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The three-time flag-winner believes Brisbane still has the requisite \u201chunger\u201d to surge to a vaunted three-peat, but there\u2019s a \u201cmajor concern\u201d that must be addressed. <\/p>\n
The Lions are coming off one of their more repugnant losses in recent memory, where they conceded the worst third-quarter score in VFL\/AFL history in a 78-point defeat at the hands of the Giants, who kicked their biggest-ever score. <\/p>\n
That followed a 41-point home loss to Geelong, where Chris Fagan\u2019s side was questioned for its poor defensive transition. <\/p>\n
But Brisbane has graced this sort of fork-in-the-road juncture before, in 2024, when it lost to the Giants by 54 points at Manuka Oval to fall to 2-5 on the season. <\/p>\n
Mired in adversity, those Lions – coming off a grand final appearance in \u201823 – galvanised to ignite their game and lose only three more matches for the year en route to a premiership. <\/p>\n
Lynch, speaking to Foxfooty.com.au ahead of Brisbane\u2019s crucial clash with ladder-leaders Fremantle at the Gabba on Saturday afternoon, warned against putting the \u201cred pen\u201d through his former club. <\/p>\n
\u201cNo one can recall a third quarter like that; it hasn\u2019t happened,\u201d Lynch told Foxfooty.com.au on Friday, reflecting on last Saturday\u2019s events. <\/p>\n
\u201cI said during the game – two years ago in Canberra against the Giants, where they got beaten by 50-odd points – that was exactly the situation. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey got belted, and \u2018Fages\u2019 in the press conference wasn\u2019t sure what the answer was, and everyone was writing Brisbane off – and they lost three more games for the year and won the flag. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo, it\u2019s not alarm bells yet. (There are) question marks, and they\u2019d be looking at things internally, but I haven\u2019t put a red pen through them yet, by any stretch.\u201d<\/p>\n
The reality is that the Lions sit 14th for points against – conceding 100+ points in all five of their losses – and ninth for points against from turnovers. <\/p>\n
On paper, that isn\u2019t the standing of a premiership contender. <\/p>\n
Fagan: “Nothing we tried worked!” | 07:25<\/p>\n
Fagan admitted post-match in Sydney that his team was \u201cgoing backwards\u201d, and remarked midweek: \u201cIf you don\u2019t play with effort consistently, you\u2019re vulnerable\u201d. <\/p>\n
A lack of effort could be attributed to last Saturday\u2019s third-quarter spanking, with Lynch outlining the crucial area where Brisbane has been \u201csluggish\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019d be concerned about it (the defensive numbers) \u2026 I think they would be digging into that,\u201d Lynch said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think (Fagan) said in the pre-game (before the GWS game)\u2026 he referenced the defence; the defensive mode on turnover. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo, when the ball\u2019s turned over, he just thinks they\u2019ve been a bit sluggish to jump into the defensive actions. And you can only be off by a second and that leaves a big gap. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey just seem to be off with a bit of that at the moment, so those scores against would be a concern.\u201d<\/p>\n
The \u2018why\u2019 aspect in all of it is what\u2019s most intriguing, with Brisbane sitting eighth on the ladder with six wins from 11 games. <\/p>\n
Various footy pundits will tell you it\u2019s because the playing group no longer has the \u2018hunger\u2019 to dig in and do it for a third time. <\/p>\n
But Lynch, who played in three consecutive flags and knows more than most about repeating the dose, doesn\u2019t think it\u2019s desire that the Lions lack – rather their \u201csubconscious\u201d application in May, versus in September. <\/p>\n
\u201cA few of their better players aren\u2019t quite at the top level, and I would think they\u2019ve still got hunger there \u2026 what they\u2019ve done over the last couple of years are the absolute highlights of their footy careers, so they\u2019d be hungry to do it (again),\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cNow, I reckon just subconsciously, they\u2019re thinking \u2018we\u2019re 12 or 13 weeks away from finals, let\u2019s (just) get there\u2019. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo they\u2019re probably looking to what\u2019s at the end of the season, rather than what\u2019s worked for them in the past, and that was just winning each week. It\u2019d be a subconscious thing at worst.\u201d<\/p>\n
But pitted against the first-placed Dockers, who roll into the Gabba having won their past 10 matches, the Lions won\u2019t want for motivation. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is one they\u2019d have no problems getting up for, because you\u2019ve got a team that\u2019s in the conversation of flag favourites, who\u2019ve won 10 in a row, and they\u2019re trying to knock Brisbane off,\u201d Lynch said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think this is an easy one to get up for, and I think the learnings from the last few weeks – those defensive actions – they\u2019re the things that would be highlighted. <\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018Fages\u2019 is probably looking at pressure acts, completing tackles, and however they measure the \u2018snapping into defensive actions\u2019 – the time it\u2019s taking them to flick between offence to defence mindset. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re the things that he\u2019ll focus on this week, but I don\u2019t think this would be any issue to get up for. But unfortunately, you just can\u2019t turn a tap on sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lynch dissects GWS’ historic 3rd quarter | 01:40<\/p>\n
Some would say this was the perfect week for Fagan to make a good, old-fashioned statement at selection to get a rise out of his group. <\/p>\n
But those of that belief forget that the dual premiership coach has historically backed his best blokes in – going back to Fagan\u2019s staunchness last year on keeping an out-of-form Charlie Cameron in his side, before he booted a season-high four goals in the grand final. <\/p>\n
Instead, he dropped three fringe youngsters – Will McLachlan, Sam Marshall and James Tunstill – on Thursday night, placing earned trust in his senior stars to turn the tide. <\/p>\n
\u201cI suppose it (persisting with the same core group) doesn\u2019t always work, but he\u2019ll keep leaning that way, I\u2019d imagine,\u201d Lynch said. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut he\u2019d be challenging them internally. We can ask questions about performances of certain players – I asked him about Cam Rayner – but he supports his players right through, so I think he\u2019ll continue to do that; support them publicly but challenge them internally.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s been a handful of players who probably aren\u2019t performing to the standards of the last couple of years, but it\u2019s more about that team defence – those team actions that aren\u2019t working, which result in getting scored against. <\/p>\n
\u201cTheir offensive work – they still score, but it\u2019s just that connectedness of the team that is just off \u2026 the major concern is those (collective) defensive actions.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s why Lynch believes that if the Lions do respond on Saturday afternoon, it will be driven by defensive pressure as a collective – and that we\u2019ll see it \u201cin the first 10 minutes\u201d of the game. <\/p>\n
\u201cI reckon the one thing that will stand out is just pressure – how much time has Freo got when they get the ball?\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen it at times. And it\u2019s not the be-all-end-all as far as winning the game is concerned, but that\u2019ll be the one thing that people in the stands or watching on TV can see and go: \u2018Yep, they\u2019re on today – they\u2019re definitely on today\u2019. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that\u2019ll help them get the defensive actions going, and then the offence looks after itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zorko out for longer than expected | 01:18<\/p>\n
Ultimately, Lynch holds full confidence that Brisbane\u2019s best is still capable of winning another premiership this year. <\/p>\n
The one \u201ccaveat\u201d he has, though, revolves around Dayne Zorko\u2019s continued absence. <\/p>\n
The 37-year-old can\u2019t get over a quad injury, with it revealed this week that the 311-game half-back rebounder would miss at least another six weeks. <\/p>\n
His absence is certainly being felt in the present, but the \u201cgaping hole\u201d he leaves will only grow in size once he hangs up his boots for good, with the lack of a like-for-like immediate replacement. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve still got to get to their best, but looking at that team that\u2019s won premierships over the last couple of years, their list is actually stronger this year,\u201d Lynch said of Brisbane. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe caveat on that – they\u2019ve had injuries in the past – but one huge hole that is going to be a permanent hole at some stage over the next 18 months, you would think, is Dayne Zorko. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe leaves a massive hole. He was an important part of taking them to a whole new level a couple of years ago when he went to half back \u2026 that\u2019s a hole not easily replaced. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat is something that they need to fill, that role. Wilmot, Fletcher can be of that type, (but) they don\u2019t kick it like Zorko kicks it – I don\u2019t know whether anyone does, really.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Despite the prestige that comes with winning back-to-back premierships, these Brisbane Lions are hardly unfamiliar with adversity. It\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20572,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[12812,7357,23,133,5402,99,408,2184,8876,1074,19646,19635,8015,19639,14516,8881,19630,4533,19636,19626,19633,19637,19629,5099,19638,1280,19632,11487,564,14425,19624,355,120,19623,19640,19631,19628,376,19622,19642,19644,19645,14443,247,19627,19641,1079,19634,19625,19643],"class_list":["post-20571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brisbane","tag-alarm-bells","tag-alastair-lynch","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-capital-territory","tag-brisbane","tag-brisbane-lions","tag-canberra","tag-charlie-cameron","tag-chris-fagan","tag-club-icon","tag-defence-mindset","tag-defensive-actions","tag-defensive-mode","tag-defensive-numbers","tag-defensive-pressure","tag-defensive-transition","tag-dual-premiership-coach","tag-evidence-premiers","tag-exact-situation","tag-flag-favourites","tag-footy-careers","tag-footy-pundits","tag-fremantle-dockers","tag-gaping-hole","tag-grand-final","tag-grand-final-appearance","tag-home-loss","tag-jack-jovanovski","tag-james-tunstill","tag-josh-dunkley","tag-new-south-wales","tag-oceania","tag-offence-looks","tag-old-fashioned-statement","tag-premiership-chances","tag-premiership-contender","tag-press-conference","tag-pressure-acts","tag-quad-injury","tag-quad-strain","tag-red-pen","tag-sam-marshall","tag-sydney","tag-team-actions","tag-team-defence","tag-the-gabba","tag-three-time-flag-winner","tag-winning-back-to-back-premierships","tag-worst-third-quarter-score"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20571"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20571\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}