Voss won't panic

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Brisbane coach Michael Voss admitted he could easily make up to nine changes to the side that was thumped by Hawthorn last Saturday, but doesn't believe sharpening his selection axe will be the answer to the Lions' horrid form slump.

After starting the 2010 AFL season with four consecutive wins, the 13th-placed Lions have collected just one victory from their past 12 games.

Another loss is expected on Saturday when the side travels to Geelong, and if they are unable to turn things around soon the wooden spoon will become a realistic prospect.

Voss promised he would make some changes after a woeful 75-point loss to the Hawks, such as recalling young forward Aaron Cornelius, but wasn't quite ready to omit the majority of his underperforming charges.

"We've got to get that balance of seeing out the season strongly…and also ensuring we get games into them (inexperienced players) and we've been doing that because we've had to (due to injuries)," Voss said.

"I probably am (too loyal at times)…but I'm not into giving away games."

"You earn your ability to be able to play AFL, and I think part of your development is learning how to do that, to get there and survive that."

"So I'd be more willing to persist with the ones who have worked really hard to get there and fallen over once or twice, rather than the ones who haven't earned it in the first place."

"I just don't see the purpose of that."

Voss guaranteed Cornelius would return after booting seven goals in the QAFL, while Albert Proud, Cheynee Stiller and Ryan Harwood are in the mix for a berth in the side.

Simon Black missed the clash against the Hawks due to an ankle injury, and Voss confirmed he is still no certainty to return this weekend.

"He's still probably 50-50 at this stage," he said.

"At this early stage in the week there is no expectation he will come up."

Voss suggested Xavier Clarke would be making his club debut against the Cats if the side was going to be picked purely on form, but that a lack of match fitness would rule him out.

Essendon's fall from grace and Voss' status as one of the greatest footballers of the modern era has ensured his position is yet to be seriously questioned.

The second-year coach, contracted until the end of 2011, said he was dealing well with the Lions' mind-boggling slide down the ladder, and was yet to consider the prospect of not completing his tenure.

"If that moment dreadfully does come, then so be it, but certainly from my end, I don't have an ounce of thought about that whatsoever."

"Because it's not about me. It's about our club and our team and how we perform."

"It's about what we want to achieve, and these next six weeks are bigger than any certain person in our organisation."

Indeed, Voss believed the current turmoil could help the club's cause in the long run.

"For every negative that is happening, we're getting some real positives."

"Our younger players are forced to mature quite quickly because the heat is on, and how we stand up through this will say a lot about our club."

"One of the real strong binding experiences you have within any group is when you go through a real tough period."

"We've had that."

"When you go through that period you learn more about each other, and by the end you understand you can rely on each other."

Voss nominated Brisbane's inability to make effective tackles as the most worrying aspect of the loss to the Hawks, and said he would continue to focus on the basics at training in an effort to arrest the slump.

"They (the players) have shown capability and that's what you're scratching your head about."

"The capability is quite clearly there, so it's not that we can't do it."

"We're not executing those (basic skills) well, and that's what we've got to make our primary focus for the next six weeks."

"It's been our primary focus for the last three weeks, but we're still not doing it."

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