Lions ruck and midfield coach Ben Hudson said inaccurate kicking in front of goal prevented what could have been a larger win over Sydney on Saturday afternoon.

“We just missed a couple,” Hudson told lions.com.au.

“The conditions weren’t ideal but I spose [sic] it’s a confidence thing if we kick the first one.”

The Lions had 28-point lead in the first quarter but Sydney kicked six in the second which meant it was close at half time.

Hudson said the Lions’ second half was a carbon copy of their dominant first term.

“We were able to get back what we wanted at half time and play like we did in the first quarter,” he said.

Due to the Lions’ continuous rotation of forwards and quick ball movement down the goal end, they finished the game with 10 different goal kickers.

“We don’t really have forwards that stay as forwards we share them through the mid a lot, so it’s just sharing that load,” Hudson said

“It’s important going forward that we continue that,” he said.

Another positive, the Lions convincingly won dominating inside 50s (77-40); contested possessions (183-142) and clearances (51-44). 

Captain Dayne Zorko was supreme with his defensive pressure having 11 tackles on top of 29 disposals and 11 clearances.

“I think he … enjoyed the fact that the attention wasn’t on him and he was able to get free and hopefully that will continue throughout the year,” Hudson said.

“It doesn’t matter how much of the ball he is getting, he is the AFL’s number one pressure player which is vital in the way we play.” 

Hudson also credited ruckmans Stephan Martin and Oscar McInerney as their performances were critical in wearing down an experienced Swans midfield.  

“I think both of them have been working well,” Hudson said.

Saturday afternoon against the Bulldogs in Ballarat will be another challenge for the pair.  

“Hopefully we can get a bit of midfield dominance there on the weekend,”

The Lions will play Western Bulldogs on Saturday May 11^th at Mars Stadium.