Adelaide defender Luke Brown says he is ready to test himself against some of the best forwards in the competition, including a former teammate this weekend.
The Crows will take on Brisbane at Adelaide Oval on Saturday and will be looking to quell the influence of the Lions strong squad.
That includes stopping former Crow Charlie Cameron and 2020 Brownlow Medallist Lachie Neale.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Brown said the backline would have its work cut out for it but it was important not to focus on one of the Lions’ stars.
“(Neale) is a talented player, he’s a Brownlow Medallist for a reason, and he’s having another great year,” Brown said.
“We’ve got to back our mids in at the same time (and) you can’t be too concentrated on one player… it could break you apart.
“To say we’d only look at Lachie Neale and not the rest of Brisbane’s midfield which are really talented as well would be the wrong thing to do.
“It could open us up, so we have to have a real balance around there, you can’t really focus too much on one player.”
Brown was looking forward to playing against Cameron and expected it to be a solid battle.
“It’s a fun match-up,” Brown said.
“Obviously he’s (Cameron) so talented and you can’t really give him much space.
“I know Smithers (Brodie Smith) and him have budded heads on the ground a few times and then at the end of the game they’re best mates again.
“Their whole forward line and I guess their whole team in general is really solid, they don’t show many weaknesses and it’s going to be a big challenge for us.”
Brown said the Crows respected Brisbane and a strong team performance would be needed for Adelaide to give itself an opportunity to win.
“We’ve had a couple of bad weeks, whereas in the first couple of weeks we performed really strongly,” Brown said.
“We are confident we can get back to that, it’s just about sticking to our structures and playing our role.
“We are trying to stay connected as a whole team.”
The Crows take on Brisbane at Adelaide Oval on Saturday at 7.10pm.
