THE Brisbane Lions have named their strongest and most experienced squad of the pre-season for Saturday’s NAB Challenge meeting with Sydney, a clash which young gun Joel Macdonald believes should be a perfect tune-up for the home-and-away campaign.
The Lions’ 29-man squad for the Canberra showdown includes goal ace Daniel Bradshaw, in for potentially his first game back from a knee reconstruction, and full-back Daniel Merrett, who returns from minor knee surgery.
Scott Harding, Matthew Leuenberger and Colm Begley have also been included.
"If we are going to win games during the home-and-away season, we have to apply pressure and stay focussed for the full four quarters," Macdonald said.
"Last week against Geelong we did it in the first quarter and a bit in the last, but not enough in the second and third quarters.
"Sydney are a good side to test that area of our game because, along with Geelong, they were probably one of the best teams last year at doing the hard stuff and pressuring sides in-close.
"If we can match with them, it will stand us in good stead.'
The Swans have named a close-to full-strength squad, featuring the likes of Barry Hall, Michael O’Loughlin and Adam Goodes.
Squads:
BRISBANE LIONS: 2 - Albert Proud, 4 - Travis Johnstone, 5 - Scott Harding, 6 - Luke Power 7 - Jed Adcock, 8 - Tim Notting, 11 - Justin Sherman, 14 - Lachlan Henderson, 16 - Jonathan Brown, 17 - Jared Brennan, 18 - Anthony Corrie, 19 - Jamie Charman, 20 - Simon Black, 21 - Daniel Merrett, 22 - Tom Collier, 23 - Matthew Leuenberger, 24 - Joel Patfull, 25 - Wayde Mills, 26 - Joel Macdonald, 28 - Troy Selwood, 30 - Robert Copeland, 32 - Cheynee Stiller, 33 - Rhan Hooper, 35 - Michael Rischitelli, 36 - Daniel Bradshaw, 39 - Josh Drummond, 41 - Scott Clouston, 44 - Nigel Lappin, 46 - Colm Begley
SYDNEY: 1 - Barry Hall, 2 - Nick Davis, 3 - Jarrad McVeigh, 4 - Ben Matthews, 5 - Ryan O'Keefe, 6 - Craig Bolton, 7 - Luke Brennan, 11 - Ed Barlow, 14 - Craig Bird, 15 - Kieren Jack, 16 - Darren Jolly, 17 - Tadhg Kennelly, 18 - Jesse White, 19 - Michael O'Loughlin, 20 - Luke Ablett, 21 - Leo Barry, 24 - Jude Bolton, 25 - Ted Richards, 29 - Martin Mattner, 30 - Lewis Roberts-Thomson, 31 - Brett Kirk, 32 - Amon Buchanan, 33 - Jarred Moore, 37 - Adam Goodes, 39 - Heath Grundy, 42 - Paul Barry
Sydney (at a glance):
As always, it’s tough to get a read on Paul Roos’ side based on the pre-season – under their 2005 premiership coach, the Swans have failed to win a NAB Cup game in six attempts.
However, for what it’s worth, results to date in 2008 would seem to indicate Sydney will be more than competitive once again come the home-and-away season. After narrowly losing to Hawthorn in the NAB Cup, the Swans then thumped Port Adelaide and were solid enough in last week’s loss to Richmond.
Look out for Barry Hall, who underwent off-season groin, nose and eye surgery in a bid to bounce back to his best. With four goals in each of the last two weeks, he’ll present a good challenge for Daniel Merrett in his first game of the season.
Last time they met:
The Lions played better games last season than in the round 20 clash against the Swans at the Gabba, but that match certainly provided the finish of the season.
With raw teenager Matthew Leuenberger leading the ruck in place of the injured Jamie Charman, the Lions fought back from a 17-point three-quarter-time deficit to get within a kick with a minute left.
From there, Simon Black conjured something out of nothing on the southern wing and Luke Power found Jonathan Brown on the lead, leaving the competition’s form player with a set shot from 55m to secure a dramatic draw. The big forward didn’t disappoint, the parochial home crowd roared and the Lions’ finals hopes remained alive.
Odds and sods:
*Statistics count for little over the summer. But a couple of figures from 2007 make for some interesting reading. The Lions’ average winning margin of 50.2 points was second-highest in the competition (behind only Geelong), while the Swans’ average losing margin of 17.3 points was bettered only by the Cats and the Crows. Sydney lost by more than 30 points only once last year – going down to Collingwood by 38 points in the elimination final.
*With a league-high 77 goals, Jonathan Brown accounted for 27 per cent of the Lions’ majors in 2007. By contrast, Barry Hall had a quiet season for Sydney and managed only 44 goals – 14 per cent of the Swans’ total over the season.
*Much was made of Geelong’s 13 premiership players for last week’s game at Carrara, but, on career flags, the Lions were ahead 17-13. It’s a similar story ahead of Saturday, with Sydney’s squad “owning” 15 premierships and the Lions 19.
