Fagan a hoodoo guru
Lions coach pulls out all the tricks
WILY coach Chris Fagan has called on some old-school tactics to encourage his players to avenge their poor history against the Swans at the Gabba today rather than fear it.
The last time the Lions took the points against the Swans was in Round 22, 2009, the year they also made their most recent final appearance.
Daniel Rich is the only player in today’s side who has beaten the Swans in a Lions jumper.
If the players weren’t aware of the Lions’ poor record against Sydney, Fagan made sure of it during the week.
“You just put it on the whiteboard and say, “Boys, what do we think about this?,” Fagan said. “If we want to be a great team, we have to start beating some of these teams that have had the wood on us for a long period of time.’’
But he pulled another tactic from his bag of tricks at yesterday’s captains run to show his men that record belonged to a different era.
He asked everyone who was in the side the last time the Swans’ backs were to the wall ahead of a clash with the Lions to step forward. Only 11 remained.
It was in Fagan’s first year at the Lions in 2017 that Sydney had a shocking start to the season, slumping to 0-6 before belting Brisbane by 54 points at the SCG.
That game sparked a return to form which saw the Swans make the finals against all odds.
The disclaimer is Lance Franklin, who kicked eight goals that day, is out of today’s clash with a hamstring injury.
This is a very different Lions team. Brisbane will go in as favourites and the younger brigade have had no qualms declaring it is a contest they expect to win. However Fagan was a little more conservative, speaking of Sydney’s record of bouncing back from poor starts. “We hope to win,’’ he said. “Sydney are a formidable opponent and when their backs are to the wall which they are at the moment they usually come out with tremendous fight which is what we are expecting.
“They are a team that has had the wood on us for a long time, which hasn’t gone unnoticed. We have talked about it this week, that very fact.’’
It has been a season of shedding unwanted records. Brisbane’s Round 1 victory over West Coast and the following week against North Melbourne both broke long droughts.
Fagan said the club saw those breakthrough victories as proof of their progress.
“It is a great challenge for us and a way we can demonstrate our development so we are looking forward to a great opportunity to do the same thing against a team that has dominated us for a decade,’’ he said.
THEY ARE A TEAM THAT HAS HAD THE WOOD ON US FOR A LONG TIME, WHICH HASN’T GONE UNNOTICED
LIONS COACH CHRIS FAGAN