Eric Hipwood insists Jonathan Brown's harsh criticism was not a factor in his career-best form surge, even if the Brisbane Lions forward has borrowed from the club great's phrase book.
Hipwood and high-profile teammate Joe Daniher came under intense scrutiny after a disappointing round-three AFL loss to the Western Bulldogs, with former Lions star Brown among pundits questioning if they could be premiership forwards.
"I’ve got serious doubts," Brown told Fox Footy in April.
"Any key forward needs to be reliable and predictable to his teammates - and I’m not seeing reliable and predictable teammates in Hipwood and Daniher at the moment."
The pair have flourished since - Brown last week said they've played like "big blokes" - to push the Lions into the club's first grand final in 19 years.
Brisbane academy graduate Hipwood, with a career-high 41 goals in his eighth season, said he paid no attention to Brown's critique despite his mantra echoing Brown's demands.
"I don't read into it too much; the season's full of rollercoasters and if you ride it you're going to be quite unhappy and it's just not worth it," he told AAP on Monday.
"It's the most consistent I've played, this year, and I've really simplified my game. It's about defensive actions and being reliable, not remarkable."
Daniher, who lives in northern NSW and commutes several hours to train at Springfield, famously blocks out the noise too and has become a shoulder for Hipwood to lean on since arriving in 2021.
"I love working with Joe; he's relaxed, easy going, someone I lean on for advice all the time," Hipwood said.
"He's become a really consistent performer for us and when he goes in the ruck it's good, I can control the forward line a bit more.
"We don't get in each other's way; it (our connection) just happens organically, we learn each other's behaviours and you just know what each other is trying to do."
With All-Australian small forward Charlie Cameron (56 goals), Lincoln McCarthy and half-forwards Zac Bailey and Cameron Rayner lurking, there are ample avenues to goal on Saturday at the MCG.
"Our smalls our good aerially, can play like talls and a couple of our tall players, like Eric, are really good at ground level," Daniher said.
"We think we have a good mix, but it'll be how well we help each other out that'll dictate how we play."
The squad will train on Tuesday and Thursday at their Springfield base before flying to Melbourne.
Key defender Jack Payne (ankle) still has an opportunity to prove his fitness after missing the preliminary final victory.
Lions football boss Danny Daly said Payne would need to be "100 per cent" fit, especially after his replacement Darcy Gardiner's strong performance in Saturday's preliminary final against Carlton.
Daly also said midfielder Lachie Neale was under no injury cloud after he grabbed at his shoulder, but played on, late in the match.
