The loss was compounded with significant injuries to two key players. Captain Jonathan Brown will miss at least the first couple of months with facial fractures while Brent Staker today underwent a full knee reconstruction.
But the Lions’ effort and committment could not be questioned.
The young side battled manfully in the face of adversity and were understandably devastated following the galling two-point defeat.
Their performance earned praise from Michael Voss as well as Fremantle Coach Mark Harvey, while Lions fans have been emailing the Club to express their pride in the team.
Simon Black says the team has already started looking at the positives from last weekend and refuses to dwell on the disappointment.
“We can’t be disheartened by last Saturday night,” Black said.
“We need to take some encouragement from the efforts and the committment that the guys showed. We’re all about trying to set new standards as a Club this year.”
“We’ve all moved on quickly to focus on our big test this Sunday against the Bulldogs,” he said.
Black likened Brown’s ‘unique’ injury to the one suffered by former Essendon Captain James Hird at Subiaco a number of years ago.
“I went and visited Browny in hospital and he was in good spirits. He was very talkative, as he normally is, and is looking forward to getting back out on the training paddock as soon as possible,” Black said.
“There’s no doubt we’re going to have to remodel and reshape our forward line to some degree, but with that comes some opportunities for other guys to come up and play a few different roles.”
First gamer Rohan Bewick echoed the sentiments of the three-time Lions Club Champion with regards to the team’s spirit.
“Everyone was unhappy that we didn’t get the points, but we feel as though we still played well as a team,” Bewick said.
“We attacked every contest and stuck to our structures. Most of the boys will be pretty sore [after shouldering a larger than expected workload], but we’ll be right to move on and hopefully get over the Bulldogs this Sunday.”
