Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan has a warning for rival AFL groups hoping to intimidate rising star Will Ashcroft with rough-house techniques, saying “it doesn’t work”.
Father-son choose Ashcroft will make his AFL debut on Saturday in Brisbane’s season-opener towards Port Adelaide.
Fagan had no hesitation selecting Aschroft, the son of Lions triple premiership-winning participant Marcus Ashcroft, following spectacular pre-season type.
The method wherein Ashcroft dealt with being focused in trial wins over the Sydney Swans and Geelong – final season’s two grand closing groups – additionally stood out.
“He’s not the only one they’ll come after, but I think what we’ve seen in the pre-season is it doesn’t work, so good luck to them,” Fagan stated.
“I expect that he’ll take his transition into AFL footy in his stride.
“He lives well with his reputation, and the bottom line with him is he’s a level-headed lad who works really hard on his football.”
Ashcroft can be a part of a star-studded Lions midfield at Adelaide Oval, with one other of Brisbane’s prized low season recruits, ex-Western Bulldog Josh Dunkley, additionally anticipated to shine – and cop his justifiable share of consideration.
“He cops that because he goes in hard,” Fagan stated of Dunkley.
“They’re mostly self-inflicted. That’s the way he plays, which is good.”
Fagan was greater than snug with the crew he had chosen for Saturday’s match.
“A lot of guys have been in good form, but we had some solid form against the Swans and Geelong with pretty much the same team each week, and those guys are all available this week, so they make up the bulk of the team,” he stated.
The Lions’ good pre-season type meant there was no have to rush again former captain Dayne Zorko from a hamstring damage.
“Probably if we were really desperate we would have played him this weekend, but we just want to make sure he’s right,” Fagan stated.
“He’s in career-best condition. I’ve never seen him look so fit, so hopefully when he coms back he can make an impact.”
Fagan additionally confirmed that the versatile Cameron Rayner would spend his justifiable share of time in Brisbane’s defence regardless of being named within the Lions’ forwards for the battle with Port.
“You’ve got to be careful when you look at teams in the paper, they’re not always truthful – that’s for every team.
“We know we can play Cam at either end, so we’ll give that a bit more thought.
“There’s still a bit more to learn for him as a backline player, but I guess what we’ve seen is encouraging.
“We think he’s got the capacity to develop into a good player back there, but he’s not there yet.”
Originally revealed as Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan backs debutant Will Ashcroft to deal with being focused
Source: www.dailytelegraph.com.au
