The Lions’ first opening round loss in five years was a major disappointment, but by Monday the loss will be consigned to the past and the Lions will have their sights firmly set on producing a strong performance in front of their adoring home crowd.
“You can turn it around quickly, that’s always the good news story a day after,” Lions coach Leigh Matthews said. “You can be miserable for a day, and so you should be, because our performance today was miserable – so we are miserable.
“But we’ll bounce back into it on Monday – we come back into our own home environment and Essendon come up to visit us - it’s all different, and the scoreboard starts nil-nil again.”
The Bombers will venture to the Gabba full of confidence after blasting nine goals to two against reigning premiers Sydney in their opening quarter of their Round 1 game tonight, and then surviving several Swans revivals to hold on for a -point victory.
The Lions will have to make one forced change from the side that lined up at Skilled Stadium today, with penetrating left-footer Josh Drummond facing an extended period on the sidelines with a dislocated shoulder.
The 22-year-old from Maroochydore hurt the shoulder during the second term today and will miss 4-8 weeks. He will have scans on the injury tomorrow to confirm that he does not need an immediate reconstruction.
