Lions coach Chris Fagan has defended Brisbane’s extraordinary MCG document, saying he’s “sick of questions” about his facet’s lack of success on the dwelling of soccer.
The third-placed Lions return to the MCG of Friday evening to satisfy Melbourne, who path Brisbane by eight factors on the AFL ladder.
The groups met on the identical venue in final yr’s finals sequence, with the Lions ending the Demons’ season in recording their first MCG win since 2014.
However, since then, Fagan’s males have misplaced on their subsequent two journeys to the bottom, together with final month in an extraordinary efficiency in opposition to Hawthorn.
“We don’t play against the MCG, we play against Melbourne or we play against Richmond or we play against Hawthorn – we’ve just got to play well against those teams,” Fagan mentioned on Thursday.
“We’re acutely aware of our MCG record, but we also won there three games ago, so we know we can win there.
“It’s a little bit wider and a little bit longer, we just haven’t played well.”
Fagan appeared to change into agitated as he fielded questions in regards to the MCG having a distinct “look” and completely different grass to the Lions’ dwelling floor, the Gabba.
“The look’s different everywhere you play. That’s why you have home games and away games. That’s why teams have troubles coming to the Gabba and winning because it’s a different look,” he mentioned.
“The grass at every ground is different, the surface at every ground is different, not just the MCG. It’s sort of like ‘yep, tell me something we don’t know’ … I’m sick of questions on the MCG, to be honest.
“We know how to play the ground, we’ve just got to execute it for longer.
“I’ve got a growth mindset and I don’t look back on the past too much, I look forward to the next opportunity. That’s what we’re all looking forward to (on Friday night).”
Fagan confirmed that the versatile Jarrod Berry and ahead Linc McCarthy would return to Brisbane’s line-up after lacking the Lions’ 81-point thrashing of West Coast final Saturday.
Berry was sidelined with a hamstring downside, whereas McCarthy was serving a one-game suspension.
“He (Berry) is a bloke that can play anywhere … he’s a handy player,” the Lions coach mentioned.
Fagan additionally confirmed that star midfielder Josh Dunkley would miss a second match with a calf damage.
“He was running well on Tuesday, and he’ll continue his program today and over the weekend. I expect by the following Saturday, he should be good to go (against Geelong at the Gabba),” he mentioned.
Originally printed as Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan sad with being quizzed about his facet’s poor MCG document
Source: www.dailytelegraph.com.au
