In the past two seasons, an early derby match-up with Queensland rivals Gold Coast would have been viewed as an ideal way for Brisbane to pick up a win.
But the Suns’ rise has changed the landscape going into Saturday’s fifth meeting of the two teams and the Lions know they’ll face a much tougher battle if they’re to secure the premiership points than in any of their previous encounters.
The Suns’ only victory against the Lions came in the first derby clash in 2011, when Michael Voss’s men were ambushed by a raw Gold Coast team but since then the Lions have barely given their southern neighbours a thought as they claimed the next three meetings.
There’s no room for such confidence for the Lions going into this weekend’s clash however after losses to the Western Bulldogs and Adelaide in their first two fixtures of the regular season made the pre-season cup win a distant memory.
Meanwhile the Suns are riding high after a thrilling first-round victory over St Kilda was matched by a strong display despite defeat to premiers Sydney last weekend.
It’s a form guide Lions skipper Jonathan Brown believes cannot be easily dismissed.
“I think this is the first time there’s a real genuine interest in the competitiveness of the two teams,” Brown said.
“Gold Coast, externally, has probably got bigger expectations this year going into this game.
“Clearly in the first two games they’ve developed a hell of a lot … to win the first week and then to take the premiers and push them for three quarters, it’s better form than we’re in at the moment.”
While last weekend’s 19-point loss to the Crows showed plenty of improvement on the opening round thrashing by the Bulldogs, Brown wasn’t pulling any punches in his team’s need to get on the board sooner rather than later.
“It is a big game in the context of the season for us,” he said.
“We look forward to playing the games that have got a bit more pressure on them because at the end of the day you’ve got to be able to survive that sort of pressure to be able to cope with finals.”
Suns skipper Gary Ablett wouldn’t label his team favourites but did concede they go into the game full of confidence.
“You go out to win any match,” the 2009 Brownlow Medallist said.
“There’s no doubt we’re a lot fitter, a lot stronger than we have been in previous years and obviously that experience for those younger boys as well is going to help us out a lot going into this game.”
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