Luc Longley helped Brisbane Lions in bid for third AFL title — ABC News Australia
In Australia, Brisbane Lions, who will play Fremantle Dockers in the Australian Football League (AFL) grand final in Melbourne, met three-time NBA champion Luc Longley in July. The team’s players told ABC News Australia that the conversation with the former Chicago Bulls basketball player helped them in their pursuit of a third consecutive AFL premiership.
NBA champion’s experience
Longley won the NBA championship three times with the Chicago Bulls from 1996 to 1998. According to Brisbane Lions player Cam Rayner, he shared with the team his experience of maintaining motivation and being able to keep fighting after previous success.
Rayner noted that at the start of the season, Brisbane Lions did not always show the necessary desire to win. According to him, Longley’s words that motivation should come from the game itself resonated with many players.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Road to the grand final
After 12 matches of the season, Brisbane Lions had six wins and six losses, and before their July meeting with Longley they had won five matches in a row. During the season, the team lost its first two matches, conceded a record 86 points in the third quarter of a game against GWS, lost to Carlton by 76 points, and also lost to Sydney in the qualifying final by 53 points.
Midfielder Jarrod Berry said that Longley stressed the importance of selfless teamwork. In Berry’s view, Brisbane Lions are defined not only by star players, but also by footballers who do the hard and unnoticed work for the sake of their teammates.
Brisbane Lions have reached their fourth consecutive AFL grand final. The team could become the sixth in V/AFL history to win three premierships in a row, and the first since Hawthorn achieved this in 2013–2015. Longley is from Fremantle and held Fremantle Dockers ticket No. 1 in 2006 and 2007.
