AFL: Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan says it wasn’t easy overlooking the fit-again Marcus Adams
Lions coach Chris Fagan’s reluctance to change an in-form team has led to him making one of his toughest selection decisions of the year.
AFL
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Key defender Marcus Adams remains an integral part of Brisbane’s finals plans despite failing to force his way into the Lions’ 22 for Saturday’s AFL clash against West Coast Eagles at the Gabba.
Such had been Adams’ form before he suffered a foot injury last month, it was expected he would be recalled to Brisbane’s side as soon as he was fit again.
However, the Lions’ scintillating form in their past two matches has convinced coach Chris Fagan to retain the same 22 that thrashed Collingwood by 85 points last weekend.
Adams will have to be content with a spot among the emergencies.
“It was a very tough call,” Fagan said.
“He is fit which is a great thing, but the team’s Performed very well over the last couple of weeks, so it’s a bit difficult to make changes at this point.”
Fagan said the call to leave out Adams came after a “long conversation” at the selection table.
“That doesn’t mean that Marcus won’t be in our best side next week, (but) all those guys did a good job last week.
“It’s just the way we decided to go.”
The decision on Adams wasn’t the only tough choice Fagan had to make.
Mitch Robinson was also pushing for a recall, but the Lions opted for a safety-first approach in the veteran’s return from a calf problem.
“Arguably we could play him I guess,” Fagan said of Robinson.
“He’s had a little bit of a history across the course of the past two or three years with calf injuries.
“Although he trained fully (on Thursday), that was his first full training session for two weeks, and we just think that it might be wiser to make sure that he’s fully right to go and resist the temptation of playing this week.
“It’s a bit of a conservative call. I think if we had have been playing a final he would have been playing, but it’s probably the right way to go.”
Depending on the result of Friday night’s clash between Port Adelaide and the West Adelaide, the Lions could this weekend be playing for a top-four spot and a double chance in the finals.
“We’ve been on a bit of a the mission the last couple of weeks to prepare ourselves for finals,” Fagan said.
“Whether the Dogs win or lose, we’re still preparing ourselves for finals, so that’ll be the attitude that we take. Our players are really united on that idea.”
Fagan said it would be the Lions’ own fault if they failed to finish in the top four.
“We played some games this year where we didn’t play well enough to win that we should have, so we only have ourselves to blame,” he said.
Originally published as AFL: Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan says it wasn’t easy overlooking the fit-again Marcus Adams
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