Brisbane co-captain Hugh McCluggage admits the Lions were wrong to include the name of a former teammate’s girlfriend on a whiteboard detailing opponents’ strengths and weaknesses but denies the back-to-back premiers have a culture problem.
There was controversy last week after the leaking of a photo that showed the Lions’ assessment of Essendon players ahead of Brisbane’s battle with the Bombers on Saturday.
Essendon’s team includes former Lion Jaxon Prior, whose partner’s name was listed as his “strength”.
“If we had our time again, we wouldn’t have involved his partner – it’s as simple as that,” McCluggage said on Tuesday.
“Things stand in a really good place. I’ve called him (Prior), I’ve spoken to him about his partner as well, and we’ll leave it at that out of respect for the two of them.”
However, there was further drama involving the Lions over the weekend, with Brisbane youngster Koby Evans allegedly directing a homophobic slur at a Coburg player during a VFL game on Saturday.
“We set the foundations and the rules, and sometimes there’s going to be people that make mistakes,” McCluggage said.
“That’s what happens in all walks of life. When it happens, we educate, we learn and we get better, and as leaders we play a massive role in making sure that happens.
“Leaders in every walk of life have a responsibility to call this behaviour and this language out that’s offensive to people.
“We want to create environments where everyone feels welcome, everyone feels safe, and we’re probably not where we want to be as a society yet in that area.
“It’s disappointing it’s happening in the AFL environment, and hopefully everyone learns from this, not just elite sporting environments.”
When asked about “outside noise” questioning the Lions’ culture, McCluggage was quick to defend his club.
“I don’t agree with that at all,” he said.
“We can see the bad things at times, and they take up a lot of the coverage, but there’s a lot of good as well.
“We’ve had a lot of journalists and outside people come into our club over the last two years, and I think all of them would say it’s a really inclusive environment (and) it’s a fun environment.”
McCluggage said the Lions would “support” the remorseful Evans.
“We’ll get around him, (and) we’ll support him through it. He’s a young man and it’s a learning experience for him, and we’ll support everyone else that’s affected as well,” he said.
The Lions host struggling Carlton on Friday night, with Blues coach Michael Voss – who captained Brisbane to a hat-trick of flags from 2001 to 2003 – under increasing pressure to keep his job.
“We expect their best,” McCluggage said.
“They’re a great side. We played them in a prelim (final) up here in 2023, (which is) not that long ago, so we know what their best looks like.”
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