CHRIS Fagan is "acutely aware" of Brisbane's poor record at the MCG, but says his team knows how to play the ground and is looking forward to proving it against Melbourne on Friday night.
The Lions are 1-10 at the venue since Fagan took over as coach ahead of the 2017 season, with that one win coming against the Demons in last year's semi-final.
Speaking on Thursday morning at Brisbane Airport before heading south, Fagan said the opposition was more of a concern than the ground.
"We're acutely aware of our MCG record, but we also won there three games ago, so we know we can win there," he said.
"It's a little bit wider and a little bit longer, we just haven't played well.
"We don't play against the MCG, we play against Melbourne or we play against Richmond or we play against Hawthorn. We've just got to play well against those teams."
It was just five weeks ago the Lions were badly outplayed there by the struggling Hawks, losing by 25 points in their first game after the bye.
Since then, Brisbane has won four games straight, with Fagan saying its team defence was the best it's ever been.
Although admitting he was "sick of questions about the MCG, to be honest", Brisbane's coach was buoyed by his team's recent outings there, even if the wins hadn't come.
"We played some really good football there last year against Richmond and led by a good margin at half-time," he said.
"We played some really good football in the final against Melbourne and won that game.
"Not so good against Geelong (in the preliminary final), they were on fire.
"Even in our poor performance against Hawthorn, we were in front at half-time.
"I think we know how to play the ground, we've just got to execute it for longer.
"You know me, I've got a growth mindset and I don't look back on the past too much, I look forward to the next opportunity.
"That's what we're all looking forward to tomorrow night."
Brisbane will be without midfielder Josh Dunkley (calf) for a second straight match, with Fagan confirming Jarrod Berry (hamstring) and Lincoln McCarthy (suspension) would regain their spots when the team is announced on Thursday night.
