Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Reigning AFL premiers Brisbane are adamant they aren’t thinking about their potential finals opponents, with their focus solely on beating Collingwood and securing a top-four berth.
The Lions (60 points) can finish anywhere between third and seventh, depending on results in the final round.
With Hawthorn (60), Melbourne (60), Geelong (56) and Adelaide (56) hot on their heels, Brisbane need a victory, ideally by a handy margin, at the MCG on Friday night to seal a top-four spot.
“It’s very exciting. We need a win, it’s as simple as that,” ruckman Sam Draper said.
“I think we could slide to seventh if we don’t, so it’s a really important game.”
The Lions are refusing to consider the ramifications beyond that – including what finishing third instead of fourth would mean.
The third-placed team will have an away qualifying final against undermanned and under-fire second-placed Sydney, instead of travelling to Perth to play minor premiers Fremantle.
Sydney have stood down Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, Riley Bice and James Jordon for the rest of the season for breaching club standards.
Those five players are linked to a police investigation into sexual assault allegations at East Melbourne’s Pullman Hotel on Monday morning.
Draper said the prospect of finishing third and playing Sydney didn’t have any bearing on Brisbane’s thinking.
“No, I think regardless of whatever happens throughout the season, you want to finish as high as you can,” he said.
“So for us, top-four is the most important thing, to get that double chance.”
Draper will notch his 100th AFL game on Friday night.
The energetic ruckman moved from battling Essendon as a free agent last off-season and, refreshed, in good form and on the verge of finals, feels he made the right call.
“Obviously there’s uncertainty and there’s doubt when you make big decisions like that,” Draper said.
“But I was pretty confident through the process I went through that I’d made the right choice, regardless of what happened with how the season panned out. I knew it was the right choice for me.”
With Collingwood locked into a wildcard spot regardless of the result, the Magpies could rest several players, including superstar Nick Daicos, potentially making Brisbane’s task easier.
Young dynamo Levi Ashcroft will notch his 50th AFL appearance on Friday night, having not missed a game since his debut last year.
“Anyone who doesn’t want to play in big games is silly,” Ashcroft said.
“I love playing against Collingwood, I feel like there’s no bigger game at the ‘G.”
He is also prepared to lock horns with Daicos, if the Magpie plays.
“It’ll be a lot of fun. He’s killing it this year,” Ashcroft said.
“In my opinion, he’s the best player in the comp at the moment.
“We definitely need to be on our game and be able to stop him from having a really good performance.”
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