Brisbane Lions ready to end Richmond and MCG hoodoo in one fell swoop

It might have been five years since Brisbane Lions won at the MCG and 12 games since they defeated Richmond, but those statistics hardly concern matchwinner Lincoln McCarthy.

Lincoln McCarthy celebrates his matchwinner in Brisbane Lions’ thrilling victory over Geelong. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

Far from being intimidated by their gloomy past, Lincoln McCarthy says the Lions are relishing the challenge of becoming the AFL’s Hoodoo Gurus.

The Lions play Richmond at the MCG on Sunday in a monster clash which will decide the top four pecking order ahead of finals.

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The Lions have not won at the MCG since 2014 and lost their past 12 games to Richmond which would normally be a strong pointer to the fact that their number won’t be coming up this weekend.

But Brisbane’s stunning progression to the top of the AFL ladder has seen all sort of long standing bogeys crushed.

The tone was set in the opening rounds when they beat West Coast for the first time in seven years and North Melbourne for the first time in five, then continued as they beat Sydney for the first time in 11 years and cracked a seven-year curse against Adelaide and a six-year drought against GWS.

Lincoln McCarthy celebrates his matchwinner in Brisbane Lions’ thrilling victory over Geelong. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

Another longstanding monkey was swept from their backs when they beat Geelong at the Gabba on Saturday in a one-point thriller with McCarthy taking a brilliant mark and kicking the decider.

“They’ve got 12 on us?” McCarthy asked, when queried about the length of the Richmond sequence.

“So, we haven’t beaten them for the last 12 games? I didn’t know that.

“We hadn’t beaten Geelong since 2013 either. I think we’re really embracing these challenges or hoodoos or whatever you want to call them like any other game.

“It’s another motivating factor for us if we haven’t beaten a side for so long, it’s just another challenge.”

Many of the Lions will not have played before a crowd bigger than the 70,000 expected but the trip to the MCG is timely for the Lions may yet revisit the venue twice during the finals.

McCarthy played 29 games in eight injury-marred seasons for Geelong before his breakthrough year with the Lions.

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This year may yet deliver him a premiership yet when McCarthy arrived in Brisbane his goal was far less spectacular — he simply wanted to get on the park.

He said while he had not expected the Lions to be table-toppers so quickly, he could see from afar last season they were becoming a team on the rise.

“We could see the team was building but I just maybe didn’t think we would be in the position we are at the moment. It’s all about making the most of that opportunity.’’