Now this is how you rebuild a list! In the doom and gloom of players leaving the Brisbane Lions, something special has been built.
In years to come the Lions will look at these tough times and see it as a blessing, it has helped them assemble a group of young key position players that will push the club from ‘Rebuilders’ to ‘Contenders’ sooner than most people think.
Brisbane have ten players under the age of 22 that stand 192cms or taller on their primary list, with another three on the rookie list. While odds are that not all of these 13 young talls are going to make it in the big league, the exposed form of Daniel McStay, Harris Andrews, Justin Clarke, Michael Close and Johnathon Freeman, plus the hype surrounding last year’s high draft picks Josh Schache and Eric Hipwood will have the Lions confident five or six of these youngsters will be very good players.
They will also hope that two or three of them could be the superstar franchise players you need to win premierships.
Although to some degree the Lions where forced into this extreme rebuild of their list, it will become a blueprint for other teams in the future.
While stockpiling young key position players through the draft the Lions have used the trade period to build almost their entire midfield. They have been astutely picking experienced players in their mid-twenties that will still be playing good football when Brisbane hope to be playing for a spot in the top four. It is a smart and innovative way to build a football club list and will be an interesting case study for the future.
The only player over the age of thirty on the Lions list is Daniel Merrett. The old fashioned big bodied defender will be hoping for a better run with injuries this year so he can help take the pressure of young defenders Harris Andrews and Justin Clarke.
With Merrrett playing on the oppositions monster forwards every week it allows the young Brisbane defenders to develop their game on slightly smaller opponents.
Although playing Pearce Hanley and Daniel Rich in the midfield is the more attacking ploy, both will probably be needed in Defence were their experience and sublime foot skills will be vital in getting the ball out of the Lions backline and relieving pressure on an inexperienced defence.
The midfield plan of the Brisbane Lions recruitment staff is fascinating. Over the past two years they have added Dayne Beams, Allen Christensen, Tom Bell, Ryan Bastinac and Mitch Robinson, who along with superstar captain Tom Rockliff form a competitive hard nosed big bodied midfield.
With the plethora of young talls acquired through recent drafts the Lions can now switch their draft focus to adding class and outside speed to their hard working midfield. Now the plan is starting to take shape and the makings of a very good team are beginning to appear.
Of all the players brought to the club over the last couple of years, the most important could be Josh Walker – the underrated forward from Geelong.
If Walker can provide a solid target up forward and demand the opposition’s best defender, it will allow the young tall timber to gain confidence playing on lesser opponents.
The development of the Brisbane small forwards will also be crucial to their success. Dayne Zorko, Josh Green and Lewis Taylor are all very talented players but also inconsistent if they can raise their game and play big minutes in the midfield then suddenly the Lions midfield starts to have some real depth.
The Brisbane Lions Football Club is well lead by young senior coach Justin Leppitsch.
Leppitsch is a real straight shooter who has had to deal with a lot of issues surrounding unhappy players at his time at the Lions. Hopefully for him and the club all that is in the past and they can stop the departure of talented players leaving the club. If they can the sky is the limit for this team.
The rise of the once mighty Brisbane Lions Football Club has begun.
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