It won’t happen overnight but Brendon Bolton tips it will happen for Brisbane as long as his mate Chris Fagan is at the helm.
Bolton’s Carlton take on the Lions at the Gabba on Sunday in a clash between two battling AFL sides in the early stages of a rebuild.
The Blues are a little further ahead and are slight favourites to claim their sixth win of the season, over the Lions who need to reverse their fortunes quickly if they are to avoid their first wooden spoon since 1998.
It will be the first time Bolton and Fagan have coached against each other.
Both of them are Tasmanians who never played VFL/AFL football and served as assistants to Alastair Clarkson at Hawthorn before taking up senior jobs at rival clubs.
Bolton said Fagan was an outstanding coach who would eventually bring success to the struggling Lions.
“He’s a good friend, he’s been a great mentor for a long period of time,” Bolton told AAP on Saturday.
“He’s got really strong morals and ethics and he’s a great relationship builder. With that as a platform I think he’ll set this club up.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for the way he’s going about it. It’s his first year in a reset not too dissimilar to us.
“You can’t change things overnight but both teams would be in a hurry to do it as quickly as possible.”
Brisbane have won four of their past five matches against Carlton, who have not won at the Gabba since 2013.
The Blues have handed a debut to young forward Harry McKay, the 10th pick at the 2015 draft, after a steady run of form at VFL level.
The 19-year-old will join a host of young talls with long AFL futures in front of them on Sunday.
The Lions have twin towers Josh Schache and Eric Hipwood up front, Harris Andrews and the recalled Darcy Gardiner in defence, and Daniel McStay floating in between.
The Blues boast the likes of Jacob Weitering and Charlie Curnow.
“Big forwards always generate a lot of interest,” Bolton said.
“Harry’s been working really hard in the VFL on his fundamentals.
“He’s still got a fair way to go in that space but for his family, our footy club and our supporters, they’ll be excited to see a young guy get his debut.
“He’ll get good game time.”
