Brisbane’s Grant Birchall to play 250th game, Andrews to celebrate 100th career game against West Coast in Round 3
Chris Fagan and Grant Birchall go back a long way before they helped Hawthorn win four flags. And Fagan is thrilled the premiership hero will play his 250th game for the Lions.
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Brisbane coach Chris Fagan has lavished praise on milestone men Grant Birchall and Harris Andrews as the Lions prepare for the “very, very best” version of the wounded West Coast at the Gabba.
Captain Dayne Zorko has been named but is no certainty to play and will be given every opportunity to overcome an Achilles issue for the Round 3 clash when Birchall (250 games) and Andrews (100 games) reach significant marks.
The Eagles were thrashed by the Gold Coast last Saturday night and have lost star defender Jeremy McGovern to suspension but Fagan expects a fired up West Coast to bounce back like the proud club and genuine premiership contenders they are.
And he could not be happier to have Birchall and Andrews in his backline to repel the likes of Eagles spearheads Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling.
Tasmanians Fagan and Birchall have a long association. Fagan’s first football coach was Birchall’s late grandfather and Birchall’s mother was best friends with Fagan’s sister at primary school.
And they were also at Hawthorn together for four premierships before Birchall — who has been hampered by injuries the past few seasons — followed Fagan north.
“Grant Birchall is probably one of the underrated all-time great players for the Hawthorn footy club. Four-time premiership player … his four Grand Finals as a half-back flanker he averaged 24 possessions per game,’’ Fagan said.
“On the big stage, he stepped up. His average in Grand Finals is better than his career average which is 22 (possessions). That tells you how good he is.
“When you look at the guys that he played alongside (Lance) Franklin, (Jarryd) Roughead, (Cyril) Rioli, (Sam) Mitchell, (Luke) Hodge, (Jordan) Lewis. He probably didn’t get the kudos that he really deserves.’’
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Fagan said he could not speak highly enough of Andrews and said “if you were to have a son, you’d like someone like Harris”. He said Andrews becoming the first Lions Academy graduate to play 100 senior games was a boost for Queensland football.
“His career has been a baptism of fire. He came in as a young defender playing in a team that was struggling and having big scores kicked on them every week,’’ he said.
“In my time here at the club, no single player has embraced the idea of continuous improvement and growth mindset than Harris Andrews.
“And in the space of five years from being smashed by some of those blokes (opposition key forwards) he became an All-Australian. He is just a shining example to our players of there’s going to be little bit of adversity…but in the end if you have a strong enough will and a great amount of resilience, you become a very, very good player.’’
Fagan said ruckman Archie Smith would provide a good contest in stoppages and around the ground as the replacement for the injured Stef Martin, who should be available next weekend.
Cameron Ellis-Yolmen looms as the most likely replacement for Zorko if he is withdrawn from the team on Saturday.
Fagan said the poor discipline that led directly to Fremantle goals last weekend had been addressed this week.
DEBUT JITTERS: ‘I HAD NO IDEA WHAT I WAS DOING’
Watching Lions star Harris Andrews ply his trade as one of the premier key defenders in the AFL, it is hard to believe he ever had any self-doubts.
With his trademark intercept marking and spoiling, Andrews was one of Brisbane’s best in the 12-point win over Fremantle at the Gabba on Saturday oozing the class, composure and courage that made him an All-Australian in 2019 and a State of Origin selection earlier this year.
The 23-year-old will play his 100th senior match this Saturday night when the Lions host West Coast. Brisbane teammate and four-time Hawthorn premiership player Grant Birchall will also celebrate a milestone with his 250th AFL appearance.
The Aspley junior is a product of the Brisbane Lions Academy and made his AFL debut in the 79-point loss to Richmond in Round 3, 2015, kicking one goal and collecting nine possessions as a forward and relieving ruckman.
“I wasn’t really too sure what I was doing out there to be perfectly honest. As a forward and chopping out Stef Martin in the ruck … it feels like a long time ago,’’ Andrews said.
“But on the other hand, it also feels like it has gone incredibly quickly too.
“As a footy club we’ve had a lot of change and a lot of growth and I’m happy to have been a part of it. I’m really proud to be playing 100 games for the Lions.
“Last season was a real highlight. Just the overall season and the day we played Geelong up here and Linc McCarthy took that mark was right up there.
“To experience finals, even though the results were not what we wanted, was great considering my first few years were quite tough.’’
Andrews is part of a core of players that have grown together along with fellow defender Darcy Gardiner and swingman Dan McStay who brought up their 100-game milestones last season. He said the foundation is there for more success.
“We were getting some big bags kicked on us at the start and there were some dark times but there’s been a lot of progression and a lot of good relationships built that will help us chalk up the wins if we keep working hard,’’ he said.
“When you get to around that 70 or 80-game mark you see the game a bit better. I felt that way in the last couple of seasons with that bit of experience behind me and I’ve had some really good leaders at the footy club who helped me develop that.”
But ever the team-first man, Andrews said he should not be in the limelight this week.
“It is Birch’s 250th too so hopefully that takes a lot of attention away from me. It’s an awesome achievement for him,’’ he said.
Andrews said while it was a relief to come away with the win over the fast-finishing Dockers, the Lions would have to go up a gear against the Eagles.
“It was a strange game. We started well and then let ourselves down a little bit. But it was good to see we were able to do a few things that we’ve been working on to finish off games after we lost a couple of close ones last season,’’ he said.
“We were able to stand up and stop the bleeding but we’ll learn from it and improve. I felt like I was able to get in some good spots early in the game but I can learn from that as well.
“West Coast next week with Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling will be tough so we’ll have work to do.’’
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