‘Powerful thing’: What’s hurting Brisbane Lions

Teams are scoring bunches of unanswered goals far too easily against the Brisbane Lions, something that must change against Melbourne.

Oscar McInerney and the Lions are keen to bounce back against the Demons. Picture: Josh Woning

Lions ruckman Oscar McInerney says the Brisbane midfield must take responsibility for the “momentum” swings haunting his team.

The Lions were blown out of the water in round 1 by a Port Adelaide side that ran wild in the third quarter in which Brisbane was outscored 52-8.

Similar spells last season from round 10 onwards in which opponents in seven matches went on a scoring spree with little or no resistance from Brisbane were also a cause for concern.

“Momentum’s a powerful thing in footy these days.” McInerney said.

“We can see so many goal swings in games these days, so it’s how you’ll be able to stop that and how you can shift it.

“As a midfield group we’ve got to be take responsibility for that and the working together in our lines.

“We’ve got to come together … slow that momentum and get that momentum back on our terms as well.”

Oscar McInerney is preparing the tough task of nullifying the threat of Demons ruckmen Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Winning possession from the centre bounce can stem a side’s momentum, and McInerney faces arguably his toughest rucking assignment of the season at the Gabba on Friday night when he takes on the might of Melbourne big men Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy.

“They’ve really set the mould for ruckmen the way they get it in the air and then on the ground – it’s first class,” the Lions giant said.

“We’ll have to pull that apart and see how we’re going to defend that.

“What an opportunity to take on two of the best in probably the last 10 years. They’ve been absolutely incredible.”

Lions legend Jonathan Brown said Brisbane should take confidence from its win over the Demons at the MCG in last year’s finals series.

“That’s recent history and I’m sure (coach) Chris Fagan would this week be reminding his players of that performance,” the ex-Lions captain said.

However, Brown said the Lions had to learn to stop teams scoring bunches of goals in quick times against them.

“They have to get their hands on the footy. They need to stop that run-on teams are getting, and that comes from leadership and better defensive strategies across the board,” he said.

Brown said it would be dangerous to have a “kneejerk” reaction to the Lions’ poor performance against Port.

“That type of game can happen sometimes after a really good pre-season. You’ve also got to remember that Adelaide Oval is a hard place for visiting teams to win,” he said.

But the triple-premiership winner admitted the Lions needed to “get cracking”.

“It’s a huge challenge against the Demons, but they’ve got to have the belief that they can do it,” Brown said.