Chris Fagan hopes his not-so-subtle message to the AFL has resonated but that Brownlow Medal favourite Lachie Neale will make an impact regardless in Brisbane's crunch clash with Melbourne.
Fagan questioned the "rough treatment" his star midfielder copped while tagged by St Kilda's Marcus Windhager in last round's win.
The coach hinted in his post-game press conference he might seek clarification from the AFL umpiring department about some tactics being used against the 2020 Brownlow medallist.
Speaking ahead of Friday's game at the Gabba against the Demons, Fagan suggested that was as far as he took it.
"It's not easy to see, there's a lot going on around those contested situations," he told reporters.
"All you can do is make them aware and I sort of said something in my press conference, but I'm not sure if anything's been done.
"He's not the only bloke in the competition (that is tagged heavily) and to be fair we do it to other blokes in other teams as well.
"We want the good players playing well at this time of year, not being shut down by tactics that are perhaps outside the rules."
Neale was restricted to a season-low 16 disposals in the Lions' crucial win over St Kilda.
"I know St Kilda will probably be happy ... but it was the best 16-touch game he's ever had," Fagan said.
"We were super pleased ... it's not always about how much Lachie gets the ball."
Fagan expects Neale to be tagged again in the sell-out Gabba clash and anticipates his teammates will be smarter in how they support him.
"Come hell or high water, not matter what happens, Lachie will be on his best game," the coach said.
"We have to be careful and we are disappointed we gave away some free kicks.
"Retaliation is probably not the right word, but (we were the) second person involved and that's what the umpire saw."
The loser of Friday's clash could finish the final round outside the top four, while the winner could finish as high as second.
The Demons sparked back to life earlier this season with a third-straight win over Brisbane, but know facing them at the Gabba is a different prospect.
"It's a great opportunity this week ... an enormous challenge going up to Brisbane, they're incredibly strong up there," coach Simon Goodwin said.
