3 minute read
Co-captain Harris Andrews says he has full faith in Brisbane's defensive depth should injured backman Jack Payne be ruled out of the semi-final against GWS.
Brisbane's Jack Payne has been cleared of a serious knee injury as his captain put faith in two relative novices to cover any defensive vacancy.
Payne was substituted out of the Lions' 28-point elimination final win against Carlton after hurting his left knee.
Scans on Monday cleared the 24-year-old of Payne of "any serious knee injury", the Lions said in statement.
But he remains in some doubt for Saturday night's semi-final against GWS.
"The club will aim to have the defender running at training on Tuesday with the assistance of a knee brace, before making a final decision later in the week," the Lions said.
Brisbane co-captain Harris Andrews is backing either Darragh Joyce or nine-gamer Shadeau Brain to fill the void should Payne be ruled out.
"(Payne) is obviously very important, he is a big part of what we do down there," Andrews told reporters on Monday.
"His ability just to compete hard and buy into our system down there is sensational.
"At the same time though we have worked without him this year ... so guys like Darragh Joyce and Shadeau Brain have had to come in and play roles.
"And that's the beauty of the backline a little bit, you play a system within a system, and I feel like those guys have done a great job throughout the year.
"If he (Payne) is right, it would be fantastic. If he's not, I am confident that the guy coming in will get the job done."
Joyce, who has played six games this season for a career total of 24 since his 2018 debut at St Kilda, flourished in VFL ranks last Saturday, collecting 12 marks in a semi-final victory.
The Lions meet GWS in a knockout final at the Giants' home ground, where Brisbane haven't played since 2020 - the clubs have two wins each from four matches at the Sydney venue.
Since 2020, the six following games have been split between Brisbane's Gabba and the Giants' second home at Manuka Oval in Canberra.
Andrews dismissed any relevance from not playing the Giants in Sydney recently, but said his side would heed lessons from their last clash against GWS.
In round 23 on August 10 at the Gabba, the Giants booted six goals to one in the final quarter for a comeback 18-point victory, winning 13.4 to Brisbane's 8.16.
"We had opportunities early in the game - we probably didn't connect as well inside 50, and maybe a little bit of inaccuracy in that game hurt us," Andrews said.
"And to their credit, they just kept coming and they were able to run over us in the last quarter.
"But we will take some really good learnings from that, and I'm sure they will as well."
