Veteran Brisbane defender Ryan Lester says an early season bye came at the ideal time for the Lions, who are intent on kick-starting their campaign with a win on Saturday over St Kilda at Marvel Stadium.
The back-to-back premiers started the defence of their latest flag with successive losses to the Western Bulldogs and Sydney Swans.
“Because of our experiences in the last few years, we know that losing a couple of games in a row isn’t the end of the world,” Lester said on Friday.
However, he said his team appreciated having a bye last weekend.
“The bye wasn’t at a bad time for us. We haven’t got a result yet this year, so it was a reset and we’re out to get our first win,” he said.
“We felt like against the Bulldogs we played really well. In Sydney we weren’t very good, but it was can repeat that (performance against the Bulldogs) we give ourselves a good chance, but you’ve got to not just play well, you’re got to get results.
“That’s what we’re chasing.”
Lester said the return of Zac Bailey, Logan Morris and Darcy Gardiner on Saturday would be important to Brisbane’s hopes of beating the Saints, despite still being with two of their co-captains, the suspended Harris Andrews and the injured Hugh McCluggage.
“Anytime you get three or four really good players going in or out, it makes a big difference,” he said.
“Those three coming in, plus guys like Linc (McCarthy) and Noah (Answeth), and ‘Drapes’ (Sam Draper) and Oscar (Allen), guys who have probably been pretty injury prone for the last couple of years, they’ve had their first run now, so hopefully we can get more output out of them and get the result we’re after.”
Lester said he had been content with his own form this season despite Brisbane’s two losses.
“I’m happy with how I’ve started personally, no doubt,” he said.
“Being able to play on (Charlie) Curnow against Sydney is not usually a job that I would have, so it gave me a bit of confidence in terms of being able to play that way when I’m required to.
“Hopefully I can keep going and the team can get a win. We’ve got to play well to beat (St Kilda).
“There are not many teams in the comp that you can have an off day against and still win.”
Lester would also hopeful that playing in Melbourne for the first time this season would inspire the Lions.
“We like playing in front of our fans down here. We’ve got a great supporter base, and we’ve felt that over the past four or five years,” he said.
“We’ve got great memories in Melbourne.”
