Chris Fagan has welcomed the added stress that comes with a stacked squad and a shiny new house after the upgraded Brisbane unit gathered for the primary time.
Recruits Jack Gunston and Josh Dunkley, Ireland’s former Essendon expertise Conor McKenna and father-son draft scoops Will Ashcroft and Jaspa Fletcher have added appreciable depth to final yr’s preliminary finalists.
They have been all on deck on the AFL membership’s new Springfield headquarters half-hour west of their Gabba house floor because the squad got here collectively for the primary time on Monday.
“There’s lots of teams that would think this would be the year,” Fagan instructed reporters after coaching, on the expectation after 4 seasons of contending however no grand remaining look to point out for it.
“We’ve been working towards this for six years now. We were a team that were no good,” he stated, in reference to their picket spoon in Fagan’s first season of 2017.
“To put ourselves into a position where there’s expectation, we’re excited.
“The focus is to enhance, hopefully we will enhance sufficient to be there on the final day in September – that is what we’re aiming for.”
Fagan said he was aware of Gaelic football talent McKenna’s intent to return to the AFL midway through last season.
“Dom Ambrogio, our record supervisor, occurred to be within the UK the place his spouse comes from, so took a bit of journey all the way down to Ireland to have a chat to him,” Fagan said of the speedy defender, who he claimed had up to six clubs interested.
“He got here out right here two or three weeks in the past, went round and visited many of the golf equipment and luckily he selected to come back to our membership, which could be very thrilling.”
It continued an almost flawless recruitment period, with Sydney’s Lance Franklin perhaps the only name floated who did not end up in Lions colours.
“Not fairly,” Fagan winked in reference to off-season reports he insists were inaccurate linking the superstar with a move north.
“Josh Dunkley and Jack Gunston are A-graders and Conor was approaching that earlier than he went again to Ireland.
“To get those three guys is absolutely fantastic and then we get the added bonus of two high quality father and sons in the draft.
“So it most likely does not get any higher than that and clearly units expectations excessive for subsequent yr which, as I stated earlier than, is OK.”
