Chris Fagan says Jarrod Berry won’t be deployed as a tagger every week
JARROD Berry has tagged with distinction during Brisbane’s four-game winning streak, but coach Chris Fagan says it’s not a ploy he’ll turn to every week.
Berry, who signed a five-year extension with the Lions earlier in the week, has been a key cog in their mid-season revival with his robust midfield play.
He has run with Marcus Bontempelli, Jack Steele, Zak Butters and Clayton Oliver for varying portions of matches over the past month.
Not only has Berry generally slowed the opposition’s star down, but has hunted the ball himself, averaging 21 disposals during the stretch.
Ahead of playing Adelaide at the Gabba on Sunday, Fagan said it will be a case-by-case basis in deciding how to deploy Berry.
“I don’t think it’s (tagging) something you need to do every week,” Fagan said.
“Guys that tag need to freshen up occasionally because it’s a tough job.
“You’re running around on the opposition’s best player usually and you’re usually getting bumped and pushed and shoved and interfered with by that player’s teammates.
“It’s not an every week job, but it’s something we’ve got up our sleeve whenever we think we need it.”
The Crows present a couple of options for Berry to run with this week should the Lions go that way, notably Izak Rankine.
Adelaide’s wizard kicked three goals from 24 disposals when the teams drew in round nine, a year after he kicked two from 23 disposals in the corresponding match.
“Izak is a fantastic player,” Fagan said. “When he lights up, they light up and we saw that last week against the Giants.
“We’ve obviously had previous experience with him in the Gold Coast Suns games … we’ll plan and prepare for him, understanding he’s a very hard man to stop when he gets on a roll.”
Fagan said his expectation would be that key defender Jack Payne would be available to reclaim his spot after missing the win over Melbourne with foot soreness, but could not be 100 per cent sure.
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