CONTESTED footy. It’s something Michael Voss the player excelled at. But for Michael Voss the coach, it’s causing massive headaches at the moment.

Voss’ Brisbane Lions have won just one of their past 11 games, sliding from second on the ladder with a percentage of 130.3 after round four to out of finals contention with seven rounds remaining.

In the opening four games, the Lions won the contested possession statistic (which includes hard ball gets, loose ball gets, free kicks and contested marks) twice. Eleven rounds later, they haven’t added to that tally.

It’s an issue that Voss is painfully aware of.

“If there is an absolute fundamental of our game it is that, to play AFL football, you must be able to win your contest,” Voss said after the round 14 loss to Carlton, where his players were smashed in the contested ball 104-133.

“At the moment we have too many who aren’t and it puts enormous strain on [players] down the field.

“We got hurt a number of times because we weren’t able to win those contests.”

Look at the stats and you can see what he’s talking about. The contested possession ladder for the past 11 weeks (below) shows that the Lions are averaging the biggest loss in that stat, of any team, by a long way.

In the past four weeks things have got even worse: they’re losing the contested possession by an average 21.8 per game - this despite an improved effort against the Saints on Saturday night.

The Lions take on Hawthorn in Tasmania this Saturday and if they’re to have any chance to get over the in-form Hawks, they’ll surely have to win the contested ball.

But the question Voss has been trying and failing to answer for the past 11 weeks is, short of introducing himself back into the midfield, how can they do it?