Strategy Coach Danny Daly admitted Saturday’s win over Port Adelaide was ugly, but the side showed great improvement with their contested ball work.

That area has been a focus of improvement for the Lions over the past three seasons.

“Some of the good sides have to win ugly, it was good for us to get back on track in the last quarter especially, contested ball is a big part in it,” Daly said. 

“We got on top of them in the last ten minutes and won the contested ball and were able to kick four goals inside 50.

“That was probably the key difference, being able to convert.”

For the first time this season, the Lions started strongly, thanks to Eric Hipwood’s three goals in the opening term.

“In the first two rounds our starts weren’t great so we had a bit of an emphasis on it this week, winning the contested ball early and making sure it went our way,” he said.

“Eric stood up a bit, taking a few great marks, contested ball component was a big part for us. 

This week the team travels to Melbourne to play on the biggest stage – the MCG.

Daly said it will be a great experience for the younger players.

“The more opportunities we get to play on the MCG it’s going to be great for us, because that’s where you got to win the big finals and the big Grand Finals,” he said.

The team travels on Friday before meeting the Bombers at 2:10pm at the MCG on Saturday.