Voss remains upbeat despite ruckman woes - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Voss remains upbeat despite ruckman woes

By Laine Clark 13/04/2009 04:01:09 PM Comments (0)

The prospect of losing a boom AFL ruckman like Brisbane's Matthew Leuenberger for up to three months would usually be shattering for a coach.

Of course Lions mentor Michael Voss is far from happy that the 20-year-old is out for "at least" four to six weeks with a knee injury.

But the rookie coach is still finding plenty of positives as he counts down to a rare Friday night Gabba showdown with Collingwood.

Good timing was a trait of Voss the player, and it seems he also has it in spades as a coach.

While Leuenberger will this week learn the full extent of the injury sustained in Saturday's 33-point win over Sydney, Voss has the luxury of No.1 ruckman Jamie Charman waiting in the wings.

Charman played in the reserves at the weekend in a bid to restore match fitness following a pre-season dogged by a knee complaint.

But a fully fit Charman's imminent return was not the only reason Voss was smiling on Monday.

Voss hoped the effort that sealed their first win over the Swans in five years had set a benchmark for the new-look side.

"Our intent and our attitude was fantastic and if we have that, that's the cornerstone of our game - we can build our game from there," Voss said.

"Let's hope that this is the start of something over the next 12 months or beyond."

The Friday night clash with powerhouses Collingwood added to Voss' obvious good mood on Monday.

It's a rare chance to shine in the national limelight - the match is only the Lions' second Friday night game in six years.

And Voss was certain stage fright would not be a problem.

"For us to have that national stage ... we hope to bring some energy to that," he said.

"What we have got to try and get back is making life more difficult for opponents when they come to Queensland - we've got to look after our own backyard."

While feeling warm and fuzzy following the drought-breaking win over the Swans, Voss wasn't losing perspective.

"I heard someone say we have premiership players in our team," he said.

"Well, they were part of a premiership team, but as far as I am concerned we don't have premiership players, we have this team.

"We've got a different coach, captain, and a set of players who want to set their own direction - that's what it has got to be about for us.

"We are still an unproven group."

Voss claimed the last round win typified "how the Lions want to play".

The hard-tackling, high-pressure approach was eerily similar to the style that won the Lions three straight flags from 2001.

However, Voss did not want to compare styles on Monday.

"In the games where teams are going well their pressure has been exceptional, there seems to be a genuine increase in pressure right across the board," Voss said.

"We have to match that or raise that to be competitive.

"But our heavy focus is on what we want to achieve.

"So I don't like referring to other styles. I want to keep it to what style we want to play."

Voss faces a selection headache with Jared Brennan (quad) and Rhan Hooper (ankle) back from injury.

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