Cut off the supply lines to Jeremy Cameron and you win the match.
Coach Chris Fagan reckons that's the key for his Brisbane Lions if they are to stand any chance of notching their second win of the AFL season against an in-form Greater Western Sydney on Saturday.
Cameron is second on the competition's leading goalkickers list with 32 - a quarter of the Giants' total for the year to date.
And while Fagan is confident young Lions defender Harris Andrews could handle him one-on-one, his preferred option is to starve him of the ball in the first place.
"Cameron's a superstar player. But what he relies on is good supply," Fagan told reporters on Friday.
"So the battle in the midfield is the critical battle. If he gets too many looks at it, it doesn't matter who's playing on him.
"Harris has been in great form and that'll be a good challenge for him ... but (winning) territory is critical to it all and how much pressure we can get on the ball when it comes in."
Rhys Mathieson has been brought into the Brisbane side to boost their contested ball ability, joining a midfield unit led by stars Dayne Zorko and Dayne Beams but largely filled out by inexperienced faces.
They'll come up against a silky GWS contingent that will be bolstered by the return of vice-captain Stephen Coniglio, still feeling confident after impressive wins over Adelaide and Gold Coast and fresh from a week off.
"Their midfield's an A-grade midfield, there's no doubt about that. It has been the case for a long time now," Fagan said.
The Giants beat the Lions by 34 points in their last meeting back in round six.
And while Fagan believes they have improved as a team since then, he's not about to put any extra pressure on them to produce a result this time around at the Gabba.
"I've never talked about wins, and I'm not going to start now," he said.
"We keep trying to improve every week. We know if we keep working on that process the results will handle themselves.
"There will come a time when we're more pointy about wins and losses but that's not where we're at as a group at the moment."
Share
