The Brisbane Lions travel to Melbourne to tackle the Casey Demons in Sunday afternoon football for the final round of the VFL home and away season for 2023.
Following their agonising six-point loss to Williamstown at Brighton Homes Arena last weekend, the Lions will be looking to bounce back and snag a top four spot.
Lions VFL coach Ben Hudson was circumspect about his side’s form over the last month, but sees Casey as an opportunity to build momentum.
“It was a tough one to swallow on the weekend because we played well for a good portion of that game,” he said.
“Our last few games we haven’t been at our best but we feel that we are still in a really good place to contend come September.
“We’ve taken a lot of good learnings out of the last few weeks.
“Casey is just another chance for the group to travel together, build that connection and set ourselves going into finals.”
The Casey Demons are also coming off back-to-back losses in a fifth verse sixth match up which will have a profound impact on the fixture for week one of finals.
Players to watch
Harry Sharp
The hard-running winger has quietly been building a very consistent VFL season.
Following his eye-catching performance against Williamstown collecting 30 disposals and booting a goal, Sharp will be looking to use his silky skills to carve the Casey defence.
Sharp has often been the go-to man in transition known for his forward-50 deliveries providing the Lions with first use inside their attack half.
Kai Lohmann
After returning to the VFL side against the Seagulls, Lohmann proved why he is one of the competition’s most deadly scorers.
A four-goal outing on the weekend pushes Lohmann to 16 goals from 12 matches including a haul of seven against Coburg.
With his ability to take high-flying marks and be creative at ground level he is an ever-present threat for an opposition defence.
Last time we met
The last meeting between these two sides was in the 2022 VFL preliminary final at Casey Field.
The Demons continually put scoreboard pressure on the Lions who struggled to find avenues to goal booting only four goals to three-quarter time.
Mitch Robinson was the Lions best in the 51-point loss with 29 possessions, six tackles and five clearances.
