Lions midfielder Josh Dunkley is confident that teammate Hugh McCluggage will be better for his disappointing performance in the second qualifying final last Friday night, as a titanic midfield battle with Gold Coast looms this weekend.
McCluggage was well held by Irish tagger Oisin Mullin, recording a staggering season-low 14 disposals and just a single score involvement, but Dunkley has faith in the first-time All-Australian to rebound strongly.
"I think everyone learns lessons, and Hugh probably learned a lesson on the weekend with how it all played out," Dunkley told media on Tuesday.
"I'm fully confident that he'll bounce back this week and give it his all. Not saying he wasn't giving it his all last week, but I just feel like that lesson that he learned last week is going to really benefit him."
McCluggage has recorded fewer than 20 touches just one other time this season - 18 disposals in Brisbane's cruisy win over Carlton - and immediately bounced back with a dominant 27-disposal and seven-clearance effort against the Bulldogs, which included 18 contested possessions.
Dunkley insisted that McCluggage already knows where he can improve for the semi-final and will be keen to have more impact around the contest, especially against Brisbane's cross-town rivals.
"We were talking about it straight after the game, things we could have done differently, and he knew straight away," Dunkley said.
"He still had some impact for us with the ball and did some good things, but they obviously had a focus, and it worked for the majority of the night.
"It's a bit hard in the heat of the moment at times, especially in a big final where you're playing against a great team to be able to change the way you're playing based on what matchups you're getting, but I'm sure Hugh will be really good for us this week."
The QClash takes the AFL's centre stage for the first time in September this Saturday, with the first bounce between the bitter rivals at 7:35pm (AEST).
