Hub life clearly hasn’t agreed with every AFL club and player in the competition but at Brisbane, the prospect of several weeks away has been viewed as an opportunity to be excited about.
David Noble said the overarching attitude among the Lions players was gratitude to be still able to compete against AFL opponents each week.
He said the entire club was acutely aware of the impacts the Covid 19 pandemic was having on families and businesses.
And the feedback since the return of games, demonstrated by bumper TV ratings, was that having the footy back was helping a lot of people cope with their individual situations.
“Absolutely, there are a lot of people doing it really hard, businesses have struggled, the new cases in Victoria, I think we have a good understanding of the difficulties faced by the community at large,’’ he said.
“And we are thankful we can get on with doing something we really enjoy doing.
“And hopefully with that, we can provide as many people as possible with some sort of joy throughout the week.’’
The Lions depart for Sydney today with no idea what awaits them after their scheduled matches against Geelong at the SCG on Thursday night and GWS at Giants Stadium the following Saturday.
Quarantine rules would enable the club to return late the week after the Giants match in time for a round 8 fixture in Queensland but there is also a possibility the side could remain in NSW for another game.
Noble said the uncertainty would have no impact on the club who had proven themselves to be adaptable right throughout the pandemic.
“It is really unknown, it can shift really quickly,’’ he said.
“Our 14-day period away if we play a Victorian side in Geelong, we know that expires on that second Thursday.
“We are not sure beyond that at the moment we could stay in Sydney and play another team and from a quarantine and Queensland Government perspective, we can come home straight after that period.
“Whether we come home then we’re not sure and we’re not fussed either.
We have a good plan in place the staff is very well planned and structured and whatever comes, comes.
The podcast also discussed the record TV ratings and in particular, the Lions were generating this season and Noble believed there were two major factors contributing to the club’s popularity.
“We have worked really hard on the connection with our members and fans we have really worked hard to make sure they feel a part of the journey.
I have always believed that as you are growing and are moving through one of the things fans and members love is to grow with a player, they associate with someone. And some of our younger players are now starting to deliver performances our fans can really engage with.
“I think the other thing is the way we play attracts footy people in general and that’s been evidenced by the numbers.’’