Still seething over being snubbed as NAB Cup grand final hosts, the Brisbane Lions received another blow when ruckman Matthew Leuenberger was ruled out of the decider after aggravating his achilles complaint.
The Lions tried to play down Leuenberger’s latest setback in his recovery from an achilles injury that limited him to just three games last season.
However, the Lions will be sweating on scan results that will determine Leuenberger’s fate.
The Lions were already riled up after finishing on top of the NAB Cup table as the only undefeated side, only to be told they must travel to Etihad Stadium for Friday night’s grand final against Carlton.
But Brisbane have bigger worries after Leuenberger failed to back up from a pre-season clash with Greater Western Sydney on March 2.
The big man was not at training on Tuesday but Lions assistant coach Adrian Fletcher hoped it was only a “hiccup” before the season opener against Western Bulldogs on March 30.
“We’re going to give him the best chance to be ready,” he said.
“We go back to three interchange players on the bench and that will make it a little more difficult.
“He’s an important component to our set-up, especially in the ruck, and that means we can play Stefan Martin forward, and that gives us good structure.”
Leuenberger may return as early as Thursday but faces a race against time with just two full weeks of training left before the official AFL season start.
“Obviously we’d like to have him out there but hopefully he’ll be right for round one and that’s the main focus for us right now,” Lions recruit Brent Moloney said.
“We’ve had good form in the pre-season, but we know that round one is a different intensity.
“This will be closer to a round one hit-out for us and it’s a good test for our boys against a good outfit under Mick Malthouse, who is a smart character.”
The Lions will fly out for Melbourne on Thursday.