Kicking goals was always going to be a problem area for Brisbane as they began life without Jonathan Brown.
However, finding goal-kicking options is not a concern for a rejuvenated Lions before the 2015 AFL season, but accuracy is.
A beefed-up midfield has provided a mountain of supply for Brisbane in their unbeaten pre-season run.
And they were at their most impressive in a 36-point NAB Challenge victory over Sydney at Coffs Harbour on Friday night.
Lions captain Tom Rockliff was proud of the way his side overcame a Swans outfit boasting a healthy chunk of their 2014 grand final squad in difficult conditions.
But he was concerned by their unhappy knack of squandering goal-scoring chances.
They kicked 10.15 against Sydney in swirling winds – that came a week after spraying 7.16 in a three-point win over St Kilda.
“It has been a concern the last few weeks,” Rockliff said.
“We have kicked a lot of points two weeks in a row now.
“So if we can straighten that up, we can get ourselves in front.
“(Against Sydney) we finished up with 25 scoring shots to 11 so the scoreboard should have been even further in favour of us.”
Still, Rockliff saw plenty of positives in their win over Sydney, albeit a Swans outfit without key forwards Lance Franklin, Kurt Tippett and Adam Goodes.
“We knew it was going to be a fierce contest,” he said.
“And at Coffs Harbour it was pretty trying conditions, very humid, very wet in the first half.
“But the way the boys went about it was a credit to how far the group has come.
“(Sydney) had 15 who played in the grand final but were obviously missing a few key players.
“But I thought the way that we attacked the footy, got our contested footy right early, the game started to flow and we got on top.”
Brisbane have a week off before their NAB Challenge clash with the Suns at the Gold Coast.
“It will be another chance for us to test ourselves,” Rockliff said.
“Gold Coast are obviously on the improve but we are still building for round one (April 4 against Collingwood).”
TomC
Roar Guru
Yeah, I don't think you get any 'data' from that sort of game. You do get a chance to stress test some of your structures a little bit and see how they hold up.
SportsFanGC
Roar Guru
I am not sure that the Lions are going overboard about beating Sydney, the comments are mostly about the Lions themselves and their inaccurate goal kicking in the opening two pre-season games. Everyone knows that traditionally the Swans start slow.
Jason K
Guest
I don't think anyone should get too contented about beating Sydney in the preseason. Sydney seems to truly embrace the philosophy that these are practice games, so a win for them is to get warmed up and avoid injury. I wouldn't be surprised if it is made clear to players that they are NOT to try to win preseason games. So what kind of data does one REALLY get from having played against Sydney in the preseason?