Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan is assured that his group’s worsening document on the MCG gained’t function a psychological barrier for them throughout the finals this yr.
After blowing a 28-point lead on Friday night time and snatching defeat from the jaws of victory towards Melbourne, Brisbane have now misplaced 14 of their final 15 video games on the dwelling of soccer.
The Lions gained‘t get one other probability to exorcise their MCG demons for the rest of the home-and-away season, and must wait till September for the possibility to rectify their alarming kind on the venue.
“The hoodoo lives on, unfortunately,” Fagan stated post-match.
“It wasn’t that far away from not living on, but it does, so we just have to take that feedback and try and do a better job the next time that we play here.
“I’m not a great believer that what happens tonight, if we’re good enough to get to finals and if we have to play here again, that that’s going to be on our mind. I think we can deal with that.
“We were close tonight, about as close as you can get, but didn’t quite get there.”
Fagan stated the defeat was “hard to cop” as a result of his group “did a lot right”, particularly dominate the ball and territory within the center two quarters as they kicked 13 of the following 18 targets after conceding the primary 4.
“But at the end of the day I’d still say we didn’t deserve to win necessarily,” he stated.
“At the same time I’ve got to remember that Melbourne are a good footy side, and when you play them here, you’ve got to do a lot right to win.”
Fagan didn’t sense his gamers felt as if the job was achieved early within the final quarter once they stretched their lead again out to 26 factors.
“I’d pretty much sum the game up on contested possession,” he stated.
“In the first and last quarters Melbourne were plus 21 on contested possessions and win by total of 39 points, and in between, we’re plus two and we win those quarters by 38 points.”
Fagan was additionally stunned at how badly his aspect obtained crushed within the clearances (45-32).
“We’ll have a look at that, that’s been a really strong (area) for us. I think we rate probably the best coming into this game,” he stated.
One of the positives for Brisbane was the efficiency of ahead Jack Gunston who kicked three targets, which makes it 9 in whole for him since coming again into the group after being dropped a month in the past.
“There was always that question mark on Jack, wasn’t there, that he played West Coast last week so that was viewed as a relatively easy occasion to kick six goals,” Fagan stated.
“I’m not sure that it ever is … but to come in a tough game tonight and kick three and contribute like he did, that will help him to continue to build his confidence.”
Meanwhile, Fagan believes star midfielder Josh Dunkley (calf) will likely be again from harm subsequent week to face Geelong on the Gabba.
Originally revealed as Brisbane Lions coach assured MCG document gained’t be a finals drawback
Source: www.dailytelegraph.com.au
