The Brisbane Lions announced this week they are considering asking the AFL for draft assistance as they attempt to rebuild a club in on and off-field crisis.
The Lions’ season took yet another turn for the worse as they slumped to a ninth straight defeat, with a 72 point loss to North Melbourne on Saturday night at the Gabba.
If their 2-15 win/loss ratio doesn’t scream at you that they may need draft assistance, perhaps this piece may finally push you over the edge.
As well as being last on the ladder, the Lions currently hold the AFL’s largest debt, totalling over $10 million. The inability of the last board, chaired by Angus Johnson, to do anything to control this debt has set new CEO Greg Swann an impossible task: spend more to fix the on-field issues, and save more to fix the off-field ones.
This debt, and lack of on-field talent or success, is coupled with the almost certain loss of James Aish, as well the probable loss of Matthew Leuenberger as a free agent, leaving the Lions with only two first-round draft picks on their list (Sam Mayes and Daniel Rich, both of whom are out of contract next year).
This points to a serious lack of playing talent, and unless the AFL acts to give assistance to the Lions, they could end up going another six years without finals, having only made it once (in 2009) since their 2004 grand final defeat.
Queensland and NSW AFL fans are notorious for their lack of a solitary base, with crowd numbers and membership dramatically increasing and falling with on-field success. This is to be expected of the expansion states, where rugby league and even football dominate. Sydney, who have missed the finals just once since 2002, have built up a huge fan-base with sustained on-field success, including two premierships.
Brisbane, however, are a different story. The Lions lack of on-field success has seen their memberships and crowd numbers plummet. This coupled with a decade of bad governance, an Eddie McGuire-led campaign to strip them of their cost of living allowance, and a prolonged period of disengagement with the fans (highlighted by their decision at the start of 2010 to change the playing jersey), has seen the Lions record the lowest crowd numbers and memberships aside from Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney, whose numbers continue to build strongly.
For the record, between 2001-05, the Lions were in the top four for both crowd numbers and memberships. This points to on-field success being the key to increasing revenue, and shows why the AFL should give the Lions draft assistance in order to get them back on track financially.
Whatever you may think of the Lions’ governing decisions in the past decade, they are a club in crisis. This may be deepened in the off-season, with the departure of former first-round draft picks. However, the Lions are still an integral part of the AFL. They produced the best team of this century, and serve as the last remaining connecting for Fitzroy supporters to the AFL.
The AFL must grant them draft assistance in the form of a priority pick. On-field success will not only boost crowd numbers and memberships, but serves as the best form of increasing revenue, so that the struggling club can pay down its debt.
Oh, and it might help them retain some players as well.
Steve Mcglashan
Roar Rookie
Why should they get a priority pick? Because they have injuries that's nonsense at the beginning of the year with their off season raids people were talking them up as a side on the way up. As for losing first round picks that's something they need to sort out. Other clubs aren't having first round picks wanting out all the time it has to be the club themselves
Ron Jeremy
Guest
I don't know much about AFL so I may be way off the mark ... but surely the Lions seemingly chronic poor performance is basically the result of AFL hubris. That is, by expanding the competition a few years ago with the GCS and GWS, they've over-stepped in that there is now no longer a sufficient number of quality players in the competition to enable the Lions to be competitive, or at least as competitive as they were for a period almost 15 years ago. Either that or the methods by which good players are distributed throughout the AFL competition (draft, salary cap) are not working as effectively as they could/should. Surely if say the Suns, in particular, didn't exist, some of its teams best players (QLD juniors in particular) would now be playing for the Lions who in turn would be a much more side competitive than they now are. Given they don't have the base of strong junior players as exists in VIC, SA, WA, surely they were always going to struggle once their star players from the 2001-2003 era retired or became too old. Maybe the AFL doesn't actually care? That is, they'd be happy for the Lions to be uncompetitive for the next 10-15 years so long as the cost to the game as a result of that is outweighed by the growth in the game due to the introduction of the GCS and GWS. They would also hope the subsequent growth in kids playing the game in QLD as a result of GCS and a game played in QLD each week will eventually enable the Lions to become more competitive on a more permanent basis. And I reckon the NRL has a similar problem. Clubs from regional cities (Canberra, Gold Coast, Newcastle) are always struggling unless they produce a crop of outstanding, once in a generation players (think Newcastle 1997 and 2001 and Canberra 1989-1994). Again, I think this is largely because the methods used to improve the overall standard of the competition (salary cap) are not working as well as they should. The absence of a draft and the ability of rich Sydney clubs with a poor following (yes, I mean you Sydney Roosters) to attract star players through third party benefits also works against the regional teams.
Get-A-Life
Guest
This Eddie guy must be pure evil!
Brian
Guest
I get where you are coming from and given the effort that is being made in Sydney I personally agree that Brisbane should get the priority pick. Having said that Melbourne basically got one last year and so wouldn't Carlton deserve one if they have a bad 2016. The pick was supposed to be there for really extreme cases and in an 18 team competition the Lions won the 3 flags 12 years ago. Again I think you should get it but I wouldn't give it to a Vic or SA side in your circumstances.
Paul D
Roar Guru
Brian, I’m not asking for a premiership, I’d settle for merely being able to go along to a home game and not watching my team getting towelled up every week. Right now the Lions are as close to unwatchable as I’ve ever seen.
Brian
Guest
With 18 clubs and one premiership per year I am not sure the AFL have done well enough to provide fans with other targets. Maybe people are used to being more demanding but I can't recall there been so many clubs whose fans seem to think its their turn because they have been starved of success. Lions, Suns, Giants, Dockers, Demons, Saints, Bulldogs, Blues, Bombers. Tigers. That's 10 out of 18 clubs. I think thet is different to the 80s & 90s when I grew up. In those days there was a poper pre-season trophy and also representative footy for fans to partially focus on when premierships weren't in sight.
Paul D
Roar Guru
The departure of players from the Lions, and the indifference of the AFL towards it, has done more to turn me off supporting the club than anything else. If the AFL doesn’t give a stuff about their club up here, I’m not going to put my hard earned into supporting the club until they do. Still following the code, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to feel guilted by their propaganda into going along to that dreary hole of a stadium in Woolloongabba and watching the sort of rubbish that was served up Saturday night. I get the impression people who are dismissive of the Lions plight and who say it’s not as bad as you say haven’t seen much of their games this season. The players are utterly, utterly disinterested. They’re not even bothering to run out the games. Most of the blowouts have been because the players clearly don’t give a stuff once they get 30 points behind and just let the opposition roll over the top of them in the final quarter. It’s like they don’t even have hope or belief anymore, and that’s reflected in the fans too. You get another season like this next year and it will be Armageddon for AFL in this city.
RWGP
Guest
Why does Eddie have so much power? He's only ONE official out of HUNDREDS. Why does the AFL Commission keep giving in to him?
TomC
Roar Guru
Exactly. The problems for the Lions are chronic. They need permanent support, not a one-off priority pick. The AFL has the discretion to award a priority pick at any level of the draft. They might decide to give the Lions (or another club, for that matter) an end of first round pick. That'd help Brisbane ensure they get access to some of the academy talent this year without affecting their trading position. But I suspect that it would sap whatever limited political will there is to fix the real problems for this team.
Dalgety Carrington
Roar Guru
Yeah I was thinking the same. An extra pick to go into the nursery, start the ripening, only to be filched by another club after a few years of development.
Handles
Roar Guru
Lions have two first round picks in their whole list. Suns have about 20. Sounds like balance has been achieved in Queensland football. Well done, AFL.
conchie
Roar Rookie
It is called the Brisbane Lions academy, but Eddie does not like them.
Wayne
Roar Guru
What good is giving them another first round Draft Pick? The kids will just up and leave back to VIC when their contracts are up. The AFL needs a long term solution for football in QLD and NSW. Not a band-aid each time. Once the fans go, its a hard job to get them back
berrlins
Roar Pro
For the growth of football in qld this needs to happen, for the good of the code, Brisbane needs help, not just with a priority pick but also financially, but the AFL needs to step in and give them direction.