Even though the Tigers are fresh from a humbling loss against NEAFL heavyweights Southport, they still cling to fifth position on the Northern Conference ladder and are expected to feature in Finals.
Reserves Coach Nathan Clarke said Labrador boasts a star-studded line-up - not too dissimilar to the one that took them all the way to the 2010 QAFL Grand Final.
“They probably had a bit of a downer year in 2011, but in the season before that, they could have almost won the Grand Final had it not been for a 10-minute burst from Morningside,” Clarke said.
“They seem to have sprung back to life again this year after getting a lot of their better players back from injury.”
“They have some serious firepower in the form of Grogan Medallist Todd Featherstone, the Clarke brothers - Adam and Matt - and Todd Grayson who used to be on Gold Coast’s list.”
“Then, of course, there’s ex-AFL players Tim Notting and Trent Knobel who are very tough to contain.”
“Not long ago, Possum (Notting) was leading the competition's goal-kicking. He’s certainly playing some good footy deep in attack, and will be a real worry for us.”
“But we’ve got Niall McKeever back, and both Justin Clarke and Sam Michael are capable of playing against those sorts of guys. Clarkey will probably get first crack at Notting, with one of the other two likely to match-up against Knobel.”
Lions fans can also expect some changes to the side which succeeded in breaking their Sydney hoodoo last week, with McKeever, Josh Green, Cheynee Stiller and Ryan Lester bolstering the side after being omitted from the seniors.
“Josh Green has proven a dominant player at this level with his cleanliness around the footy. He’s so skilful and has great efficiency,” Clarke said.
“But we’ve also ‘lost’ Elliot Yeo, Aaron Cornelius and Todd Banfield to the senior team, while Jesse O’Brien is being rested this week after pulling up sore against the Swans.”
“Fans can also expect to see Sam Docherty to play a bit of time through the midfield.”
With the ever-changing nature of the Reserves side, Clarke lauded the efforts of his hard-working assistant coaches who have helped provide stability to the team’s structure this season.
“The Reserves coaching staff have been tremendous all year and probably don’t get the plaudits they really deserve,” Clarke said.
“Brent Staker has been a great addition as our forward-line coach, and Bryce Retzlaff has recently joined him since his injury. They’re both so enthusiastic and it really rubs off on the players.”
“Matt Smith looks after our defenders and Clint Watts keeps an eye on our mids.”
“Then there’s Paul Grentell who is our Western Magpies liaison. He is great in providing the Magpies boys with feedback, and also helps out with rotations.”
“All us coaches often like to treat ourselves to some steamed dimwarnas (dim sims) before our games.”
Fans are advised that this Saturday’s reserves match will now be held at Yeronga - not Giffin Park, Coorparoo as previously advised - starting at 1:30pm.
“The change just came about because of the redevelopment of the old administration block at Coorparoo,” Clarke said.
“Apparently the changerooms are still being done and just need a couple more days. Yeronga is a good deck, so we’ve got no problems there. Plus, wherever we play is just going to be wet anyway!”
