Drummond yet to roar for Lions
If the Brisbane Lions finally break their winning drought this weekend, they'll have to do it without attacking defender Josh Drummond, once again a glaring omission.
Veteran Lions midfielder Luke Power this week couldn't hide his excitement when Drummond was officially taken off the injury list after overcoming a quad complaint.
He was in line for his first AFL game of the season, along with ex-Saints Xavier Clarke (knee) and Matt Maguire (quad).
But only Maguire made the final cut when the win-less Lions named their squad for Saturday night's MCG clash with Richmond.
Like every other Lions supporter, Power was this week keeping his fingers crossed Drummond would slot straight into the side after yet another fitness battle.
"We should get Drummo back this week - there could be some handy inclusions for us," Power said.
"If Drummo is right, he will play. Terrific footballers like him don't come around too often.
"They are pretty rare. He has great vision and a great leg."
However, Drummond will have to ease his way back into the AFL via the reserves after only Maguire and youngster Claye Beams were the new faces in the squad.
Maguire, who came to the Lions at the end of 2009 from St Kilda, had been battling injury since the pre-season and missed the first five rounds.
Beams has been recalled after a stellar performance for the Lions reserves against Southport last weekend.
Young forward Rohan Bewick has succumbed to a hip complaint suffered in a last round loss to St Kilda, while Aaron Cornelius has been omitted.
Matthew Leuenberger has been named at full forward, with recently elevated rookie Broc McCauley given ruck duties.
Despite their win-less start, Power said the 16th-placed Lions were hardly disheartened ahead of their clash with Richmond (13th).
"The feeling among the players is good. We're a tight group and have full trust in our coaching staff and our team-mates," he said.
"We just have to start putting results on the board.
"The fact is we're 0-4. We could easily be 3-1 right now, but we're not.
"We've lost some close games and don't want to get used to that. We want to win footy games and win them well.
"You have to move on pretty quickly in footy, otherwise you can find yourself getting stuck in the past.
"We played pretty well against Melbourne down there (an 11-point loss in round three) and could've won, so we're confident about our chances this week."
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