Harris Andrews says Brisbane are ready to seize the big moments after the All-Australian fullback declared himself fit to face Richmond in next Friday’s qualifying final.
The Lions rose from the depths of the AFL ladder to finish second last season, before being dusted in straight sets by the Tigers and Greater Western Sydney in home finals.
Poor accuracy in front of goal hurt them and has lingered at times this season, but Andrews is confident the side can respond after being handed a second chance in an identical Gabba fixture next week.
“We did a lot of reflecting last year after those finals and came away thinking about moments in games,” he said.
“We had our opportunities, we weren’t able to capitalise.”
Andrews ran freely in an internal game on Friday to seal an early return from injury that initially had him eyeing a potential preliminary final comeback.
“I trained well, got up to some good speeds … felt like I was able to run relatively fast for me,” he said.
“I’ve achieved everything we wanted to the last couple of weeks and thankfully been able to hit that, so ready to go I think.”
Richmond will hope key forward and Andrews’ direct opponent Tom Lynch bounces back from his own hamstring injury, while Brisbane will be looking to man of the moment Lachie Neale to continue his dream season.
Like Andrews, the midfielder was voted into his second-straight All-Australian team on Thursday night, but was also crowned season’s most outstanding player by his peers and the 18 AFL coaches.
“It’s funny when I’m standing here, talking about it and reflecting on it doesn’t feel right,” he said of being regarded as the AFL’s best player.
“But when I’m playing I have full confidence in my ability and feel like I’m in that top echelon.”
A Brownlow Medal would give him the awards cleansweep, but there is no sense of complacency as he eyes a happier outcome this season.
“It’s been a while and they’re probably pretty happy they’re playing us,” Neale said of the Tigers’ unbeaten run that stretches back to 2009.
“But we’re excited and know our best footy can beat anyone in the comp
“There’s no fears there; we’ve missed a lot of opportunities in the last couple of times and the scoreboard probably doesn’t feel like it reflects how we’ve matched up against them.”
