EMERGING defender Jason Roe is looking forward to facing a relatively ‘monster-less’ Adelaide forward line at the Gabba on Saturday night, as an unchanged Brisbane Lions outfit aims to make it three wins on the trot.
Roe (192cm, 84kg) and defensive mate Jared Brennan (192, 95) regularly fight out of their weight class but with Adelaide listing Ken McGregor among the emergencies and selecting Scott Stevens (194, 86) and Nathan Bock (193, 93), the tale of the tape may not be a factor. Daniel Merrett (196, 104) looms as the likely candidate to stand the Crows' best marking option, Ian Perrie (193, 100).
"Scott Stevens and Nathan Bock are pretty much the same size as Jared Brennan and I, so I think we match up pretty well on them," Roe said.
"We'll go into the game pretty confident but we know we have to stop them kicking a big score."
If things had transpired differently in the summer of ‘05/06, Roe might actually have been squaring off against Stevens, Bock and company in twice-yearly Showdowns at AAMI Stadium.
Heading into the 2005 rookie draft, Roe - at that stage a North Adelaide player - fully expected to be picked up by the Crows' cross-town rivals, Port Adelaide.
"It's funny, I hadn't really heard anything from Brisbane and I was quite confident that I was going to be a rookie at the Port Power," he explained.
"Hawthorn were another team that I'd had a chat with but it was mostly Port Adelaide who'd shown an interest in me."
The Lions will be looking to improve their historical record against Adelaide to 12-5, while the Crows, who have included Luke Jericho for the injured John Hinge, will be shooting for consecutive wins at the Gabba.
TEAMS
Brisbane Lions
B: Chris Johnson, Daniel Merrett, Jason Roe
HB: Jed Adcock, Jared Brennan, Robert Copeland
C: Justin Sherman, Nigel Lappin, Cheynee Stiller
HF: Scott Harding, Jonathan Brown, Tim Notting
F: Michael Rischitelli, Joel Patfull, Ashley McGrath
FOLL: Jamie Charman, Simon Black, Luke Power
I/C: Richard Hadley, Colm Begley, Beau McDonald, Ben Fixter
EMG: Josh Drummond, Troy Selwood, Marcus Allan
Adelaide Crows
B: Jason Torney, Martin Mattner, Nathan Bassett
HB: Andrew McLeod, Ben Rutten, Nathan van Berlo
C: Michael Doughty, Tyson Edwards, Chris Knights
HF: Brett Burton, Nathan Bock, Bernie Vince
F: Richard Douglas, Ian Perrie, Scott Stevens
FOLL: Ben Hudson, Simon Goodwin, Scott Thompson
I/C: Jonathon Griffin, Robert Shirley, Scott Welsh, Luke Jericho
EMG: Ken McGregor, Darren Pfeiffer, Bryce Campbell
ON THE PUNT
Leigh Matthews' side has been installed as a $1.68 UNiTAB favourite against last year's preliminary finalist. Adelaide, the on the other hand, is all but friendless in the betting at $2.10. A Lions win of 39 points or less is paying $2.20, while those keener about the home team's chances might want to take some of the $5.50 on offer for a win of 40 points or more. Two of the Lions' wins in 2007 - against St Kilda in round two and last week against Fremantle - have come by margins bigger than 40 points.
KEY MATCHUPS
Ash McGrath (Lions) v Andrew McLeod (Adelaide): McGrath caused Fremantle all kinds of problems during last week's 45-point win at the Gabba and he'll be called on to do it again on Saturday night - but with a twist. The 23-year-old has always impressed as much with his tackling and pressure as with his goalkicking instincts and he'll need to be on top of his defensive game if, as expected, he lines up alongside McLeod.
Jonathan Brown (Lions) v Ben Rutten (Adelaide): Rutten is "only" listed at 97kg but he is one of the few defenders in the competition who have the strength to hold their own in a wrestle with Brown. Whether he can keep up with Brown across the turf is another matter and an area in which the star Lion will look to hurt the Crows. If Brown can return to the kicking form that saw him kick 9.0 over the season's first three rounds, the Lions should be able to expose the Crows' lack of firepower at the other end.
Nigel Lappin (Lions) v Tyson Edwards (Adelaide): A clash of two of the league's most unassuming stars in the centre of the ground would help give fans their money's worth. The two players share many similarities. Lappin began his career in 1994, a year before Edwards, and will play his 260th game on Saturday night, while the key Crow brings up his 250th. Both are premiership players - Lappin three times and Edwards two - and both are multiple club fairest-and-best placegetters, with Lappin winning the Lions' club champion award in 2004. Both players are also tireless runners with countless skills, whose fine performances in star-studded outfits haven't always been recognised by the football public.
ODDS AND SODS
*** The Lions' 141-point win over Adelaide in round 17, 2004 was a club record. A then 18-year-old Michael Rischitelli made his debut and, in a portent of things to come, kicked a pair of goals from two excellent tackles. The 29.15 (184) the Lions kicked that day was also the highest score in club history.
*** Adelaide coach Neil Craig is the only mentor in the league not to have played VFL/AFL football. Craig played 321 SANFL games with Norwood, Sturt and North Adelaide and captained the South Australian State-of-Origin team, but resisted overtures to move to the then-VFL.
*** Lions coach Leigh Matthews will become the first man in VFL/AFL history to reach 200 official games with three separate clubs when he coaches his 200th game with the Brisbane Lions this weekend. Matthews also played 332 games with Hawthorn and coached 224 games with Collingwood. Matthews will also become only the second person in VFL/AFL history after Allan Jeans to coach 200 games with two separate clubs. Jeans coached St Kilda for 332 games between 1961-76 and Hawthorn for 221 games between 1981-87 and 1989-90.
LAST TIME THEY MET
The Crows spoiled the Lions’ 10-year anniversary game celebrations with a hard-fought 15-point win on a rain-soaked Gabba - the first of 12 games Jonathan Brown would miss to end his season.
Trent Hentschel booted three goals while Tyson Edwards and Nathan Bassett were almost unstoppable across half-back. Wet weather specialist Jason Akermanis was the Lions’ best with three goals and 29 touches. Luke Power and Simon Black were also prominent for the Lions in the midfield.
Reserves/AFLQ:Suncoast Lions (1-3) v Zillmere (1-3), Gabba, 3.20pm
TV Broadcast details:QLD - 7pm LIVE on Network Ten and Fox Sports, VIC - 7pm LIVE on Fox Sports
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
