Jostling for top-8 positions steps up a notch when Brisbane takes on Fremantle
The reigning premiers have already racked up the same number of points, 58, from 14 wins and a draw, which was enough for the Lions to finish fifth in 2024, with two rounds still to go.
With his team sitting just outside the eight, Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge conceded that 14 wins wouldn't be enough to make the September action, a year after Carlton finished eighth with only 13 wins.
After taking on the Dockers, Brisbane will confront Hawthorn in the final round in a match that could determine the make-up of the top four, let alone the top eight, and Fagan said his men had been playing cutthroat football for weeks.
'We seem to have found ourselves in these battles every week for the past three or four weeks, ' he said before flying to Perth.
'We've been playing finals every week for the last six, with all the teams we've been playing. It's been pretty solid. Whoever invented that draw at AFL House certainly made it so if we were going get to the finals, we'll earn our spot.
'It's an extraordinary year. I don't think there'll ever be a year in AFL where 14 wins and a draw, which we have at the moment, doesn't get you into the finals.
'That's what we had last year and finished fifth. It's unusual, but that's the way it is. The top nine teams have put a gap on the rest and it makes the next two weeks really interesting.'
The Lions are set to regain premiership defenders Ryan Lester and Brandon Starcevich for the clash with the Dockers, coming off an injury list Fagan said was 'growing in recent times rather than shrinking', with Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale sidelined until finals.
'You can't do anything about injuries,' he said,
'That's the way it is in this game … our list has been growing in recent times rather than shrinking, which isn't ideal. We'll deal with it. We had a little bit of a crisis in the middle of last year … and we bounced back from that.'
Fagan said the players would lean into a strong record on the road this season, having won eight away games.
'It's a solid trip to go to Perth. We've been very good on the road this season, so we go there with a level of confidence,' he said.
'Fremantle are in probably the best form of any team in the competition and they have found ways to win, but that's what good teams do, so we'll respect that.'
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