Brisbane Lions Round 2 AFL news: Chris Fagan says repeat of laziness in defence will not be tolerated

Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan has kept the faith with a largely unchanged line-up to take on Geelong, but has made it clear he wants a more committed effort in defence.

Harris Andrews competes for a mark against Sydney in Round 1. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

A largely unchanged Lions squad has been challenged to fix their lazy defence if they want to break an 18-year hoodoo when they face Geelong on Friday night.

Coach Chris Fagan has kept the faith with a majority of last week’s starting 22, who went down 14.10 (94) to 19.11 (125) against a youthful Swans outfit at the Gabba.

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The only change will see pressure forward Tom Berry pitchforked into the top squad in a bid to handle the Cats’ attacking dominance.

Berry booted a matchwinning goal after the siren last weekend during the club’s reserve side scratch match and will now join older brother Jarrod in the main Lions squad in place of youngster Keidean Coleman.

Tom is expected to join Jarrod Berry against the Cats on Friday night. Picture: Adam Head

It wasn’t the start to their 2021 campaign the Lions were after and Fagan admitted it came down to a lazy team defence.

“We had 57 entries and enough shots on goal but Sydney had 59 entries and more shots on goal,” Fagan said. “For us, it was our ability to defend.

“At times, it was a laziness on behalf of our players and they know that, they put their hands up for that on Monday.

“We’ll look for improvement on that.”

Brisbane now faces a more daunting task when they face Geelong, at home, on Friday night.

In 11 straight games since 2003, the Lions have failed to win a single match on Geelong’s home turf.

But under Fagan, the Lions have managed to tick off a number of club hoodoos — most notably a victory over Richmond after a 15-game losing streak last year — and a win against a weakened Cats side at home is one of the few remaining challenges the club faces.

Lions coach Chris Fagan has laid down the law to his players after last week’s upset defeat.

“We’ve always embraced those challenges,” Fagan said.

“We like trying to win at venues we haven’t won at before or for a long time.

“That’s no different this week and that’s a big motivation.

“(Kardinia Park) has become such a fortress for them over such a long time and we haven’t played there since 2018.”

Geelong will be without star midfielder Patrick Dangerfield as well as Jeremy Cameron and Mitch Duncan.

However, Fagan wasn’t prepared to take the Cats lightly on Friday night after failing to beat them at all in the 2020 season.

“Geelong had the wood on us last year,” Fagan said.

“They were the one team in the competition that was able to dominate us so we’ve got a bit of work to do this weekend.

“There’s many facets to that, the mental approach, some strategic things as well.

“We expect the best version of Geelong.”

LIONS BACK FLAT CAMERON TO BRING THE ENERGY

Charlie Cameron came under fire from former AFL greats for his Round 1 performance but his Lions teammates have backed the small forward to bounce back against Geelong this week.

Brisbane’s star forward spent 30 minutes on the bench on Saturday night – the most of any Lions player – in a season opener which saw the Swans run away 19.11 (125) to 14.10 (94) victors.

Cameron finished the match with 10 disposals, one tackle and zero goals during a game where many of the Lions squad failed to live up to their premiership contender status.

Fox Footy commentator and Hawthorn great Dermott Brereton didn’t mince his words on Saturday, saying “I’d hate to say it, but I’m wondering if he (Cameron) has got a touch of the sooks”.

Charlie Cameron was kept quiet against the Swans. Picture: Jono Searle/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

Brisbane’s All-Australian defender Harris Andrews backed his teammate to improve this week and challenged the rest of the squad to play better.

“The whole team, in general, has to play with a bit more energy,” Andrews said.

“The first three goals of the game, we were going pretty well.

“You could see that energy and we were thriving with it and then the Swans came hard and were able to win the ball around the contests and getting it inside their forward line pretty quickly.

“For Chuck (Cameron), it’s just playing with his energy and we’ll be there to help him out.

“We’ll get the service a little bit better going forward inside 50.

“He’ll be ready to go.”

Brereton also slammed the Lions for not being “tough enough” to put away a young Swans side on Saturday night.

Harris Andrews says the Lions are ready to bounce back against Geelong in Round 2. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Andrews admitted he had to play a more aggressive game, especially against a physical side like Geelong.

“I was pretty unhappy with my game (last week), to be honest,” he said.

“I just have to be more aggressive and play more down the line.

“Certainly last year when we played (the Cats) in Sydney, they came out and physically dominated us.

“We’ll be ready for their best.”

Ahead of the AFL Tribunal’s decision regarding Geelong’s Patrick Dangerfield, Andrews said the Cats will prove to be a challenging contest, with or without their star midfielder.

“It does (help us) a little bit if he’s not playing but at the same time, Geelong’s not the Patrick Dangerfield Footy Club,” he said.

“We recognise they’ve got some extremely talented footballers among their team and if Patrick is playing, or not playing, they’re going to be a really strong team regardless.”