Brisbane’s Hugh McCluggage tipped to bounce back in crunch finals clash against Gold Coast

Lions midfielder Josh Dunkley says star teammate Hugh McCluggage will be better off for the “lesson” he learnt in Brisbane’s qualifying loss to Geelong. All-Australian McCluggage had a rare night to forget last Friday at the MCG and, in the absence of injured co-captain Lachie Neale, needs to lift if Brisbane is to beat Gold Coast in Saturday night’s do-or-die semi-final at the Gabba. Tagged by Geelong’s Oisin Mullin, McCluggage was restricted to a personal season low of 14 disposals and failed to register a kick until midway through the second quarter. It was in stark contrast to McCluggage’s two performances against the Cats during the regular season when on both occasions he was Brisbane’s top-ranked player on Champion Data. “He still had some impact for us with the ball and did some good things, it was just that they obviously had a focus, and it worked for the majority of the night,” Dunkley said in reflecting on McCluggage’s performance last week. “Everyone learns lessons, and Hughie probably learnt a lesson on (Friday night) with how it was all played out, but I’m fully confident that he’ll bounce back this week and give it his all. “I’m not saying he wasn’t giving his all last week, but I just feel like that lesson that he learned last week is going to really benefit him. “We were talking about it straight after the game, things he could have done differently, and he knew straight away. “It’s a bit hard in the heat of the moment at times, especially in a big final, where you’re playing against a great team, to be able to change the way you are playing based on what match-ups you’re getting, but I’m sure Hughie will be really good for us this week.” McCluggage isn’t the only Brisbane player who needs to step up to ensure the Lions’ bid for back-to-back premierships remains alive. ”It’s just little things within finals,” said Dunkley, who was one of the better performers in a well-beaten Brisbane team. “We talked about moments, and there’s so many of them within a game. “Finals are games that you want to play well in, and play and win, but unfortunately, we weren’t able to do that (against Geelong), but we’ve moved on pretty quickly, and we look forward to this week, which is a great challenge.” It’s a bigger challenge without two-time Brownlow medallist Neale, whose finals campaign is over after tearing his calf. “The message is just having belief in what we do as a footy club, with the culture, the development program that we run – everyone’s ready to go when we need them,” Dunkley said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can fill that midfield void if we do lose a soldier. “Levi Ashcroft plays on the wing, and I’ve talked about him being really selfless for us a team, and he’ll be one of the guys that puts his hand up this week to take that role (of Neale’s). “I’m excited to see what we bring on the weekend.” Norm Smith medallist Will Ashcroft didn’t train on Tuesday due to illness but is expected to play on Saturday.