Lions vice-captain hoping to improve on patchy form

Hugh McCluggage is still coming to terms with being part of a new-look Brisbane Lions midfield.

Hugh McCluggage tackles Melbourne’s Jack Viney in one of the Lions’ two wins so far this season. Picture: Albert Perez / AFL Photos via Getty Images

Lions vice-captain Hugh McCluggage admits he’s still adjusting to life in Brisbane’s new-look midfield as he battles to regain the form which made him one of the AFL’s most elegant players.

Similar to the Lions’ start to the season, McCluggage has been patchy and has lacked his usual “composure”.

He said part of the reason for his up and down form has been having to find “synergy” in a Brisbane midfield which now includes star pair Josh Dunkley and Will Aschroft.

“When you add two amazing midfielders into the mix, and they’re playing large minutes in there, you’ve got to work out what they do, what they like to do, how they use their hands, where they run, so throughout the pre-season, and throughout the first few rounds, we’ve been working on that synergy and that mix,” McCluggage said.

“We’ve played with quite a similar mix throughout the past three or four years with Lachie (Neale), myself, ‘JL’ (Jarryd Lyons) … so it’s always going to take a little bit of time to get used to that new personnel going through there.

“There are probably a few little things that I need to work on. My ball use probably can improve a little bit (and) just making sure I have that composure and have impact with possessions I get.

“I don’t think I’m where I want to be entirely, but there’s still improvement left in me and in the team as well. We just want to keep getting better as the year goes on.

“We know that we’ve got the cattle here, and we’ve got a really good environment, so we just need to keep sticking to our processes and working really hard to keep the group happy and hopefully the footy will just care of itself.”

Hugh McCluggage is taking time to find his best form. Picture: Russell Freeman / AFL Photos via Getty Images

The inconsistent Lions are intent on securing back-to-back wins for the first time this season when they meet North Melbourne at Summit Sport and Recreation Park in Mt Barker as part of the AFL’s Gather Round in South Australia.

Country boy McCluggage is looking forward to playing at a regional centre and is confident the Lions will have no problems adjusting.

“It’s something we speak about. It will be probably a little bit of a smaller crowd than what we’re used to playing at those bigger venues, but we’ve played in Ballarat, we’ve played at venues like that before … those boutique stadiums.” he said.

“It’s good fun, to be honest. I enjoy getting back to those places and playing. It’s like local footy again, like you’re back in South Warrnambool playing.

“It’s good; you’ve just got to bring your own energy but we’ve done that, so we know how to make sure that happens.”

Veteran Daniel Rich is set to be available for selection after missing Brisbane’s past two games with a quad injury, while fellow defender Darcy Gardiner will make his long-awaited comeback from shoulder and ankle problems for Brisbane’s VFL team on Saturday against the Southport Sharks at Springfield.

Originally published as Lions vice-captain hoping to improve on patchy form