AFL: Lions can dent Suns' finals aspirations with QClash win
Once a Suns supporter, Brisbane Lions star Will Ashcroft will relish the chance to take on the Gold Coast in a 'really big game' on Saturday.
The second-placed Lions can put a dent in the Suns' chances of playing finals football for the first time in the club's history with a win at People First Stadium this weekend.
The match holds extra significance for 21-year-old Ashcroft, whose father Marcus was a three-time premiership player with Brisbane before later becoming the Suns football manager.
As a result, the player of the match in a QClash is awarded the Marcus Ashcroft Medal, an honour Will achieved when the teams met at the Gabba earlier this season.
While partly downplaying Saturday's match as just 'another game', Will admitted there was a 'lot riding' on the latest QClash.
Will Ashcroft shows off the Marcus Ashcroft Medal after his best-on-ground performance in May's QClash. Picture:'It's an exciting proposition to go down there and play against a really good team.,' he said.
'I have a lot of memories. With Dad being at the Suns for a long time, me growing up in my early years there (on the Gold Coast) – I was always probably going for the Suns.
'To be able to go back to play at the ground again is always exciting for me and (brother and teammate) Levi personally.
'It's another game, but that's an exciting part … to have the opportunity to play at that ground in a really big game.'
Adding to the occasion for Will is that it will be his 50th AFL appearance after debuting in Brisbane's round 1 clash against Port Adelaide in 2023.
That year also included the setback of a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, an injury that sidelined him for almost 12 months and delayed the arrival of his 50-game milestone.
'Learning so much off the back of the knee injury, it's given me great perspective going forward,' Ashcroft said.
'If I achieved 50 games a lot earlier and didn't have that knee setback, I would probably feel a lot differently.'
Ashcroft returned from the injury in style, finishing the year with a premiership and the Norm Smith Medal for his best-on-ground performance in Brisbane's 60-point grand-final win over Sydney.
And the versatile midfielder is only improving and adding layers to his game, as evidenced by kicking three goals in a game for the first time in his AFL career in Brisbane's 10-point victory over the Western Bulldogs at the Gabba last Friday night.
Ashcroft brothers Will (left and Levi (right) celebrate Brisbane's QClash win in May with their father Marcus. Picture: Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images
'It's nice to keep adding different strings to my bow and hopefully keep building on that,' he said.
'Kicking goals here and there is definitely a part of it, but trying to get up high as a forward and have an impact from a pressure standpoint as well is important when I'm playing forward.'
Ashcroft was also proud of his teenage brother Levi for the adaptability he had shown in his first season of AFL football.
'Coming into a premiership side, it's harder to establish yourself, but what he's doing out on the wing … he's learning on the go, he's learning so much, he's grown as a player, he's added so many attributes to his repertoire this year,' Will said.
'Good players find a way to do that no matter what position they're playing or what circumstances present, so he's having a great year and has still got a lot of levels to get to.'
Originally published as Brisbane star Will Ashcroft hopes to celebrate milestone AFL appearance with QClash win
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