FORM GUIDE

The Lions travelled to Etihad Stadium last weekend and made it back-to-back wins for the second time this season.

It was a hard-fought 23-point win over the Demons, who have focused intensely this season on improving their defence and not allowing teams to score against them. While the game never got to any real heights, the Lions would have been delighted with the performance of Daniel McStay in only his fifth game at senior level. McStay competed well, marked strongly and finished with three goals for his efforts. It was a gritty win by the Lions who were terrific in piling on six goals to one in the final quarter when the game was there to be won.

The Lions currently have a 6-12 record and sit 15th on the ladder.

One week after a magnificent win at the MCG over finals rival Collingwood, the Adelaide Crows were overrun by a rampant West Coast Eagles outfit on their home deck at Adelaide Oval. The Crows have been consistent at being inconsistent this season but are still right in the finals hunt and will be more desperate than ever for a win at the Gabba.

The Crows currently have a 9-9 record and sit 10th on the ladder.

This game kicks off at 1:10pm at the Gabba on Sunday.

TEAM SELECTION

The Lions Match Committee has named a 25-man squad with the inclusions being Jonathan Freeman, Nick Robertson and Marco Paparone. Three players will be omitted before Sunday’s clash.

Freeman, however, is poised to be the ninth Lions debutant this season after being named at full-forward. Paparone and Robertson, meanwhile, form part of an extended bench, along with Claye Beams, Darcy Gardiner, Ash McGrath, Sam Mayes, and Ryan Lester, which will be trimmed to four on Friday evening.

Brenton Sanderson and the Crows Coaching Committee have also named a 25-man squad with Tom Lynch, Jarryd Lyons, Sam Shaw, Charlie Cameron and Matt Crouch all included in the extended team. Out of the side goes James Podsiadly, who is being rested, and Scott Thompson with a hamstring injury.

CONGRATULATIONS DARCY GARDINER AND JONATHAN FREEMAN

Congratulations to Darcy Gardiner for his NAB Rising Star nomination earlier this week. It is great recognition for a solid rookie season in the AFL and he becomes the third young Lion after his first year teammates James Aish and Lewis Taylor to be nominated.

Congratulations also goes to Jonathan Freeman who has been selected to make his debut this weekend. He is set to become the first Hyundai Lions Academy graduate for the club to play in the AFL and also becomes the ninth Lion to make his debut this year.

The future looks extremely bright at the Gabba as the good news surrounding the young players continues during season 2014.  

KEY MATCH-UPS

The Crows have generally gone with a very tall set up in the forward line and that will be the case again this weekend at the Gabba. Their blue-chip man Taylor “Tex” Walker will be at full forward with support coming from Josh Jenkins and possibly Tom Lynch who has been named in the extended squad. Matt Maguire will probably find himself on Tex Walker when the game kicks off and one of Justin Clarke, Joel Patfull or Darcy Gardiner will probably take on Jenkins, with one of the other two more than likely going to Lynch. 

Eddie Betts can have a huge impact on games when not properly targeted and the Lions will possibly send in-form defender Ryan Harwood to him as a good match for size and pace.

In the middle the Crows have a particularly combative midfield with plenty of players that love the contested possession aspect of footy. Patrick Dangerfield, Rory Sloane, Brad Crouch and Matt Crouch throw themselves into the contest without a second thought and when the ball does make its way out of the congestion Richard Douglas and David Mackay provide the pace and delivery from the wings.

The Lions midfield will be again lead by Vice-Captain Tom Rockliff and he will be supported by Pearce Hanley, James Aish and Rohan Bewick to face up to the Crows. The pace coming on the outside will be provided by Dayne Zorko, Josh Green and Lewis Taylor who we know love getting forward to not only kick goals but support the tall timber in the forward fifty.

Many football scribes believe that Sam Jacobs is a lock for the All-Australian ruck role after yet another impressive season in the middle for Adelaide. Stefan Martin has absolutely revelled in the ruck role for the Lions since assuming the number one mantle and for him it is “another week, another giant challenge”. This match up will prove to be compelling viewing for all supporters and members on Sunday.

The Lions have been favouring the two tall pronged forward line of late but this week has added another tall into the mix. Joining Daniel Merrett and Michael Close in the forward fifty will be first-gamer Freeman. They can expect to find themselves opposed to Daniel Talia, Andy Otten and Luke Thompson ensuring we see plenty of contested marking contests unfold as the afternoon progresses.

We may even see young Daniel McStay swing between the back and forward lines as needed, with the Lions finally having plenty of options for height across the ground this weekend.

With the height that the Lions have in the team this weekend there is a good chance that they will opt for a bench of hard running midfielders to keep everyone fresh using their rotations.

STATISTICS

The Crows lead the past five clashes 3-2 with the last meeting between the two sides coming way back in Round Two last season, which the Crows managed to win by 19 points.

Overall the Lions hold an 18-17 head-to-head lead in meetings between the sides and also hold a 11-9 record at the Gabba. The Lions have been good value at home this season and will be in a buoyant mood following a patch of form during the past month.

As noted above the Crows are a midfield that loves the contested footy and this is backed by the statistics which show Adelaide as the number one clearance side in the AFL. They average 13.9 clearances per match compared with the Lions who are ranked equal 15th averaging 11.2 per game.

In addition to this the Crows rack up possessions each week ranking sixth in the AFL with a match average 372.1, which is significantly higher than the Lions who are ranked 18th with a match average of 342.7 each week.

Everything points to a massive battle in the centre of the ground that will go a long way to determining the outcome of this match.

The Lions only need to look back to Round 21 in 2012 when the Crows travelled to the Gabba as warm favourites to collect another win. On that night the Lions produced a brilliant performance to knock the Crows off by 10 points in a huge upset and it also derailed the Crows bid to finish on top of the ladder for 2012. On that evening Jack Redden picked up 30 disposals and Rohan Bewick kicked three goals for the Lions.

This weekend the Lions have the chance to produce a potentially fatal blow to Adelaide’s chances to play finals in 2014.

LIONS RESERVES

Last week the Lions reserves headed down to face the Swans reserves at the SCG in a curtain raiser for the Swans and Bombers clash later that evening. The Swans produced a six goal to one second quarter, which helped set up a 27-point over the Lions.

Nick Robertson was great in collecting 38 disposals while other good performers on the day included Marco Paparone playing off the half back flank and Jordon Bourke who beat his direct opponent Lewis Roberts-Thompson while also collecting 24 disposals.

This week the Lions take on the Southport Sharks at Burpengary – Moreton Bay Central Sports Complex. The game kicks off at 1:30pm with both teams desperate to get a win after suffering losses last weekend.

The Lions Reserves currently have a 4-11 record and sit 11th on the ladder.


Carl Nimb is an independent writer and Lions Member (#2604559) who will contribute to lions.com.au throughout the season.

You can follow him on Twitter @CarlNimb