Brisbane Lions coach Leigh Matthews was hoping on Monday that the Lions’ collective mood was still one of determination and confidence despite another narrow loss on the weekend and now with the team facing a sudden death semi-final against Adelaide at the Gabba on Friday night.
That mood was reflected at training on Tuesday by the reigning Brownlow Medallist Simon Black.
“The loss on Saturday night dented our pride somewhat but Collingwood is a good side and we still believe that when we play our best we can beat anyone in the competition,” Black said prior to training.
“We are a week behind where we want to be and we haven’t got as easy run as in the last two years.
“At the same time we are just looking at a bigger challenge and if it is a successful finals campaign it would be a huge achievement.”
All eyes were trained on Lions captain Michael Voss, who did what he usually does - firing handballs back and forth on the sidelines - keeping the reflexes intact and was joined by injured teammate Aaron Shattock (knee).
Black is fully aware of what is required by the senior group if Voss is absent on Friday night.
“It will be up to the rest of us to show that leadership and get our hands on the footy first in what will be a great challenge,” he said.
But potentially there will be a couple of young Lions who will be thrown in at the deep end such as the Matthews-anointed Richard Hadley, Jason Gram and perhaps National AFL Rising Star nominated Jared Brennan, who despite being listed as being a week away trained with the main group.
“It will be tough and they will be nervous, but we are going to give some guys the opportunity to come in and step up,” Black added.
“Richard (Hadley) is a really good in and under player with the way he throws his body on the line and that is where I am tipping Leigh (Matthews) will play him on Friday night – in the middle.”
The Lions are looking forward to playing at home again in front of their fans after spending the last two weeks on the road and Black is not too concerned with the short turnaround.
“Our recovery techniques have been good and everyone has been pretty thorough, so I don’t think the six-day break will affect us too much,” Black explained.
While Black knows this week’s clash is a brand new ball game, he acknowledges the Lions can take some confidence from the Crows’ two previous appearances at the Lions den.
“We had a good win against Adelaide earlier in the year and hopefully we can draw from that,” he said.
“We are still confident and we are looking forward to our first win in the finals this year.”
In other news from the session, Craig McRae (hamstring) trained with the main group, however, ruckman Clark Keating (shoulder) made a brief appearance and vice-captain Chris Scott (groin) did not take the field.
A further change may have to be made by the Lions after forward Tim Notting was found guilty of charging by the AFL Tribunal and suspended for one week.
