'Wake-up call' AFL ladder leaders needed

West Australian

15-05-2025

Brisbane are reigning premiers, ladder leaders and didn't lose last week, but Lions ace Cam Rayner believes they got a "wake-up call".
Rayner thinks the Lions were lucky not to lose against North Melbourne after securing a draw in Hobart last Sunday.
Brisbane's midfield was badly beaten by the Kangaroos as North ruckman Tristan Xerri put in a stunning best-on ground performance.
"We were just a little bit of a step off with our reaction time and things that we really pride ourselves on," Rayner told reporters at the Gabba on Thursday.
"We probably could have been playing a lot better, and it's probably a good wake-up call for us just to get back to what we know really works - that's our hunt, our mindset, to come out and really attack teams."
Being unhappy with two points is a far cry from Rayner's first season at the club when the Lions won just five games.
On Sunday, Rayner and fellow premiership hero Zac Bailey will play their 150th games as the Lions host Melbourne at the Gabba.
The 2017 draft was a crucial one for Brisbane's rebuild, coming after Chris Fagan's first season as coach.
Not only did the Lions recruit Rayner and Bailey, but future premiership defenders Jack Payne and Brandon Starcevich were also part of that crop.
"We came into the league together, and he's been one of my good mates at the club since then," Bailey said on Thursday of Rayner.
"We started at the bottom and have been on the journey together, so to play 150 (games) together is really good."
Being taken as the No.1 pick, Rayner has faced more scrutiny than many other Lions.
But the 25-year-old, who has stepped up in some big moments to win games for Brisbane, revealed he felt the pressure of expectation early in his career.
"It's probably built me into the player that I am," he said.
"It's something, at the time, you probably don't understand how much it's going to take a toll on your career as you get older.
"It's always something that someone brings up or speaks about, even though when you're out there, it doesn't really matter what pick you've gone.
"It's just made me focus on it a little bit more and really tap into that (mental) side of it because if you don't, it can chew up in you."
While Rayner and Bailey concede the Lions have plenty of room for improvement, Brisbane are 12 places higher on the ladder than at the same time last year.
For the second-straight season, they had a round-nine draw on Mother's Day after tying with Adelaide last year.
Brisbane then famously won 15 of their next 18 matches to secure their first premiership in 21 years.