VETERAN midfielder Nigel Lappin may not have been involved in many drawn matches to compare it to, but he described Saturday night's level result with the Tigers as a "hollow" experience.
Lappin said the players were unaware of how much time was remaining as the ball rebounded frantically from end to end once the scores hit 73 points apiece, and expected the fourth quarter to last longer than it did.
"I was looking up at the clock on the scoreboard and it was only up to 22 minutes, or something like that," he told lions.com.au after the game.
"Quarters normally go for somewhere up around 30 minutes, so we thought there was five minutes to go, but it wasn't to be."
Throughout his 263-game career, Lappin said he felt lucky to have not been involved in more drawn games, owing to the flat feeling they generate for both teams after four hard quarters of football.
"We played reasonably well in the third quarter, we just couldn't properly capitalise on our chances in the second quarter and the start of the third quarter,” he said.
"In the last quarter, we had a few chances as well and we should have kicked those goals, as they might have deflated them a little bit.
"It didn't happen though and the result stands. I haven't been in too many draws, maybe two or three, as they don't come around all that often, thank God."
Lappin said the players, both Brisbane and
Despite the annoying result however, Lappin said he believed many positives existed for the Lions, mainly in the form of their emerging players.
"It's one of those things. They were really flat, we were really flat, and it's probably tougher for us because we were in front," he said.
"We let the game slip away a bit, but that's footy. You've got to just get on with it, and there are plenty of positives for us to take out of it tonight.
"I thought Jared Brennan was really good for us, and Mitch Clark looks like a really exciting prospect. All our young boys are good, Rhan Hooper came in tonight and did a really good job.
"The future is bright in
Lappin is fighting his way back to his best after missing the entire 2006 season with an ankle complaint, and having the start of this year derailed by a leg injury.
He has averaged nearly 25 possessions a game in the five matches he has played since coming back into the side in round six, after the leg injury sustained in the opening round sidelined him for a month.
With 28 disposals, Lappin rates his game against the Tigers as his personal best for the year, but concedes he still has a long way to go before he's back to his prime fitness.
"The last two weeks I've been pulling up really well, so the body has been getting used to playing footy again," he said.
"The first few weeks, I was pulling up really average. That's a positive, but I'm still a long way off my peak.
"But, maybe I'm not as far off as I think. Hopefully, I'm just another couple of weeks away. We get a bye in a few weeks, and I'll just play as hard as I can and run the games out as hard as I can, and I'll have that week to freshen up.
"In terms of influence on the game, I was able to use the ball a little bit better tonight. I still had a lot of turnovers myself. I've got a lot of work to do on my game, I know that, and I'm looking forward to improving.
"It's weird having a year off footy, it feels like I'm starting all over again and I'm only just starting to feel like I'm fitting in again out there. But I'm looking forward to the rest of the season."
