‘G WHIZ, CRY LION FANS

The curious case of the Brisbane Lions continued last weekend after a shock loss to Hawthorn at the MCG.

While the Lions try not to dwell on their recent poor record at the home of football – they’ve won once only there in their past 14 matches –it’s a win-loss ledger they’ll have to not only overcome but turn around if they want to feature deep into the September action.

This week the Lions host their first Friday night at the Gabba since round two in a match they simply cannot afford to drop with spots in the top four heating up.

They take on a Sydney team whose season is on a knife’s edge after losing to St Kilda at the SCG last Thursday night.

Both these teams meet at an interesting time in their respective seasons, with the Lions in desperate need of a reset after last week’s failure against a Hawthorn line-up arguably ahead of their rebuild but still firmly in development mode.

Chris Fagan faced the media after last Saturday’s surprise defeat and while happy to discuss his team’s recent poor record at the ’G, he was still searching for answers to help turn around their form at the venue which hosts the biggest games every season.

“I felt last year we had some good performances here and some not-so-good performances (at the MCG),” he said.

“We’ll try and do a better job next time. The answer is I don’t know. We’ve been OK here as well.

SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS: Chris Fagan is battling to work out why the Brisbane Lions have lost 13 of their past 14 matches at the home of football.

“We’ll see what happens next time we come here.”

The Swans are essentially playing for their season at five wins and seven losses, while the Lions will want to rebound strongly against a team they are expected to beat.

Whatever happens, it’s Friday night footy and the football world will be watching two teams who made last year’s preliminary finals, with Sydney going on to contest the Grand Final.