Brisbane coach Chris Fagan insists he will remain optimistic in the wake of the Lions blowing a golden opportunity to secure a top-four AFL finish by losing to Collingwood by a point.
The Lions led all game at the MCG on Saturday, until Beau McCreery snapped the match-winner at the 29-minute mark of the final quarter.
Lions coach Chris Fagan.Credit: Getty Images
Brisbane were their own worst enemies, missing a glut of gettable shots, particularly during the third quarter, to only lead by 14 points at the final change.
The Lions appeared home when Charlie Cameron’s clever snap put them 17 points up at the 20-minute mark of the final quarter.
Joe Daniher then had the opportunity to bury the Magpies, but he sprayed a set shot and his chance at his fifth goal of the match, before Collingwood kicked the final three majors to win 11.13 (79) to 11.12 (78).
“Our last 11 games, we’ve won nine of them and lost two. That’s pretty good form,” Fagan said.
“We lost a game by a point, didn’t lose by a lot (against GWS) last week, we had a lot more shots, so our form is pretty strong.
“We’ll take confidence from that and understand the season being like it is, you can turn things around pretty quickly.
“I’ll remain optimistic. Why shouldn’t I?”
The Lions will finish the weekend fifth, and their hopes of a crucial top-four finish are all but gone ahead of their final home-and-away game against Essendon at the Gabba next Saturday night.
It was the second straight week they were made to pay for their inaccuracy, after kicking 8.16 in last Saturday’s defeat to the Giants.
“You’ve got to move on pretty quickly,” Fagan said.
“We’ll take some learnings from the game.
“Obviously the main one will be take the opportunities in front of goal, which has been a thing I’ve had to talk about too often this year.
“But the players will know it.
“They’ll be disappointed, so I won’t be rubbing it in their noses.
“We’ll just get to work and try and do a better job.”
Forward Eric Hipwood returned after two weeks out with a groin injury, but had minimal impact on the game.
Fagan bristled at a question surrounding Hipwood’s fitness.
“He was fit to play so we played him,” he said.
“We don’t play injured players in games, that’d be a silly decision to make, so no, he was fit to play.”
Midfielder Jarrod Berry was subbed out with hamstring tightness in the second quarter and will undergo scans.
AAP