How your AFL team will fare in 2016: Brisbane Lions

I'm not sure how we will fair this year. I always support the boys, however it's not been a great few years. If we can get a few more wins (1-2) than we did last year I'll be happy. We need to sort out our back and foward lines and also have a permanent/professional training base.

Please give us a break,do not agree with your assessment of the Lions

Jack Redden is a major loss in my view, yet i still can't see the Lions finishing below Cartlon

This comment is the only intelligent one so far. How the author of the original article could think that you could leave out Merrett from a relatively inexperience backline is just nonsense. Who do you play on the big bodied full forward if not Merrett. The trouble with having too many talls in the backline is a problem. You cannot play Merrett, Clarke, Andrews and Papraone and Gardiner at the same time. Rich has to play on the wing or forward and the starting half backs should be Clay Beams and Hanley to provide run and kicking ability off the half back line. Harwood would be first choice for back pocket as he has experience. He looked very promising before he was injured. I have no doubt that the half forward line will start with Josh Walker at c.h. forward and Freeman at full forward. It would be insanity to start Schache in either position and, if he starts in the firsts team early in the season, he should be eased in in the forward pocket. Didn't Jonathan Brown play inthe 2s before he came into the side? He as the greatest. Wayne Carey was not star in his first couple of seasons. Justin Leppitsch is correct to say that Schache will be eased into the side. Mayes had shown that he can kick a goal. He kicked 4 off the half forward flank in one match in his first season. He was less useful in the back line and I am sure that Justin Leppitsch used him there last season as a learning curve and because of injuries. This year he should not play behind the wing. I am not sure where you play Bell and Bastinac until I have seen more of them but they will surely rotate through the mid-field. I would be very surprised if either was better than Mitch Robinson last year. He is a must for this inexperienced team at all times. Others stand taller when he is in the action. The only issue is whether he can survive injury with his attack on the ball. Lewy Taylor was never dropped, which shows the author if the original article knows little about the Lions. He is a rover and will find it easier to kick the ball forward instead of backwards when he has target leading at him. McStay should be used as a swing man in the way Justin Leppitsch was used in the Lions hey day. He is better so far in the back line but he will improve in time as a forward. The question is where do you put him to begin with? We already have too many talls in the backline if you use all of them at once. You need 2 talls against most teams (maybe 3 against Nth. Melb) , three mid-size players and one smaller player in a sensible backline to create the approrpriate run. I think the Lions will do better than most people think and the coach should get a huge plus if he wins 7 matches. That would set us up for 2017 to edge towards the finals. But if we get injuries like last year, we just have to play the kids and get games into them. We seem to have retired most of the chronically injured players so here is hoping we are luckier this year.

I'd rate the Lions midfield a bit higher than you have here, at least a six, possibly higher if we're considering Hanley a full time midfielder. It doesn't have as much depth as you'd like, but it does have plenty of top-end talent, and I think it could be one of the best midfields in the league if it is built up well over the next few years. That said, I have no faith in Leppitsch to achieve that, especially given that he has not been able to halt the exodus of players since his appointment. I suspect he will be out of the job by the end of the year, hopefully the Lions can then find someone who can put them on the right track.

They are coming from a very weak position but I think they are on the right track. Leppitsch isn't responsible for what he inherited but definitely the back line and forward line are problems. I'd put Hanley in the midfield and play Rich or Paparone off the half back flank. With Schache in his first year, Josh Walker unpredictable and the injuries to Freeman and Close you could even use Merrett as another big body in the forward to create a contest until there are a few more options. They are in a bad position but compared to Carlton they are on the right track.

How can they finish 18th? Carlton can't come 19th.

Like to see Rich signed up soon as well.

Merrett has to play (it might be his last year though). That backline is going to be very good in a couple of years. I don't have much faith in the forward line but who really knows as it is an unknown quantity compared to last year. Close and Freeman coming back from injuries, Schache might turn out to be a world beater, and Josh Walker might surprise. McStay was all there was last year.

I don’t see the point of these articles – blah blah blah, brief summary of AFL side, arbitrary ranking, tell you stuff you already know, draw obvious conclusions, tell more stuff you already know, make consensus driven prediction. Lions to finish 18th? Gee, really sticking your neck out there. The author is far too negative anyway, assuming everything is going to wrong for the Lions, a lot of things could easily go right and they finish 11th or 12th. I don’t think you can read much into anything at this stage, it’s waaaaay too early to be making predictions no-one is going to remember in 10 months time anyway. Same author who submitted an article predicting ladder for end of 2016 on October 8th 2015…seriously. You’re probably the only person who can’t wait for Easter decorations to go up in January.

Sam Mayes is another I'm concerned about for the same reasons.

TomC was actually going to mention that I think 2016 is a key year for Mayes, Cutler, Robertson and probably Taylor as well. All were very down in 2015 for various reasons so they will need to lift this year. With Gardiner and Clarke I think they are a “what you see is what you get” style player. They are never going to be the most highly skilled players on the Lions list so as long as they beat their direct opponents every week they play in the back line that should be considered a plus. The direction from Leppa should be that they distribute the ball to better ball users ASAP when in possession.

I'm probably less confident about the kids than you are, SF. I thought we might see a bit more progress in 2015 from the likes of Mayes, Cutler, Robertson, Gardiner, Clarke and even Taylor. Young players develop unevenly but it's a bit worrying when almost all of them seem to be stagnating. Paparone though is tracking well, and of course Andrews had an excellent first season. Hopefully these guys can put my fears to rest in 2016.

While the Lions have struggled badly in the past 2-3 seasons they have begun assembling a team that will be looking to break into the 8 in the next couple of years. They have a lot of young Key Position talent at both ends of the ground that will need game time to develop and luckily they will get plenty of exposure at the Gabba. Starting from the back I don’t think that you will see both Clarke and Gardiner playing side-by-side unless there is an injury to either of Andrews and Merrett. I would suspect that Merrett will still hold down Full Back for at least this year purely on his size and experience and Andrews probably will probably start as CHB and one of Clarke or Gardiner as the third tall. There is also word out of the Gabba that McStay will operate most of this season swinging between Forward and Back with a preference of playing him in the Backline which adds a further squeeze on both Clarke/Gardiner. I think Hipwood and Skinner will probably spend the year developing in the NEAFL while adding bulk to their frame before any significant game time in Season 2017. They might sneak a few games through injury to others but the preference surely would be to get them ready for AFL level in the NEAFL and the gym. Any of Hanley, Cutler, Rich, C.Beams running off the half back line should be expected throughout the year but I also suspect the Rich will be seeing more midfield/wing time in 2016. Harwood will probably be given first crack as the small defender role but injury, inconsistency and poor disposal has been his Achilles heel thus far. He will have plenty of pressure to maintain his spot from youngsters in the form of Dawson, McGrath and possibly even Lester and C.Beams. The Midfield is the Lions biggest strength and they have managed to add more depth during the Trade and Draft period last year. Dayne Beams and Tom Rockliff are A-Grade and will start in the Centre every game when fit alongside Martin in the Ruck. The good thing for the Lions is that the support cast for these two has grown with Bastinac and Bell joining this year alongside Robinson, Christensen, Zorko, Paparone, Taylor, Robertson, Bewick and Mayes. Add in Jansen from the Cats and the two draftees Keays and Mathieson all of whom will be keen to make an impression and win a starting 22 spot and there should be plenty of competitive tension at the Gabba for midfield spots. The Forward Line will be an interesting prospect if all KPP can stay fit during the season. Walker, Schache, Close and Freeman are all KPP with Walker having been recruited to add some experience to a very inexperienced forward line. He will probably start at CHF but he should not do so thinking it will be a lock that he plays every game, his consistency will need to improve significantly from the Geelong days otherwise Leppa won’t hesitate to get more games into Freeman/Close/Schache. I have a strong feeling that Schache will probably be given first start only due to the fact that both Close and Freeman are coming off long injury issues in 2015. Although they would like to play Schache in the NEAFL early days, the rehab of Close and Freeman will determine which two-pronged attack the Lions use. Josh Green will start as the forward pocket goal sneak every game when fit and is probably the only genuine goal-sneak crumbing player in the team. This leaves you with West as the back-up ruckman and the Josh’s – Clayton, Watts, McGuinness still trying to break into the Senior line up in 2016. I am optimistic that the Lions are on the right path for the first time in a long time.

5/10 for that midfield seems a little harsh. On paper at least I honestly don't think it's far behind anyone in the league. If you're not going to include Hanley in that group - which is a mistake - then perhaps it looks a little weaker. But there's no question that the forwardline and the backline are serious problems. A well organised team should be able to leverage off the strengths in the midfield to offset those issues, but there wasn't much sign of that in 2015. I don't at all agree that Merrett should only be played in times of crisis. The likes of Gardiner, Clarke and Andrews still have some physical development to do and Merrett needs to be there to support them while that happens. Anything else is just hobbling the side. Lewis Taylor was never dropped. I still think this team is capable of much more than it showed in 2015. Players like Rich, Mayes and Green clearly aren't playing to their potential, and of course there were widespread injury problems. That said, there are too many structural issues and not enough reason to have faith in the coaching staff to think they can really take advantage of the strengths in the list. Hopefully they won't finish last but it's likely to be another tough year.

The go home 5 were Vossy's responsibility not Leppitsch's and I don't think anyone can be blamed for Aish leaving ... he never wanted to get drafted to Brisbane to start with. Redden was a cause for concern though.

They need to dump Leppitsch. He has demonstrated no coaching nous whatsoever and is looking like another failed favorite-son appointment... why didn't they learn their lesson with Voss? He has to take some responsibility for the massive player exodus because we can't blame it all on Tom Rockliff's captaincy. Get a promising young assistant coach in there pronto and start rebuilding now. A couple more promising KPPs from the draft should be priority #1.

Paice's article appears negatively skewed , with very little appreciation of team balance . His writing seems to be based on assumptions that young players never mature & only can perform as they did in their first 20 games. His proposed line ups are unbalanced , excluding the strength & experience of Dan Merrett is highly dubious , and certainly would also not leave Paparonne out of starting back 6 . What Paice has on paper , apart from Hanley , is a big bodied half back line, but needs some utility rebound pace . Similarly , Paices midfield line up is off target , not sure about the 3 B's across the centre , and consider Bastinac may be better off the bench, and start with Rich , who in form can use is raking foot from midfield clearances to the heart of the goal square . I would like to see gutsy young Roberston come off the bench , who has proven grit , and a rotation of players with acknowledged skills, Berwick , West and others float around the main squad . The Lions in season 16 , unlike former seasons in recent years have a deep positional list , with 30% over 194 cm , with a good mix of talls , utilities and youth providing pace and energy . They have up to 6 players all capable of ruck , or as key position talls , & the return of some new and former talent from injuries that interrupted last season. Above all ,the youthful Lions clearly appear to have a renewed spirit , an X factor .....that indeed can realise season '16 as a strong platform as some of the Lions developing talent gain more senior game experience and bond as a formidable team . Hopefully most clubs will write the Lions off as seriously competitive , as has Paice has , and we watch the Lions steal many unexpected wins. Like many , suggest take little heed be considered of opening few games, particularly rd 1 against WC .....although boil overs are never out of the question .