BRISBANE Lions’ fans would be well advised to start securing finals tickets after their women’s team recorded its biggest win of the season knocking off league leaders Adelaide by four points in a weekend thriller.
The Lions had lost two tight games at Brighton Homes Arena earlier in the season, but this time around they showed gritty determination in the final minutes to hold out a storming Adelaide.
Lions coach, Craig Starcevich, said the team was still smarting after losing the early season matches and that drove their desperation at the end of the game.
“They have been burnt a couple of times late in the games this year and that makes you stronger, it’s a place you don’t want to go to again,” he said.
“I still think we’ve got a fair bit to go, there’s a lot of stuff there that we need to keep working on,” he said.
Starcevich said he was pleased to get more game time into his key players as they rolled on to the final two rounds of the competition.
The Lions are away to danger team St Kilda this week, then they return home for what looks like a blockbuster encounter against new league leaders the Melbourne Demons.
That final game may also determine who wins the McClelland Cup which carries a $1m prizemoney tag.
The cup prizemoney is divided up to $500k for the club and $250k for the men’s and women’s teams.
Despite one of the hottest days of the year at Springfield a crowd of more than 2500 attended Brighton Homes Arena on Saturday.
The Lions’ major concern from Saturday’s game was the accuracy of their kicking.
Despite having 17 kicks on goal to the Crows 9 they still only scrapped home by three points.
ROUND SEVEN:
Lions 5.12 (42)
Adelaide 6.3 (39)
