The Brisbane Lions have received support from an unexpected source, with Paul Roos – coach of this weekend’s opponents Melbourne – hitting out at what he describes as the Lions’ “unfair” fixture.
Strong efforts against North Melbourne, Gold Coast and Sydney have been swept away in the past fortnight with some poor loses to Collingwood and Port Adelaide.
Roos said the Lions being drawn to play eight of the current top 10 teams in the opening 10 rounds after finishing 2nd-bottom last season did not make sense.
“I must admit, when I looked at their draw at the start of the year I thought ‘that’s reasonably unfair’ when you’ve got a team that finished second-bottom last year,” Roos told a media conference in Melbourne.
“I think the commentary before the season that Brisbane could be 2-8 but playing some really good footy… I think up until last week, that was the case. They’d played some really good footy and been horribly unlucky.
“The draw can have a significant impact, particularly for teams like (Lions Senior Coach) Justin’s (Leppitsch) and ours — you’ve got a young team and you’ve got to build confidence. I think Justin’s doing a terrific job.
“They’ve faced a very tough draw that has been somewhat unfair, but that’s the competition we’re in.”
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