked up 15 possessions but did not have his usual influence.
Fagan was pleased with how Jarrad Lyons, Dayne
Zorko, Hugh McCluggage and Cam Rayner picked up the slack.
The experienced Swans onball unit of Luke Parker, Josh Kennedy and Jake Lloyd won the clearance count and Sydney collected more possessions, but it was the Lions forwards who took the game away from the Swans.
“We are certainly not a midfield that relies just on Lachie to play well,” Fagan said.
“We love it when he plays well, but we have shown this year, when he gets stopped, which is not often, we have got other guys that can step up to the mark. It is not really about how many clearances Lachie Neale gets, it is about how we go as a team.
“If we are going to rely on Lachie Neale, we are not going to go very far, we need depth in the midfield and to be able to rely on a lot of guys, which we have had all season.”
Speaking post-match on Fox Footy, the Brownlow Medal favourite said he was not sure what attention would come from the Swans on-ballers, but liked the way his teammates battled on with his influence limited. “I did not know to expect it or not, we had plans for it if it happens, I had to play a different role,” Neale said.
“The Swans were pretty good in the contest and in the end we were able to break them.”
Sydney coach John Longmire was happy with the way his on-ballers battled, declaring they held their own.
The Lions now look towards hosting Carlton on their home deck to finish the home and away season this coming Saturday evening.