Brisbane coach Chris Fagan has called on the AFL to even up the Gather Round fixture after they were shunted from Adelaide Oval for the fourth consecutive time.
The Lions defeated North Melbourne by 26 points on Saturday at the Barossa, which continued a trend for both sides in the feature round.
Not only was it the third time the two sides have met in the four editions of Gather Round, but it was also the fourth time for both sides to not play on Adelaide Oval.
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Saturday’s victory followed their original 2023 clash at Mt Barker in the Adelaide Hills.
They met again the following year at suburban Norwood, before the Lions beat the Western Bulldogs last year at that venue. This is North’s second year at the Barossa.
Brisbane have made the past three grand finals, winning two of them, but still haven’t been fixtured at Adelaide Oval for Gather Round.
Fagan wasn’t complaining, but said it would be “fair” if every team got a piece of the action.
“We’re not a club that complains … our record at Gather Round is 4-0 so we can’t complain,” Fagan said
“I think North are in the same boat as us, we’ve never played a game at Adelaide Oval. We’ve actually played each other three times as well.
“I just think the fairest way to do it, is to share it around all teams.
“Everyone should have that experience of playing Gather Round at Adelaide Oval.
“I think the people will turn up regardless, if they’re worried about crowds and stuff like that. I’d like to see a push in that direction.
“That’s not me complaining about us. I’m saying that about all teams who haven’t had access to that venue.“
The game attracted a healthy crowd, who braved windy and wet conditions that meant a scrappy contest.
Clarkson said the weather meant it was tough to gauge how much his team had pushed the Lions, or whether the conditions had ensured a tight match.
Meanwhile, Fagan has welcomed the tag on Will Ashcroft, calling it a valuable lesson for the two-time North Smith medallist.
Jy Simpkin was outstanding, restricting the older Ashcroft to less than 20 possession for the first time since this time last season.
There was some aggression early in the game as Simpkin made his intentions clear and it set the tone for an afternoon of hard work.
Fagan noted that it’s usually Lachie Neale or Hugh McLuggage that are tagged, but added Ashcroft’s strong form meant the closer attention was not surprising.
“He deserves a tag, but what will happen is he will get a lot of learnings out of that,” Fagan said after the match.
“It was something that, in a way, needed to happen to him.
“We’ll go to work during the week on ways we can help him deal with that in a more positive way.
“He stuck his job, though. He was still trying his backside off for most of the game.”
Fagan also noted that Ashcroft’s tag meant Neale was able to get off the chain for 30 possessions and a game-high 10 clearances.
– With AAP
