Brisbane’s one strength during the last few lean years has been their midfield.
1. Too much of a good midfield
With young midfielders aplenty in Jack Redden, Pearce Hanley, Daniel Rich, Tom Rockliff, Dayne Zorko, Lewis Taylor, James Aish, Claye Beams and Sam Mayes, Brisbane had glaring weaknesses elsewhere heading into the 2014 player movement period.
A club does not want to turn back talent of the likes of Allen Christensen and Dayne Beams but now the reality of fitting up to 12 midfield options into the one team begins.
In most ways Brisbane’s ability to develop and grow relies on a number of these midfield options sacrificing their own games for the betterment of the team.
2. Sacrifice down back
Even last year you could start to see some of the sacrifices that individuals were willing to make at Brisbane to help give the team the right balance.
Former captain Jed Adcock has always had the potential to be a top midfielder, but has been content to give Brisbane drive and experience behind the ball. Last year Sam Mayes revitalised his season with a stint in the back half where his disposal and run again proved to be an asset. Looking ahead to the 2015 which other players are willing to work in defensive capacity for Brisbane is crucial for trying to obtain a finals contending make up.
On the surface the majority of the Brisbane midfield options are attacking players and so it is likely to be a tough transition, but one or two of the Brisbane midfielders must make it.
3. Mosquito fleet
The midfield is small, the forward line is smaller. Brisbane have bucked recent draft trends by going for a brigade of fleet-footed youngsters who keep themselves close to the ground and goal.
Josh Green would be the biggest surprise as a team’s leading goal kicker in 2014 but with 33 goals he took the honours at the Lions. He was one of only two Lions to pass 20 goals on the season and as this highlights goals were a tough assignment to get in 2014. Again in 2015 the reliance is going to be on the small players at the club to contribute to winning scores.
4. Ruck dilemma
One of the other under-appreciated talking points of the Brisbane season is what they do with their ruck division and most significantly what role promising yet injury prone big man Matthew Leuneberger plays.
Brisbane won five games in the second half of last season which coincided with Stefan Martin becoming the number one ruck. Martin’s ability to have an impact in the ruck but also his athletic ability at ground level meant he was a unique option for Brisbane. What has been evident over a career though is that Martin likes being the number one ruck. Now with Leuneberger back, how Brisbane decide to use him is pivotal to both players.
Round 23 against Geelong showed that they can play in the same team together but whether that works over a 22-game season is a 2015 watch point.
5. Captain’s call
The appointment of Tom Rockliff as the new Brisbane captain was met with positivity from the wider football community. But whether Brisbane’s decision to allow the player’s sole responsibility to decide a leader does have backfire potential.
Internally Rockliff is spoken of as a vocal and strong leader but there is a difference between being vocal and being a strong leader. Incidents over the past two seasons lend themselves towards Rockliff being vocal more than strong.
Perhaps the real issue with the Rockliff appointment was the reaction from outgoing captain Jed Adcock. Since his dumping Adcock has spoken of the disappointment he has felt. Through the tough times Adcock has been the leader Brisbane needed and one feels he had earned the right to lead Brisbane towards better times. Adcock put it best when he said that he did not think that he had done anything wrong as captain. He hadn’t and really a captaincy vote should have been at least 12 to 24 months away, allowing a smooth transition.
Hawthorn, Sydney and Geelong have been calculated with how they have approach leadership, getting buy-in from all parties about captaincy transition. For Brisbane it is obvious that there is no buy-in from Adcock.
As for Rockliff it has made things more difficult for a player who is still looking to show the year-on-year consistency of the AFL’s elite.
6. Cash in
A lot has been made of Brisbane getting a commercially friendly opening to the season, with the first marquee Saturday night game a home outing against Dayne Beams’ former club Collingwood. This is followed in Round 3 with Richmond travelling north.
Brisbane must make a statement in these opening home games to ensure they capitalise on the optimism of the new season with new fans through the gate. This is even more important when you consider that four of their next five home games are Sunday games which have traditionally been a tougher sell.
If Brisbane experience a slow start, gate takings are likely to fall short of expectations.
7. Charmed coach
The job that Justin Leppitsch took on some 16 months ago changed rapidly from one of dread to one of desire. Leppitsch took over a club that was in a perilous state both on and off field, yet with his focus on-field Brisbane have transformed. Prepared to back the youth of his list in crunch times and in big moments, already the strategy is paying dividends with the growth and development seen among large chunks of the list late last year.
Leppitsch is to be commended for an always positive and passionate approach and belief in what youth can achieve. There is still a lot more room to move and grow but it would be hard to argue against Leppitsch being the biggest surprise as coach over the past two years.
Macca
Guest
Thats true TomC and I am not going to argue the merits of the Lions list with you, you know it far better than I but sometimes a glimpse is all you need, if you wait for consistent performances in a lower league you may wait forever. In my opinion the BLues should have played Casboult much more in 2013 (and probably more in 2012) which would have fast tracked his development. I think his attitiude in this pre-season heading in to this season has really benefitted from the confidence of being an established player, we could have had that last year.
TomC
Roar Guru
Yeah, but that means someone else is playing NEAFL who might be getting nothing out of it. But you're both right - it's generally better to back young key forwards in and give them an extended run in the seniors. I just think that approach is most beneficial for the likes of Close, Paine or Paparone and those are the sort of players who'd have to make way for Freeman to be in the team.
Macca
Guest
It might be better for his development to play him in the senior side - better ball movement and use coming in to him, the lions have full control over leading patterns etc. Sometimes you have to take the glimpses and run with them.
TomC
Roar Guru
I think he showed glimpses, rather than plenty, in his appearances last year. From the sounds of things Freeman doesn't exactly dominate the NEAFL, and his selection was a bit of a surprise, so I'd say he still has a bit of development to do at the level below before he's a regular in the seniors.
DingoGray
Roar Guru
I understand what you are saying Tom about Freeman, but Leppa is a different beast to Voss. Leppa has already shown he's going to back the kids. Freeman showed plenty in his few appearances. There is no doubt that Leppa would be pumping more games into him this season.
Gecko
Guest
Given Brisbane's structural strengths and weaknesses, they're not gonna get many goals from pack marks in 2015. Hope they've been working on a better forward press because that's where all their little blokes could destroy opposition defences.
Macca
Guest
I'll definitely defer to your assessment of Freeman & Harwood Tom and I agree wholeheartedly on Hanley - you do have some cover for him but you will have to lose in another area to do it and probably end up with both areas being weaker.
TomC
Roar Guru
Pretty much, actually. But I'd really only be guessing.
TomC
Roar Guru
Agreed. Plus they've made a lot of list changes and it'll take a while for this team to work cohesively, particularly if they keep racking up injuries as they've done over the past twelve months. Not sure if I agree with DG's assessment of those players. Freeman will spend most of this season in the NEAFL regardless, I'd think, and while the midfield is strong Hanley is a unique player and his absence will make the Lions a bit more predictable and easier to defend.
Macca
Guest
Hi TomC - Is you theory that Patful wasn't "high profile" enough for them and they wanted to ensure they got a mid fielder who the kids have his number on their back winning the B&F? I think (and maybe this is just because of a career as a key defender) that " the focus was on how well a player performed their role within the team" is a much better measure for a B&F to be measured than a lot of others.
TomC
Roar Guru
It's a little esoteric, but the principles around what a player gets votes for changed a bit. Here's an article explaining the new system. http://www.lions.com.au/news/2014-09-02/a-new-voting-system Previously the focus was on how well a player performed their role within the team. It's probably a bit cheeky of me to say they changed the rules to make it harder for Patfull, but I'm sure his back-to-back wins inspired the changes in some way at least.
slane
Guest
Hey Tom, would you mind on elaborating on the Patful/rule change part of your comment?
TomC
Roar Guru
1. Yes, there are quite a few midfielders that’ll have to spend some time in other parts of the ground. You could add Mitch Robinson, Rohan Bewick, Ryan Lester and Marco Paparone to that list as well. 2. Spot on. Claye Beams, Rich, Lester and Paparone are all midfielders who have apparently spent some time training with the defenders in the off-season. 3. Definitely. It’s hard to imagine any of the Lions’ forwards bettering Green’s output. Christensen, Beams and to a lesser extent Robinson are goalkicking mids so they’ll be hoping for a few more goals from the midfielders this year. 4. Agreed. Although it’s spelt ‘Leuenberger’. 5. No, this was a decision that had been flagged for a while and had to happen. Adcock might be disappointed but with the club focused on rejuvenation they needed a captain for the long term. To be honest, I think Cam might be putting 2 and 2 together and making 5 here to conclude that there’s no buy-in from Adcock. 6. Absolutely. They have made awfully bad starts to the last two seasons and they just can’t afford to do the same again. A win against Collingwood in round one is crucial for a successful season off-field. 7. Yeah, but I think the key point is that there’s a lot more room to move and grow. Leppitsch was prepared to make a lot of tough decisions last year, sacrificing short term success to build the team and gameplan he wanted. That’s great, but in a sense that’s the easy bit. The tough part is actually making that team and gameplan successful. 2015 is likely to be another tough year with the club focussed a couple of years down the track, but it’d be great to at least see glimpses of what this team could become. The big untold story that probably should be in here is the loss of Joel Patfull. He has been huge for Brisbane in the past few years. After he won two back-to-back club B&Fs they changed the rules to make it harder for him and he still finished third. In almost all of Brisbane’s better wins over the last few seasons he’s made a big contribution: remember his smother on Andrew Swallow in the final minute against the Kangaroos last season? He provided vital cover for the young Lions defenders like Clarke and Gardiner last year and they’ll find life tougher without him. Strangely enough, almost no one seems to mention the impact losing Patfull will have on the Lions prospects this season, but Brisbane will lose games in 2015 that they would have won if he was still at the club.
SportsFanGC
Roar Guru
Macca - I think that is a pretty accurate summary. The midfield depth will keep them in games longer than the past 2-3 seasons and will probably help them clinch a few close games that they otherwise would of lost. The forward line is going to start being built around Close, McStay and Freeman and those guys haven't even turned 22 yet so can't be expected to perform or dominate without far more game time and experience. For what its worth I think McStay will become elite in time. That being said the Lions should be looking to beat teams around them on the ladder and hopefully pinch the odd upset win over top 8 opposition. I don't think finals in 2015 is realistic.
DingoGray
Roar Guru
I'd like to see Leppa play Luey deep this season. His body has shown he is unable to sustain the workload of the number 1 ruckman right through his career. Time to get him playing more out of the Goal square and have the mozzies running off him.
DingoGray
Roar Guru
Yeah everything was on the up for the Lions. I guess had to get some bad luck. I think Freeman probably the biggest loss in the scheme of things. He's the one we need to get the most games into. Obviously Hanley is a jet, but I think the midfield can cover him to a small degree. No disrespect to Harwood, but he's a plodder. A very sound player who will give you everything and rarely disappoint, but he's not going to be one that takes us to the next level.
Macca
Guest
Brisbanes midfield is looking very good but I am unsure it will be good enough to cover deficiencies in the key posts at either end. Losing Hanley, Harwood and Freeman to long term injuries won't help either. I wouldn't be surprised to see Brisbane being vry competitive in every game this year but not quite getting over the line in a lot of them.