BRISBANE Lions fans who get plenty of value from at-ground replay screens can rest assured that their heroes do as well.
Modern-day players are often seen on television broadcasts using the big screens to make sure they look the part or to fruitlessly argue a point of contention with a controlling umpire.
But, as midfielder Michael Rischitelli explained to lions.com.au, they are equally handy when it comes to keeping track of the scores in tight game – such as last weekend’s nail-biting draw with
“Obviously you can’t be looking up at them all the time, but you definitely check when there is a stoppage – like when a goal has been kicked,” Rischitelli said.
“Most of the time you try to have a pretty good idea of what the score is, especially when it’s a tight game.
“If the opposition comes out and kicks a few goals in a row, you need to know whether you have to come back with a goal of your own right away.”
The Lions, of course, found themselves in the position of “chasers” against the Swans and managed to get level with their visitors with only seconds remaining, thanks to Jonathan Brown’s unerring roost from 55m.
Rischitelli said players also generally had a concept of the amount of time left in a game – something which added to the tension when it became clear Brown was going to have a set shot after marking on lead.
“I was thinking to myself ‘he’d better kick this’,” Rischitelli laughed.
“He was a fair way out but it was a pretty good set of hands for the ball to be in.
“If you’ve just come off the bench you might know more about how much time is left, but mostly you just wait until it gets to the 25-minute mark and then say ‘we’ve got five minutes from now’.
“I actually thought on Saturday night that we might have still have had a couple of minutes to go. So it was pretty good that Browny had a shot.”
The Lions will continue their run towards a potential finals berth on Saturday at AAMI Stadium, where they will do battle with the Crows.
For Rischitelli, who is now in his fourth season at the Gabba, having something tangible to play for in the final two games of the season is an exciting feeling.
Having looked out of the finals reckoning after failing to register a win between rounds seven and 13, the Lions then strung together five victories on the trot to put themselves firmly back in the frame.
“All we can do is focus on each week as it comes – we’d have to win both our games so we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves,” he said.
“But the last six or seven weeks have been great and everyone is feeling pretty bubbly and energetic.
“The seven weeks or so we went without a win before that weren’t a lot of fun and I know I definitely got sick of losing.
“To be able to sing the club song five weeks in a row was terrific and the vibe around the club is just great.”
