SSSSHHHHHH … don't mention Joe Daniher.
Of all the Lions who excelled in Saturday night's 43-point triumph over Gold Coast, there was only one coach Chris Fagan was hesitant to talk up.
Daniher.
Not because he didn't love every part of the full-forward's four-goal performance, but because – well – Fagan doesn't want to tempt fate and put the "mozz" on the 29-year-old while he's playing at such a high level.
Daniher is putting together his best stretch since heading to Brisbane from Essendon at the end of 2020, kicking 28 goals through the opening 10 rounds of the season.
Whether it's superstition, paranoia or simply not wanting to upset the applecart, Brisbane's coach wants to keep Daniher's form on the down low.
LIONS v SUNS Full match coverage and stats
"I'm not talking him up," Fagan smiled in his post-match press conference.
"I get more annoyed when he has a bad one and everyone comes down on him like a ton of bricks.
"Ever since that game (in round three against the Western Bulldogs) when he copped all the criticism, he's played well.
"He's played terrific football, making the most of his chances and making the players around him better as well."
Against the Suns, Daniher kicked 4.1, opening his account with a lovely shot on the run from 40m, and finishing it with a high-flying mark on the wing.
He's now kicked 28.14 and would be among the leaders in the Lions' best and fairest count – not bad for a team in the top two.
"Don't put the mozz on him," Fagan laughed when questioned further about Daniher's form.
"He is confident. The funny part about it is someone would say 'he must be practicing more, he must be doing more of this or more of that', but he's just doing what he's always done.
"He's just in a sweet spot at the moment and happy in life and happy in his footy club and playing some really good football."
While Daniher did the most damage in the forward half, it was the Lions' midfield group that took control against the Suns, totally dominating the final quarter to run out easy winners.
Lachie Neale won the Marcus Ashcroft Medal for best on ground, an award Fagan said was thoroughly deserved.
"I did love that last quarter … we just steadied, our leaders stood up and we played good, basic footy," Fagan said.
"Now we're setting up our season, there's no doubt about that. But there's such a long way to go, we shouldn't get too excited. I don't think."
Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew said he was pleased with his team's ability to fight – until the final quarter – despite not playing its best football for much of the night.
The Suns are now 4-6 with games in Darwin against the Western Bulldogs and Adelaide in the next fortnight.
"We've got to stay the course with our approach, with our messaging, with our output, both in training and in the games," Dew said.
"Although we're going to Darwin for two games, we need to make sure we deal with the first one and how we want to go about that and get our planning right and, and then worry about what comes after that."
The Suns are likely to be without Sean Lemmens, who suffered a hamstring injury in the final quarter, but could regain Lachie Weller from a knee injury.
