JUSTIN Leppitsch has defended his "livewire" recruit Mitch Robinson and says his claims that other clubs saw the Brisbane Lions as irrelevant in recent seasons were somewhat justified.
Robinson's comments, which infuriated Carlton coach Mick Malthouse this week, came after he told his new teammates at a pre-season training camp the Blues had previously considered the Lions a "walkover team".
Malthouse fired back, calling his former player's claims "totally disrespectful" and "outrageous", and emphatically declared the Blues go into games "with the utmost respect for every side".
He even said Robinson's move from Carlton had been the right one, because he "wouldn't put up with anyone who does not have respect and tells absolutely porkies".
Leppitsch said he didn't view Malthouse's response as a direct attack on Robinson, and said his player's main intention had been to motivate his new teammates.
"I don't think Mick was targeting Mitch, per se, I think he was more defending his group that they weren't disrespecting Brisbane at all," Leppitsch told AFL.com.au.
"I guess Mick was just making clear they were the thoughts of Mitch and not the [Carlton] footy club, and we accept that and respect that.
"I don't think Mitch was talking as an ex-Carlton player; he was talking as a current Brisbane player and the motivation of the group.
"Sometimes with Mitch, it's how you say it, not what you say and I think that was probably more the error he made."
Robinson, along with other recruits Allen Christensen and Dayne Beams, were asked to tell the Lions players what the outside perception had been of the team.
Robinson said the Blues had viewed them as "a bit of a walkover team, even though they beat us", and they would travel to the Gabba simply to "get a win and go home".
While Malthouse was riled at the suggestion, Leppitsch said it was somewhat justified given his team's recent success rate.
"There's some players that have been around awhile now, like Tom Rockliff and Jack Redden and Daniel Rich, that haven't really tasted the successes they'd like," he said.
"It wasn't probably anything that Carlton was saying about it, it was a collective from all the players that have come in from other clubs and not just Mitch himself.
"It's more getting a view from the opposition what they thought of Brisbane, and in a short sense, what Mitch was trying to explain, was a little bit irrelevance.
"That was probably fair of where we are with the group.
"It was a bit of a sting for the group to realise, 'Do we want to be relevant this season and going forward, or do we want to stay where we are?'"
As far as Robinson's impact as a Lion so far, Leppitsch said it was clear he was the "livewire of the group".
But he had been impressed at how that type of personality had fit in with his crop of players.
"He's brought a new intensity to training, not just on the field but in the gym, and with encouraging players," he said.
"He's got that real ability to lift a group verbally and that's been something we've lacked also last season."
