IN A SEASON of struggles, Mitch Robinson is the role model his Brisbane Lions teammates should be trying to emulate, says coach Justin Leppitsch.
Robinson has been in career-best form the past month, not only averaging 29 disposals in that span, but keeping some of the game's best onballers virtually anonymous at the same time.
Leppitsch says Robinson is playing his run-with role even better than he did last year, when he was one of four Lions to share the Merrett Murray Medal.
Robinson has had the better of Sam Mitchell (24 touches), Bryce Gibbs (12), Lachie Neale (18) and Brownlow medallist Matt Priddis (16) in the past four weeks.
He is likely to get either Trent Cotchin or Dustin Martin when the Lions play Richmond at the MCG on Saturday.
"He wasn't doing it to this level last year," Leppitsch said.
"He was doing his role really well last year, but he's completely taking a player out at the moment and adding some numbers, and that's a rare combination to do both.
"I don't think Mitch can expect both those things to happen (all the time).
"As long as he takes care of the opposition … I'm happy if he gets some ball himself, that's an added bonus."
Leppitsch said it was important for Robinson to have the defence-first mindset and build his offence from there.
"Not surprisingly he's been one of our best players this year because he plays 120 minutes and focuses on his role for that time, and that's all you can ask from a playing group," he said.
"It's just making sure he knows what his role is, it's nice and clear."
While Robinson flourishes, the Lions are starting to lose some valuable players to injury, with Dayne Beams (knee), Allen Christensen (collarbone), Tom Bell (knee) and Ryan Harwood (knee) all unlikely to play again this year.
Leppitsch said although the injuries were mounting for his 1-12 team, it was no excuse for performing poorly.
"You want your best amount of talent out there and best amount of luck, and we've hit a bit of a snag there," he said.
"That doesn't mean you can't compete and play to the best of your ability and we've got some great talent out there at the moment."
(Screenshot from afl.com.au's Access All Areas)
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