AFL 2020: Lions coach Chris Fagan says Brisbane in ‘good shape’ despite accuracy angst
Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan says his team’s poor goalkicking statistics have been amplified by two horror games.
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Lions coach Chris Fagan is getting tired of answering questions about Brisbane’s goalkicking woes.
But it’s a problem the Lions – who kicked 17 behinds and just four goals in their 41-point loss to Richmond on Tuesday night – must rectify if they are to win the premiership.
Fagan would have liked more time to work on Brisbane’s accuracy problems, but with the Lions in action again on Saturday night against the Western Bulldogs at the Gabba, training has been extremely limited.
“We’ve only had four days (between games) to train, so do you reckon we’ve done much?” Fagan said in a blunt manner.
“All you can do is recover. This is a first for AFL football playing games four days apart and doing that back to back … you can’t do too much.”
Fagan said the Lions’ poor accuracy statistics were amplified by their performance against the Tigers and a game against Adelaide earlier this season when they kicked 23 behinds and 10 goals in a 37-point win.
“It’s on the back of two really poor games and we shouldn’t carry on like the club kicks 15 more points than goals each week,” he said.
“Outside of that we’ve kicked more goals than points (overall) in the other eight games.
“It fluctuates but I wouldn’t like the image out there that we just kick poorly every week because that’s not true.
“You lot (the media) have probably talked about it more than what we have, to be honest.
“We’ve got to get on with a game of footy and what happened three or fours days ago against Richmond is history. We’ve got to get ready for the Dogs, who are a really good team.”
As are the Lions, despite their accuracy issues.
“We’re equal second on the ladder, so the ladder always gives you some good feedback,” Fagan said.
“I think our game’s in good shape, but we haven’t had any time to do a stocktake. We’re just trying to organise ourselves as best as we can for each game each week, and it’s going to be interesting to see how the season pans out.”
One name missing from the Lions’ team list on Saturday will be young forward Cameron Rayner, whose run of 55 consecutive games since debuting in round one of 2018 will end due to a hamstring injury.
“He takes most things in his stride. He was just keen to get on with his rehab process and try to get back to play as soon as possible,” Fagan said of Rayner.
“He’s a terrific young player, but that creates opportunities for other people.”
Originally published as AFL 2020: Lions coach Chris Fagan says Brisbane in ‘good shape’ despite accuracy angst