WHEN Daniel Bradshaw bounced back to top goal-kicking form with five goals against the Sydney Swans on the weekend, no-one was happier than his forward line partner Jonathan Brown.
After missing all of last season with a knee reconstruction, Bradshaw kicked three goals in each of the Lions’ first two games of the season – by his own admission, drifting in and out of the play.
Against the Swans, however, he was always in the play and Brown’s only regret was that he himself wasn’t able to join in the goal-kicking action a little more.
"Obviously the result on the weekend was disappointing, but it was terrific to see Braddy play like he did,” Brown said.
"He put in the hard yards with his rehab and you could see in the first two games that he was getting back to his best.
"From pretty early on in the game against
"Hopefully it won’t be too long before we both kick a bag together.”
If history is any guide, that occasion could well be this weekend’s crucial clash against Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium.
In the corresponding match two years ago, Bradshaw and Brown combined for 13 goals, as part of a four-week period in which the pair kicked 38 majors.
Due to injuries, firstly to Brown and more recently to Bradshaw, they have managed just five games in the same side since.
"That was one of those games where everything just seemed to flow and it would be fantastic if we could do that again,” Brown said.
"Braddy and I have had a good understanding out on the ground and at that stage the team was starting to play some pretty good footy.
"Obviously it’s pretty important we get a win on the weekend and if both of us can kick goals, it will probably give us a good chance.”
Lions coach Leigh Matthews has spoken several times this season of the Lions’ need to find crumbing options to play at the feet of Brown and Bradshaw, while last week’s loss was notable for the Swans’ good work around the clinches.
The Swans finished with 57 hard ball gets to the Lions’ 39.
Brown says there is plenty of improvement to come from the Lions but believes he and his teammates aren’t far off hitting form.
"We’ve definitely got some areas that we need to improve in and some players that need to step up,” he said.
"But the fact we’ve been able to be competitive when we haven’t really played well is probably a pretty good sign for when we do finally do put it together.
"One of the things we need to work on is consistency. We haven’t put it together over four quarters yet and we’ve had too many lapses – we need to maintain our intensity over the full two hours.”
