‘Cockiness not the reason for our loss’
BRISBANE co-captain Harris Andrews has denied the Lions “got ahead” of themselves and were complacent before the opening round after a stellar pre-season.
Having beaten last season’s grand finalists Geelong and Sydney in trials, a Lions side boosted by the arrival of Josh Dunkley, Jack Gunston and Will Ashcroft had been expected to take care of Port Adelaide in round 1.
But the Lions produced a woeful display at Adelaide Oval on Saturday, with Port thrashing them by 52 points.
Brisbane went to sleep after halftime, with the hosts outscoring the Lions 87-21 in the second half.
Lions coach Chris Fagan questioned his team’s attitude after the loss.
“We came into the game with confidence given our (pre-season) form but perhaps that was the problem,” Fagan said.
“We had two good games against the Swans and Geelong. Whether that was an influencing factor, whether we turned up here and perhaps thought we were going a little bit better than we were … it’s hard to say.”
However, Andrews was adamant his side had not become cocky.
“I wouldn’t say we got ahead of ourselves,” Andrews said. “We weren’t going into the game thinking ‘how easy is this going to be’. We’d be kidding ourselves if we came into AFL games thinking that.
“We just got outworked by a good team. Port came with a steelier mindset into the game. They were really keen for the contest and we obviously weren’t. There’s no real sugar-coating it.”
Things won’t get any easier for the Lions on Friday, when they host 2021 premier Melbourne at the Gabba.
However, Andrews said his side had no choice but to “respond” and “make peace” with last Saturday’s embarrassing performance.
“As a group over the last couple of years, we’ve had some bad losses like that, but then our ability to bounce back is something that stands out for us,” he said.
The microscope will be particularly on the Lions’ star-studded midfielders – including the likes of Dunkley, Ashcroft, Jarrod Berry and co-captain Lachie Neale – who were destroyed by Port after halftime.
“You look at our pre-season, our mids have been fantastic,” Andrews said. “Their ability to get their hands on the ball first (and) defensively put some good pressure on has been really good throughout the pre-season.
“You have ups and downs throughout the season, and probably they (the midfielders) copped a bit of a whack over the weekend, but I’m sure that they’re going to respond.”
Andrews was hopeful that former skipper Dayne Zorko would be available after missing the Adelaide trip with a hamstring injury.
“He’s been tracking really well. It’d be awesome to get him back at some point,” Andrews said. “He brings such energy to the club. His ability to put pressure on the field and bring that hunger to the contest (that) we probably missed on the weekend would be great.”