Tom Rockliff says the Lions' ability to fight back and draw with a threatening Gold Coast Suns outfit on Friday night is a credit to the team's growth under Justin Leppitsch's game plan.
 
“We probably let ourselves down in that third quarter and in the past we would have let the game get away from us”, he said.
 
The Suns led by 23 points at the final change before the Lions kicked the first four goals of the quarter to snatch the lead. Gold Coast’s Touk Miller snapped a goal with five minutes remaining to regain the lead, but Matthew Leuenberger had the final say.
 
“It’s a credit to how far this group has come. We have done the work through the pre-season and we’ve done a lot of fitness stuff, but also just to control the game and be able to fight back was good to see.
 
“The biggest thing for us was that our contested footy really dropped away in that third quarter and once we corrected that in the last quarter we started to get the footy moving our way”, he said.
 
The midfielder was rested in the forward line at times during Friday’s match and managed to make an impact on the scoreboard – kicking an important final quarter goal.
 
“I do enjoy getting forward at times. I was lucky to be able to get on the end of a couple and kick a goal”, Rockliff said.
 
The players will have a shorter week in the lead up to next weekend’s season opener against Collingwood.
 
“The boys will freshen up, put the pre-season behind us and then the real season starts”, he said.