BRISBANE Lions Brownlow medallist Simon Black has labelled former teammates Jared Brennan and Michael Rischitelli "mercenaries" ahead of Saturday night's inaugural Queensland derby.
In comments sure to add fire to the "QClash", the usually quietly spoken Black did not hold back when asked about the former Lions pair.
Earlier on Monday, Brennan and Rischitelli played a predominantly straight bat to questions on the contest, but Black was in no such mood.
"I'm sure they'll cop a few texts through the week and a bit of niggle there and give a bit more niggle on Saturday night. At the end of the day the mercenaries aren't here any more and good luck to them," Black said.
Black also took aim at the League's newest side, claiming the AFL has handed things to Gold Coast "on a platter".
"The AFL have given them everything, and then some," he said.
"They've been extremely fortunate the way they've come into the competition and they've been the benefactors of previous clubs coming into the competition and not having immediate success that other clubs have had, eg the Brisbane Bears.
"So they've been handed [things] on a platter, so no doubt in time, two to three years, they're going to be a very good footy side, but gee they've been given everything, and then some."
With the Lions currently in last place with a 0-5 record and the 1-4 Suns sitting one place higher, Black admitted it was a massive game for the club and one they needed to win.
"From a player's point of view, they're the new team in town, it's big brother, little brother syndrome, and being the big brother you want the authority still."
While Black, who was a beacon in Saturday night's loss against Richmond, was fuelling the fire for the Suns clash, he did save some praise for his rivals.
"They're an extremely talented group of kids and I'm very impressed by a lot of their young guys," he said.
"They'll be very good AFL footballers and are showing some good signs here and there, but a bit like us their maturity of being able to sustain their efforts through the game is their issue at the moment, so the side that can do that best on Saturday night will probably get the win."
Black's long-time running mate at the Lions, Luke Power, said the QClash was the "biggest game on earth" for them right now.
Power said Saturday night's 26-point loss against Richmond was the team's worst performance of the season.
"It's for pride, it's for market share, it's for everything," Power said.
"They'll definitely come out hard. No-one likes to be beaten the way they were beaten on the weekend and we're expecting them to come out all fired up and we'll have to take that and get to them as the game goes on."
