Jared Brennan comes in for Albert Proud, while Jamie Charman’s in for the unlucky Matthew Leuenberger. The Pies are not necessarily disadvantaged by the tribunal-enforced loss of Cloke and Maxwell by the inclusion of Rocca and Goldsack.
Rocca certainly has his good days but I’ve never been convinced by his play; all too often when he’s called on to kick an important goal he fails to take the opportunity. But there’s no doubt he’s an imposing figure and he’ll be set on a strong showing at the Gabba.
In Brisbane there’s a growing and palpable sense that the Lions are building something. Against the Swans it felt like the players are actually starting to enjoy themselves in a way that hasn’t been obvious since 2002.
When Leigh Matthews took over in 1999, something took hold of the playing group. Quite quickly they’d been moulded into a strong finals-bound team after a despondent 1998 season. The change isn’t as stark this time – we don’t have as far to come as we did that year – but nevertheless we seem to be getting somewhere, and a win over the league’s most hated side could only increase the momentum.
And a Friday night match! It’s great that the Lions are going to be on the big national stage, and it means prime-time coverage on Seven. The Seven programmers must be grinding their teeth. Hard luck guys. Last week I experimented with taking my six-year-old son to the whole match, which frankly was less than successful. It’s a hobby-horse of mine, but give us some day games next year please! As a result I’ll only be attending until half-time. So if the Lions are down at half-time and you see me leaving, it’s because of that, OK?
Speaking as a former Pie myself, there’s nothing I like more than a win over this side, even if I have to watch the second half from home. Go Lions!
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