Jaxon Prior starting to feel like he ‘belongs’ in Brisbane’s AFL line-up

A good performance against the Gold Coast Suns has secured a fringe Brisbane player a second successive match in the Lions’ AFL team.

Jaxon Prior has kept his spot in Brisbane’s team. Picture: Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Having played his “best game of AFL footy”, Jaxon Prior gave Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan little choice but to retain him for Sunday’s clash with St Kilda at Marvel Stadium.

The Lions have made one change to the team that beat Gold Coast by 28 points in last Saturday’s QClash, with co-captain and key defender Harris Andrews returning from concussion protocols.

However, it wasn’t at the expense of Prior, who has often been the fall guy at the selection table.

Instead, Irish defender Conor McKenna, who was the substitute against the Suns, has been omitted from the 23.

“He deserved to stay in the team,” Fagan said of 23-year-old Prior, who has only played seven senior games since the start of last season.

“He played a very good game. He’s been playing well in the reserves for quite some time.

“He’s played (37) AFL games, but he’s relatively experienced even though he hasn’t played a heap of games.

“(The QClash) was probably the best game of AFL footy he’s played, so fingers crossed he’s suddenly developed into a bloke who thinks he’s capable at the level, because that’s always been his challenge.

“Last week he played like he felt like he belonged.”

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The in-form Lions are chasing a ninth successive win, but after their poor start to the season, they aren’t getting carried away.

“When we were two (wins) and five (losses) and our season was looking like it was on the ropes, we just had a real one-week-at-a-time focus,” Fagan said.

“We haven’t really moved away from that. It’s worked well for us, so we’ve stuck with it.

“We haven’t cemented a place in the finals yet, so the four points is the most important thing and a good all-round team performance.

“They (St Kilda) will give us a real test. Their current form is good form. They can’t make finals but they’re trying to make it hard for everybody else.”