- Oct 13, 2015
- 10,078
- 25,798
- AFL Club
- Brisbane Lions
- Thread starter
- #301
Fantastic grand final preview from the ABC guys:
A mobile defence and the bogeymen from Brisbane: How this grand final will be won and lost
Brisbane has been Collingwood's bogey team, winning its last six against the Magpies. But grand final day, at the Lions' bogey ground the MCG, with 100,000 supporters heavily skewed towards the black and white, might be a different prospect.
www.abc.net.au
For the past two years, Collingwood has confounded most opponents with its attacking and direct brand of footy, but Brisbane might have the clearest blueprint to beat the Pies of any side in the competition.
They currently hold a six-game winning streak against Collingwood, including two convincing victories this year.
The bedrock of Brisbane's game is built on attacking teams on the counter. No team scores more heavily from intercepts than the Lions and it starts up forward.
Take you apart
Brisbane also has one of the most dangerous and well-balanced attacks in the league.
The Lions have long been one of the most efficient teams going inside 50, finishing 4th for points per inside 50.
The Lions have a defined group of focal tall and small forwards, and they share the load within their group.
Each week the roles that they play vary, between focal points and decoys. Fagan looks less at the individual contributions of each of his forwards, but more at how it contributes to the bigger picture. It makes them hard to plan to beat, and almost impossible to stop.
"When it comes to finals, it's a little easier for teams to pick you off if you're predictable going inside 50," Fagan told the ABC earlier this year.
"So the fact that we've got a good mix of targets is important to us. We've got to keep going with that — we don't want to become reliant on any one player."
Building in the middle
All finals losses hurt, but blowouts sometimes show the signs of bigger issues at play.
In the back half of last season, Brisbane's talented midfield struggled to find the right balance between attack and defence, ball winners and line breakers.
This year, their ability to win clearances and limit opposition damage has improved significantly.
The recruitment of one of the league's better two-way midfielders in Josh Dunkleyhas helped their flexibility.PLAYERCARDSTART5Josh Dunkley
- Age
- 28
- Ht
- 191cm
- Wt
- 87kg
- Pos.
- Mid
CareerSeasonLast 5
- D
- 21.8
- 5star
- K
- 10.4
- 4star
- HB
- 11.3
- 5star
- M
- 4.3
- 4star
- T
- 5.8
- 5star
- CL
- 3.2
- 5star
- D
- 20.7
- 5star
- K
- 7.0
- 3star
- HB
- 13.7
- 5star
- M
- 2.3
- 2star
- T
- 5.3
- 5star
- CL
- 2.7
- 4star
- D
- 14.2
- 4star
- K
- 7.2
- 3star
- HB
- 7.0
- 5star
- M
- 4.8
- 5star
- T
- 4.0
- 5star
- CL
- 1.4
- 4star
PLAYERCARDEND
Father-son draftees Jaspa Fletcher and Will Ashcroft have helped their burst to the outside. This has allowed their other remaining pieces, like recently minted Brownlow medallist Lachie Nealeand Hugh McCluggagePLAYERCARDSTART9Lachie Neale
- Age
- 31
- Ht
- 177cm
- Wt
- 84kg
- Pos.
- Mid
CareerSeasonLast 5
- D
- 27.0
- 5star
- K
- 11.5
- 4star
- HB
- 15.5
- 5star
- M
- 4.0
- 4star
- T
- 3.7
- 5star
- CL
- 5.9
- 5star
- D
- 28.3
- 5star
- K
- 13.9
- 5star
- HB
- 14.4
- 5star
- M
- 4.6
- 4star
- T
- 4.0
- 5star
- CL
- 5.9
- 5star
- D
- 12.0
- 3star
- K
- 4.6
- 2star
- HB
- 7.4
- 5star
- M
- 2.0
- 3star
- T
- 1.0
- 3star
- CL
- 0.4
- 3star
PLAYERCARDEND, to settle into clearer roles suited to their strengths.PLAYERCARDSTART6Hugh Mccluggage
- Age
- 26
- Ht
- 187cm
- Wt
- 84kg
- Pos.
- Mid
CareerSeasonLast 5
- D
- 19.3
- 5star
- K
- 11.4
- 4star
- HB
- 7.9
- 5star
- M
- 4.0
- 4star
- T
- 3.0
- 5star
- CL
- 2.2
- 4star
- D
- 19.0
- 4star
- K
- 12.0
- 5star
- HB
- 7.0
- 4star
- M
- 3.6
- 4star
- T
- 2.9
- 4star
- CL
- 2.0
- 4star
- D
- 13.2
- 4star
- K
- 7.8
- 3star
- HB
- 5.4
- 4star
- M
- 4.2
- 4star
- T
- 1.8
- 4star
- CL
- 0.6
- 3star
PLAYERCARDEND
The last challenge
Only the minor premiers stand in the way of Brisbane's fourth flag.
They've done it before against this side. If the Lions can execute their game plan, they know they can beat Collingwood.
Some question the ability of the Lions to win at the MCG, given their recent poor record at the ground.
In reality, the MCG on grand final day is a completely different task than any other day of the year. The last time the Lions played in front of a crowd of more than 90,000 was their 2002 Grand Final win over the Pies.
A new footballing empire might be rising in the north again, and maybe it'll be for good this time.