Lions Senior Coach Leigh Matthews is taking a philosophical approach to the daunting task that faces his team this week.
The Lions' date with the reigning premiers the West Coast Eagles over at Subiaco Oval on Saturday night is undoubtedly one of the toughest assignments in AFL football.
History has proven unkind to the Lions against the Eagles over the past decade, having won only four out of the 16 matches between the two teams since 1997.
The Lions' record has been even less impressive at Subiaco where they have only beaten the Eagles once - back in 2001.
While Matthews concedes that the match will be one of the Lions’ toughest tests this season, he knows that there are no such things as certainties in football.
“Clearly we’re up against it,” he said. “But we’re still going to go over there (Subiaco) and do our absolute best and you can never be quite sure what’s going to happen.”
“We know the level the Eagles are at and the level that we’ve been at recently, but we aren’t going over there thinking that there is no chance in the world.”
The Lions have slipped to 13th on the AFL ladder on the back of a seven week long winless streak and are now only a slim mathematical chance to participate in the Finals.
Matthews is aware of the challenge the club faces yet remains focussed on the fundamentals of the team.
“We’re all about developing, improving and being as good as we can be to give our members and supporters the best possible sight we can,” he said.
“The one good thing on Saturday (against Port Adelaide) was that the supporters got a good surge of excitement in the last quarter when the team challenged.”
“That’s ultimately what we’re trying to achieve every time we play.”
Click here to read more from Leigh Matthews in the 'Coaches Corner'.
