With a one from eight start to the AFL season new Brisbane Lions coach Justin Leppitsch is starting to feel like Forrest Gump.
“You never know what you’re going to get,” Leppitsch said of what happens when you take over an AFL team, following his side’s close run loss to Essendon.
“Chris Scott was able to walk into a mature team at Geelong and has done a terrific job to keep the momentum going there.”
“Ken (Hinkley) was able to do a terrific job at Port turning that around, Alan Richardson is probably where we are a little bit at St Kilda.”
“When you get the opportunity to be a senior coach, you just take it.”
Leppitsch inherited a Lions side stripped of young talent that now sit at the bottom of the AFL ladder.
A board-room stoush upstairs at the indebted club cannot have helped.
But Leppitsch said the departure of the club’s chief executive and ongoing board tensions were not impacting his team.
“The outside world puts the whole lot together but the corporate side and the football side are two separate areas,” he told the Sunday Footy Show.
“I was hired when the board wasn’t really settled … but that’s all cleared now and it’s all behind us.”
“We’ve got our young players in, we’ve got our group, our direction and we know where we’re going.”
Pointing to more development coaches and a planned expansion of the football department’s budget, Leppitsch’s attitude belied gloomy predictions for the Queensland club.
His direction will include an off-season play for big talent to replace departing juniors Jared Polec, Sam Docherty, Patrick Karnezis, Billy Longer and Elliot Yeo.
The Lions cannot call upon the riches of the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company to fill their coffers but Leppitsch all the same hopes to boost his playing list.
He fielded seven teenagers against Essendon, only to lose by just eight points.
“The big area from the club’s perspective is to target a few key players in the off season.”
“Jonathan Brown isn’t getting any younger … we’ve got our targets that we’d like to look at.”
Ian Montgomery
Roar Pro
Which is why the Saints should have Tomlinson top of their list in the off season!
TomC
Roar Guru
I'd argue Tomlinson is well past Patton and Boyd. He's a different kind of forward though. More of a roaming half forward in the style of Nick Riewoldt.
Ian Montgomery
Roar Pro
A young QLD product by the name of Matt Hammelmann has been with their academy and there are a few talls who might be keen for an opportunity to jump the pecking order at GWS by moving north - Adam Tomlinson was a top 10 draft pick with Kristian Jacksch taken at pick 12. Both have a long wait to get past Cameron, Patton and Boyd.
Cody
Guest
I've heard the boy who is likely to go pick one next year goes alright too and he is a 202cm power forward, then again his from VIC! Why can't there be another Riewoldt sitting up in QLD somewhere.
TomC
Roar Guru
Communism is not what it was, it would seem.
Axle an the guru
Guest
I dont blame them for not wanting to live in a communist state.
TomC
Roar Guru
I've heard that too, but not from anyone reliable. Patton is still contracted for next season, after all. Very hard to get players with options to come up to Brisbane unless you throw money at them.
Cody
Guest
Who could be the players the lions are going to target? I have heard Patton .