ALREADY on top of the table, Brisbane coach Chris Fagan has a warning for the rest of the competition – the Lions are just getting started.
Sunday night’s 17-point win over Gold Coast pushed the premiers to a 7-1 win-loss record and a game clear of Collingwood and Hawthorn.
LIONS V SUNS Full match details and stats
And things are on the up for the Lions, with Kai Lohmann (shoulder) and Logan Morris (calf) expected back for next week’s match against North Melbourne and Tom Doedee and Keidean Coleman about to push for senior selection.
Brisbane demolished the Suns at a packed Gabba and could have won by a far greater margin.
They won the clearance battle 47-28 and contested possessions 147-125 to lay the foundation for a strong victory.
It came just eight days after an equally impressive 45-point triumph over St Kilda.
“I feel like the past two weeks we’re getting back to somewhere near what we look like when we play our best footy,” Fagan said.
“The boys have embraced the pressure stuff and team defence side of things, and we’ve got good results on the back of that.”
The Lions relied on second half surges to prop them up in the opening five weeks of the season, but their pressure, work around the contest and team defence has been exceptional in the past fortnight.
Marcus Ashcroft Medal winner, his son Will Ashcroft, along with Hugh McCluggage, Lachie Neale and Josh Dunkley completely outplayed the excellent Gold Coast on-ball brigade.
Coleman played his first match in 14 months earlier on Sunday, making a successful return from his ruptured ACL with 28 polished disposals in the VFL.
Doedee has played four matches at the lower level after overcoming back-to-back knee reconstructions and was close to best afield in the same match.
Fagan said Coleman would have to “push his way into the side”.
“The guys in there are performing and I’m reluctant to change a group that are doing a good job,” he said.
“Selection is going to be hard, but it’s a good problem to have.”
Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick was disappointed in his team’s performance, saying Brisbane was “humming” at the moment.
“We just couldn’t control the midfield battle at all,” he said.
“It’s a pretty easy analysis when you get beaten by that amount of contested ball.
“Sometimes you can lose clearances, but you’ve got to make up for it in the turnover game and we couldn’t quite get that up and going.
“There’s a reason this side was holding up the premiership cup nine games ago, they’re pretty good.”
For the second straight week Matt Rowell was quiet, gathering 16 disposals and just one clearance a week after having 16 and five clearances against Sydney.
Hardwick said his midfield ace needed more protection from the umpires.
“He does battle, and he doesn’t get a lot of protection, I’m not gonna lie.
“He needs to be looked after more. He’s a ball player. Brisbane did an outstanding job tonight, I’m talking throughout the course of the year, he doesn’t get enough protection for a ball player.
“They target him, and they hold and they scrap. He needs some help.”
