Brisbane coach Chris Fagan and star midfielder Lachie Neale played down their side’s poor MCG record following their shock 98-73 loss to Hawthorn on Saturday.
While the result marked their 13th loss from their last 14 trips to the venue, Fagan said post-match that he made no mention of that record in the lead-up and suggested that his side plays the ground “OK”.
Even though Neale acknowledged the issue, he told 3AW post-match that the record “isn’t as bad as everyone says”.
While Fagan and Neale don’t seem phased by their shocking MCG run, SEN’s Scott Lucas believes it’s now becoming a significant mental disadvantage for the side.
“It is a factor,” Lucas told SEN Crunch Time.
“I saw Lachie Neale’s comment that, ‘Let’s look at all teams’ records away from home’, that’s fair and reasonable, but unfortunately, if you want to win a premiership you have to do it at the MCG which for Brisbane is away from home.
“You can look at Collingwood’s away record, they might be winning 70 per cent of their away games, not 1 of 14 (like Brisbane at the MCG).
“Whether the players think it (their MCG record) is a thing or not, even if they don’t, what do the opposition players think? They think it’s an issue for Brisbane.
“The mental advantage that they obtain on Brisbane is significant.
“You don’t think that would have been mentioned to Hawthorn at some stage yesterday?”
While their record over the last 14 games is poor, it’s even uglier since the start of 2019 with the Lions losing seven of eight at the venue since becoming a top-four team.
Even though they often play strong sides at the MCG with fixtures in Melbourne against struggling sides coming more often at Marvel Stadium, Lucas is certain the record should be looked at more by the Lions as they’ll have obviously play strong opposition if they make a Grand Final.
“I think it is an issue because where Brisbane are at that they want to win the flag this year, don’t they?” Lucas asked.
“All that record (losing seven of eight games at the MCG since 2019) says is they come up against good teams at the ‘G and they don’t beat them.
“You’re not, you’re not going to play North Melbourne at the ‘G, so it doesn’t matter that you’ve had a tough draw at the ‘G.”
Given how poorly the side seems to play at the ground, Lucas believes it’s imperative for the now fourth-placed Lions to finish first or second to have the best chance of playing a Qualifying and Preliminary Final at the Gabba.
“They need to finish one or two,” Lucas said.
“That means they get their two home finals and hope that they can come and perform at the MCG on Grand Final day.”
Brisbane are now 12 points behind second-placed Port Adelaide while they have a game in hand because of the bye.
The Lions head home to play Sydney in Round 14. Their next game at the MCG comes in Round 18 when they face Melbourne in a Friday night blockbuster.