Although Saturday night’s match at TIO Stadium wasn’t a great spectacle, the Brisbane Lions were thrilled to come away with the four premiership points.
The hard fought 19-point victory over Melbourne in trying conditions was the Lions’ third in succession, and fourth from their past five games.
Defender-come-forward Daniel Merrett, who booted two goals against the Demons, revealed on Facebook the morning after the match exactly how tough it was to play in the Darwin humidity.
“Last night was that hard. Energy sapping conditions,” Merrett said.
“I'm embarrassed to check my GPS results.”
But like Senior Coach Michael Voss, Merrett quickly directed his attention to this Sunday’s big clash against Finals-bound Port Adelaide.
“That's three wins in a row now, and we head to Adelaide next week to play Port (which is a) massive challenge,” Merrett said.
“It's the big challenges you play footy for.”
Merrett and his Lions teammates will have eight days to prepare for their second consecutive interstate travel.
The Lions will also be hoping for some good news on the injury front early this week, with late withdrawals Jonathan Brown and Mitch Golby, as well as midfield pair Simon Black and Brent Moloney, all a chance to return.
Tough going in Darwin
Daniel Merrett said Darwin's 'energy sapping conditions' were tough