Chris Fagan Dismisses Rumours of a Slump
Chris Fagan has dismissed suggestions that the Brisbane Lions are in a slump, but he acknowledges that he is searching for solutions to their defensive inconsistencies. The two-time defending AFL premiers suffered a heavy defeat against Geelong last Thursday and currently sit at 6-4 on the table. They will now head to Sydney to face the struggling Giants (4-6) on Sunday, marking their first encounter since the dramatic semi-final comeback in 2024.
The team is conceding an average of 11 more points per game compared to last year and ranks in the bottom half of the competition in several defensive metrics. This has raised concerns about their performance, especially given the high expectations following their recent success.
Fagan believes that GWS will respond strongly against the Lions, who have beaten them in three of their past four meetings. “There are some obvious issues that everyone is talking about in the football world,” Fagan said on Thursday regarding his team’s defensive struggles.
“We’ve been scored against a lot from our front half, and it’s not every week—there’s not one single reason. We couldn’t nail one pattern; it’s two or three different things we’ll work on.”
Fagan laughed off the idea of deeper problems, pointing out that Brisbane had won six of their previous seven games before their 41-point loss to the Cats at the Gabba. “There seems to be a bit of hype that we’re in a rut… we haven’t played well for the last six quarters, but it’s part of a football season,” he said.
“The last two years we’ve been in similar positions, and you’ve got to take the good with the bad. As a coach, I deal with reality—that’s my job. Making it sound like there’s panic stations at the Brisbane Lions is something that gets raised, but that’s not the case.”
Several key players are set to miss the upcoming match. Dayne Zorko will sit out another week due to soreness, while Fagan mentioned that Jarrod Berry and Noah Answerth are likely to return for next week’s clash with Fremantle. The Lions were hit by a training setback on Thursday when Ryan Lester injured his calf, ruling him out of Sunday’s game.
Ty Gallop has been included in the extended squad after recovering from concussion. Fagan is confident that the form of star midfielders Will Ashcroft, Josh Dunkley, and Hugh McCluggage, who were subdued in their recent match against Geelong, will improve.
“They’re just humans, and you do have form lapses. It appears right now they’re a little bit off their best,” Fagan said. “They’re proud performers, they’re aware of that, and will go to work on their game.”
