Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Brisbane star Hugh McCluggage is set to take out his frustrations on Hawthorn at the MCG on Saturday night.
The Lions are one win away from a fourth successive grand final appearance and the chance to win a third consecutive premiership.
Standing in their way in the preliminary final will be the Hawks, who fell at the same hurdle last season.
While Hawthorn will be the fresher of the two teams after having last weekend off, the Lions are match-hardened and full of confidence after last Saturday’s 53-point thrashing of Adelaide.
After a quiet outing the previous week against Sydney in his latest return from calf problems that have dogged him all season, midfielder McCluggage lifted his form against the Crows.
With two matches now under his belt after more than a month off, the Lions co-captain is set to take his game to another level at the home of football this weekend.
“When I’ve played I feel like I’ve been able to build my form, but then something else has just come along as I’ve been building it,” McCluggage said in reflecting on a season in which he has missed 10 of Brisbane’s 25 games.
“You’re frustrated when it happens, but then you’ve just got to move on because if I’m down in the dumps, the young guys are seeing that and it can have a really big impact on the group.
“As a leader, your responsibility is a lot more than just your game day output, and I’ve been able to really help guys off the field when I haven’t been playing.
“I’ve been proud of how I’ve been able to get through it so far.
“Sometimes when you’re out for a few games you just lose a little bit of that touch and it takes a bit to get back into it, but at the same time I’ve still been playing a role for the team when I’ve been at my best.
“A lot of it for us is our mindset and our ability to do what we do really well.
“We’ve played in two amazing prelims in the last two years, but just because you have that experience doesn’t make it any easier, but it’s exciting at the same time that we’ve given ourselves another opportunity.
“Our group’s really good at soaking it all in, bringing energy, but also being on edge and knowing that it’s going to be a really tough battle.”
McCluggage said the Lions would relish playing at a packed MCG set to have more Hawks fans than Brisbane supporters.
“We try to embrace it rather than block it out. We’ve played a lot of big games here against hostile crowds,” he said.
“The Hawks will probably have the majority of the crowd but we still have amazing support down here with our Fitzroy contingency.
“We expect a lot of them to turn up and make some noise as well.”
