BACKLINE coach Jade Rawlings says the Demons are eager to capitalise on their impressive effort against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval last round.

Although the Dees fell short by three points against the fifth-placed Power, Rawlings said it was a standard – especially in the second half – that needed to be displayed against the Brisbane Lions at Etihad Stadium this Sunday. 

“Anyone who saw us play in that Port Adelaide game would say that we weren’t great at the start, but we fought our way back from the start after being five goals down,” he told Dee TV.  

“Then we got ourselves in front in the last quarter and weren’t able to quite close it out the way we would have liked.

“We’re really looking to capitalise on [areas of] our game that we thought we were good against Port, and what we learned from the Geelong and Fremantle experiences just prior to that.

“[We need] to put that into practice and then put it into play on Sunday.”

After winning just one of their opening nine matches, the Lions have won four of their past eight, including an outstanding 54-point win over cross-town rival the Gold Coast Suns last round.

But Rawlings said they had been much-improved in recent weeks, making it a tough encounter for the Demons.

“[The Lions’] form line has been really good,” he said.

“They (the Lions) were outstanding against the Gold Coast and I think the Gold Coast would say they didn’t play as well as they could have. But they (the Lions) were very good against West Coast the previous week and Richmond three weeks ago, so they’ve shown some really good form.

“They’re in good shape, so we’ve got a fair bit to be ready for and [we’ll] try and knock over what they’re capable of.”

Rawlings said he was also looking for his defenders to go to another level again this round.

“There is a high expectation and the bar has been raised from what we’ve been able to achieve under a lot of pressure,” he said.

“There is more expectation on them now and generally they’ve been able to meet that, but there has been a little bit of inconsistency through the Geelong and Fremantle period of time. But [I’ve been] quite happy with what they did to keep Port Adelaide to 10 goals and eight marks inside 50, when they usually average 14, so I think they were pretty good against Port.

“You can’t be content in this game and you’ve got to keep moving forward and looking to improve, so we’ve refined a few areas of our game at training this week.”

Overall, Rawlings said the players had been really good upon their return from the break.

“It’s always a risk – the session immediately after a break, and [having had] the players out of your control, [because you don’t know] what work they do and what they don’t do,” he said.

“Our players have generally presented pretty well … so it’s important for that break to rejuvenate and really launch into the last five weeks of the season.”