“We, as leaders and older players, put a lot of time into our young boys and all of our teammates to make sure that we have put in that body of work, both physically and mentally … we go into this confident that they have done that work, and we can trust that they are going to do what we need them to do when we go out there on game day.”
Gun forward Cam Rayner, who turned last week’s preliminary final with a stunning second half, said he had more confidence than last year that the Lions would win.
Cam Rayner speaking before the grand final parade.Credit: AFL Photos
“One of the things that I put down in my reflection is that as a team, I believe we can win it. Last year I thought we could. This year I am super confident,” he said.
“We probably didn’t really play a lot of good footy last year and lost by only four points. So we are confident that if we can get our game going, play the way we have been playing, we will be able to get the result this week.”
Co-captain Harris Andrews said the time capsules had been a good reminder of what was required.
“We probably let ourselves down in key moments last year during that grand final. They were able to kick some goals late in quarters – probably going away from what we did well as a team for the whole year,” Andrews said.
Fagan said on Friday that “grand finals always come back to moments”, and, among his recollections, he had questioned whether he had put enough time into preparing for eventual Norm Smith medallist Bobby Hill.
“Experiences do help you. We lost by less than a goal – that’s luck sometimes in this game,” Fagan said.
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Dual Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale continues to battle a heel problem which has limited his training, and has seen him walk with a limp.
But Fagan said this would not stop the champion midfielder from playing. Neale had 31 disposals, including 12 clearances, in the 10-point win over the Cats.
“When he plays it’s not an issue. But it’s a little harder for him during the week to get to train, so we have find other ways to keep him fit and keep his touch up,” Fagan said.
“As you saw last week, he is in pretty good form. He is a really strong-willed person and it won’t be any excuse for him.”