AFL 2024: Huge month looms for Brisbane Lions finals hopes
Brisbane’s season was on the brink only six weeks ago. But the Lions are a huge threat again and a huge next month looms for their finals hopes. We examine the key matches and what’s behind the turnaround.
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Ross Lyon openly dubbed the Brisbane Lions a “grand final team” on Friday night and the next month could decide whether the Lions will get their chance to be back in the final week of September.
Club great Jonathan Brown declared Brisbane was back leading into the Saints win and the Lions attacking game has woken from its slumber.
In the next month, Brisbane faces Port Adelaide (away), Melbourne (home), Adelaide (home), and West Coast (away).
That is not a gauntlet of top sides but winning at least three games will be vital, given the Lions face sides currently in the top half of the ladder in five of their last six matches as they attempt to climb back into the top eight.
While Chris Fagan was left dismayed at times on Friday night as his team took all night to shut the door on the usually dour Saints and let in 16 goals.
But Brisbane has been on fire offensively in its last five games, averaging 113.6 points per game – a mark that would put them almost two goals ahead of the best attacking side of the season, Sydney, who has averaged 103.7 points a game so far.
Of its last six games, Brisbane has lost just once, while also playing out a draw with Adelaide in round 10.
Before that run, the Lions sat 13th on the ladder, which is comfortable by the standards of preliminary finals finishers GWS Giants and Carlton, who were 14th and 15th respectively after round 13 last year.
Now Brisbane has an even ledger before the run home, with six wins, six losses and a draw.
Lions coach Fagan said his side always thought they would turn their form around but he noticed a slip in mindset early in the season.
“I felt like early in the year we were playing like we were the hunted in a sense,” he told SEN.
“Probably the boys were so desperate to get back to playing in a grand final after losing last year they took their eye off what they needed to do each week.
“I think teams were hunting us early in the season and coming after us, we didn’t help ourselves either in those early weeks either with our kicking for goal. We could easily be right or nine wins right now not six.”
Against St Kilda, Brisbane was easily beaten in the contest, losing clearances by nine and contested possessions by eight, but the Lions were electric on the outside.
And after spluttering through the early stages of the year, the forwards are starting to click, as Eric Hipwood and Joe Daniher have snagged 15 goals between them in the last fortnight.
Young gun Will Ashcroft continues to close in on a return from his knee injury with a plan to get back on field in either the AFL or VFL in round 16.
As in-form veteran Dayne Zorko said pre-match on Friday, the Lions have been finding their game but are still focused on the ultimate prize.
“Yes we played finals the last 5 years but ultimately we achieved nothing as a group,” he told Triple M.
“We put more finals appearances into our players which is great and will hopefully hold us in good stead when those big games come around.
“Hopefully we can keep slowly climbing the ladder.”
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Originally published as AFL 2024: Huge month looms for Brisbane Lions finals hopes
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