CAPTAIN Adam Simpson is puttingSaturday night’s 37-point loss to Brisbane down as a “blip on the radar” andsaid the Roos will attack the final month of the season with confidence.
Despite the 10.17 (77) to 5.10 (40) defeatat the Gabba, losses by West Coast and Port Adelaide ensured the Kangaroosremained a game clear in second place on the ladder with four rounds of the home-and-away seasonremaining.
Speaking after Saturday night’sloss, Simpson said the Roos would put that performance behind them and lookforward to the next four rounds against the Eagles, Geelong, Carlton and theWestern Bulldogs.
“There’s four games to go and weprobably need to win two of those games to secure our spot in the finals. Theball’s in our court now,” he said.
“I don’t think we can dwell on [theBrisbane loss] too much, just put it behind us. It’s not like it’s occurringevery week. We just weren’t up to it tonight, learned a few good lessons and willget on with next week.
“We’ve been around the mark all year.Our goal was to win three out of four after the break and we’ve won five in arow and then lost tonight. Though very disappointed, let’s just hope it’s ablip on the radar.”
Simpson led by example and was oneof the Roos few shining lights at the Gabba.
Not only did he rack up 24 disposals,including a team high seven clearances, Simpson also made 11 tackles andeffectively tagged Brownlow Medallist Simon Black out of the match.
Simpson took over the tagging dutiesin the second half and kept Black to just eight disposals while grabbing13 of his own.
He admitted it was the Lions'pressure right across the park that took the greatest toll on the Roos.
“We got beaten at our own game, Ireckon,” Simpson said.
“They started really well and theendeavour was there but I don't think we played up to our standards.
“When a team has 84 tackles, youknow the pressure is fierce. We knew it was going to be one of those games andwe were actually looking forward to it.
“We like that style rather than whathappened against Hawthorn. We went in confident - we've been doing it all year -but they just beat us at our own game.”
Simpson was full of praise forBrisbane, saying he hoped they made the finals on such a performance.
“We didn’t deliver the ball well andwhen we turned it over, we just let their backmen run. It was just one of thosenights.
“I think it creeps into your gamewhen it’s like that early and things can just manifest. It’s perceived pressureas well. Once they put pressure on like that, you just want to get it out ofyour hands.”
Simpson made special mention ofBrisbane spearhead Jonathan Brown who booted six goals in the tight contest.
However he was not about to pointthe finger at Brown’s opponent Michael Firrito, saying there was not enoughmidfield pressure to stop the supply into the Brisbane forward line.
