Ahead of a blockbuster matchup against Richmond at the MCG on Saturday, Darcy Gardiner and Strategy Coach Danny Daly joined Dom Fay and Michael Whiting for this week's episode of the Roar Deal.
Versatile defender Gardiner (@23.44) was one of the Lions' best last weekend against Port Adelaide, especially in the last quarter when the team kept the Power goalless.
"The last few weeks we have cost ourselves in games by not being composed," Gardiner said.
"We need to make sure next time we are in that situation we can capitalise on it and get the win.
"We didn't get the result, but it's definitely an improvement over the last few weeks."
Gardiner has been part of some of the Lions' worse losses and can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.
"We've had significant improvements, you can definitely see the growth and development especially with Fagan coming on board," Gardiner said.
Make sure you subscribe to the Roar Deal podcast on iTunes.
A strong pre-season has helped Gardiner find some of the best form of his career.
"It was good to finish off last year healthy so I was able to get a full offseason in and do all the training."
"It helps your confidence knowing you've completed a whole pre-season and ticked all the boxes.
"Hopefully I can keep that going."
Daly (@44.25) was the second guest to join the Roar Deal this week and spoke in-depth about Zac Bailey's debut and the narrow loss to Port Adelaide
"He adds something that we probably don't have - his zip and ability to break open packs with his speed and agility," Daly said on Bailey.
"It's a great reward for his efforts."
The strategies the Lions have employed in the first three matches of the season have been spot on Daly said.
"Our planning for the first three games has been fantastic from a coaching group."
"On the weekend everything we spoke about and the plan we went in with worked really well.
"Unfortunately we weren't able to get the chocolates, but we couldn't have been prouder of the players for the performance they put in.
"The reality though is we are 0-3, and we need to players to know their errors, or growth areas, contributed to the loss."
Daly also discussed the difficult team selection decisions that had to be made this week, including Ryan Lester's omission.
As usual, Fay and Whiting also gave their best on ground votes from Round 3 and made some fearless predictions for Saturday's upcoming match.
