WITH more than half the inaugural NAB AFL Women’s season completed, the Brisbane Lions are no longer a surprise.
The Lions are undefeated after four games and sit second on the ladder, behind Adelaide on percentage. And on Saturday night they face their biggest test when they take on the Crows at Norwood Oval in a game that could determine which team will host the AFLW Grand Final on March 25.
Lions coach Craig Starcevich said his team was looking forward to the challenge.
“They play a similar style of football to us. They’re quite basic when they go forward and they’ve got an abundance of high-quality players,” Starcevich said.
“But one thing about our group is that the challenge really inspires them. That’s what we found [out] in round one and two when we were up against a little bit of adversity.
“They were challenged and they rose to it.”
Team: Round 5 v Adelaide Crows
The Lions’ performances have opened plenty of eyes. Before the season, many expected them to finish near the bottom of the ladder, partly because 22 of their 27 players were drawn from the AFL Queensland competition and were virtually unknown outside their home state.
However Starcevich, who had previously worked with many of the players in his role as AFL Queensland’s female football high-performance coach, knew he had some genuine talent in his squad.
"We've got a couple of decent tall forwards, we've got good speed and run and we've got good defenders,” Starcevich told AFL.com.au during the pre-season.
"We've got some nice balance.”
While marquee signing Tayla Harris was already well known for her performances in the AFL exhibition series matches, the Lions have also found homegrown stars in defender Sam Virgo and midfielders Emma Zielke and Kate McCarthy.
The Lions added a handful of interstate players to their squad for this season, with the five already having an impact.
Marquee player Sabrina Frederick-Traub (from Western Australia) has been solid as a ruck/forward while Kaitlyn Ashmore and Nicole Hildebrand (Victoria) have performed their roles each week.
Brisbane also drafted Tasmanian pair Jessica Wuetschner and Brittany Gibson, with both hitting the scoreboard at important times in the first month of the competition.
Starcevich said the main thing he wanted from his players was a commitment to compete.
“The starting point has got to be competitiveness,” he said.
While that has been a hallmark of the Lions' game, their ability to work together as a team and not rely on the same players would be pleasing Starcevich.
The even contribution is illustrated by the fact no Lion averages more than 12.5 touches a game and the team has had nine individual goalkickers combining for its 19 goals.
There may also be an element of luck to the Lions’ great start, with the team yet to suffer a serious injury and having to use only 24 players.
But what has become clear as the season progresses is that the Lions know how to win. While they have not shown the same level of dominance as the Crows, they have kept finding a way to claim the four points.
Brisbane restricted Melbourne to just one goal in round one despite conceding 30 inside 50s. Two weeks later, the Lions nabbed a win in a tight affair over Collingwood, even though they were soundly beaten in almost every statistic.
They faced a different challenge when they hosted the Giants last Saturday. With the season so tight, percentage could be a factor at the end of the season and Starcevich made it a priority to record a big win after three straight victories in close contests.
It didn’t go to plan early, with the Lions managing just 1.7 in the first half. But they were able to get several goals on the board in the second half, eventually cruising to a 34-point win.
Saturday night’s match against Adelaide is the first time the Lions will play on free-to-air television. Starcevich said assistant coaches Brent Staker and Daniel Merrett had spoken to the players about the “thrill” of playing in big matches.
“It’s great to have the spotlight on you,” he said.
“The rest of the competition [will be] looking at this game, so [we told them] to not be daunted by it…and enjoy the experience.”
Watch the AFL Women's game LIVE on free-to-air on Channel Seven (7Mate), via the official AFL App or on AFL.com.au
Follow us on Twitter (@lionsaflw), Instagram (@brisbanelions) and Snapchat (brisbane-lions) for live updates.
