It’s been a tough year for football in the sunshine state. The two Queensland sides are anchored to the foot of the ladder, a place they have spent the whole season. The Brisbane Lions have endured another tough year with just two wins from eighteen rounds and the last one not coming since their stunning victory over Port Adelaide in round seven. The task won’t get any easier for Justin Leppitsch’s side in the final five weeks, with best and fairest favourite Dayne Beams having his season ended early due to a shoulder reconstruction. The former Collingwood premiership star and Copeland Trophy winner has been a force in his first year at the Lions, although he has lacked support during a difficult maiden season at the Gabba.
2014 Rising Star winner Lewis Taylor has quietly gone about his business this season, almost in a similar manner to his first year in the game. The lightly-built young gun has thrived on more time through the middle of the ground this year and has ensured that the fabled ‘second-year blues’ have remained disassociated with his brand. Behind Beams and Jack Redden, Taylor averages the most disposals at Brisbane with a weekly collection of 21.6 per game at a clean disposal efficiency rate of 73.9 per cent. Another emerging star inside the Gabba is Harris Andrews. The unassuming tall defender is one player who has excited Brisbane supporters this year, with his improvement from week-to-week substantial. At Simonds Stadium last weekend, Andrews became the first Lions academy graduate to earn a Rising Star nomination after he collected 22 possessions and hauled in 12 marks against a dangerous Geelong attack. With the club still reeling from the mass exodus two years ago, the fact the 200cm key defender is from Brisbane is a fact not lost on the club.
Since the departure of Jonathon Brown, to say the Lions have struggled to find an avenue to goal is blatantly obvious. Leppitsch’s side is ranked 18th in the competition for points for (64.1 points), 18th for inside 50 differential (- 12.2) and 17th for time spent in their forward half (- 7:58). Josh Green is Brisbane’s leading goal kicker with just 19 majors to his name, the next best is Dayne Zorko and Daniel McStay with 14 apiece. New recruit Allen Christensen has chipped in with 12 goals. The Lions have not kicked more than eight goals in a single game since round 13 against Adelaide and have only registered ten or more on seven occasions this season. It’s not hard to see why Brisbane have battled to kick winning scores and why they have been linked to a string of key forwards at rival clubs, particularly one just down the highway. They are crying out for a focal point and will be hoping Michael Close can develop into their next spearhead, once he overcomes a ruptured ACL that ended his year before it really started.
Brisbane’s decision to go to the trade table last year and snatch up seasoned recruits in Dayne Beams, Allen Christensen and Mitch Robinson has been an inspired move this year. With Pearce Hanley and Tom Rockliff missing large chunks of football this year, it’s difficult to comprehend how the Lions engine room would have functioned without Beams in there. He may miss the last five weeks – and six in total for the year – but many would still predict him to win his first Merrett-Murray medal and second club best and fairest prize. Christensen and Robinson haven’t been stars, the latter won’t be a star, but the Lions will be hoping that the former Geelong premiership star will develop into the player the Cats were so devastated to lose. The Lions midfield has fought bravely despite lacking depth and top-end class. Daniel Rich, Jack Redden and Dayne Zorko have shouldered a heavy workload and all had their moments during a difficult season at the Gabba.
Key Players
Since returning from surgery on both his hips in round ten, Pearce Hanley has been up and down with his form as he works his way back into the game. His dash and ball use is always dangerous and he did collect 33 disposals against Sydney a month ago to remind the football world what he is capable of. His breakout 2014 campaign saw him emerge as one of the premier running defenders/ midfielders in the game. And should have seen him rewarded handsomely with a place in the All Australian squad, if not the final 22. The last time he played against Gold Coast, Hanley had an absolute day out. The Irishman collected a massive 45 possessions, 11 inside 50s and nine clearances. His performance was clinical and far from a one-off given he collected 30 or more touches on seven occasions last season.
Tom Rockliff has endured an extremely difficult first season as captain of Brisbane. Not only have the Lions struggled to compete on-field, but the ball magnet has been plagued by injury throughout the year. And not the kind that are easy to get over quickly. Against Collingwood in round one, Rockliff had his ribs broken and lung punctured in a collision with Travis Varcoe. He missed three weeks before returning in round four, the next week he was concussed in a collision with Steven May which saw the SUNS defender suspended for three weeks. And then against St Kilda in round nine he then re-broke his ribs, forcing him to miss the next five weeks with the same injury. For the first time all season, Rockliff collected 30 possessions against Geelong last weekend at the Cattery, to go with nine tackles and eight clearances in a classic Rockliff like performance that saw him named as All Australian for the first time last season.
Amid all of the Lions drafting heartache, Stefan Martin has emerged as an inspired pick up. Since appearing for the first time last season in round 12, the former Melbourne utility has rapidly become one of the premier ruckmen in the competition. Considering he wasn’t even recruited for that role, and appeared on a slow path to the AFL scrapheap, Martin’s revival has been if not miraculous, then one of the great stories of the last 18 months. Since the middle of last season, Martin has played 27 games, averaging 29.6 hitouts per game, 21.1 disposals and 4.3 clearances. The competitive beast has proven how critical an appetite for the contest is the most important ingredient for a ruckman. With Max Gawn and Shane Mumford playing a half or less of this season, Martin is ranked second behind All Australian monty Todd Goldstein for average hitout win percentage at 42.8 per cent. He is also ranked sixth in the competition for average hitouts at 30.7.
Recent Results
Rd. 18 Brisbane 8.9 (57) def by Geelong 17.11 (113) at Simonds Stadium
Rd. 17 Brisbane 5.8 (38) def by North Melbourne 16.14 (110) at the Gabba
Rd. 16 Brisbane 4.12 (36) def by Melbourne 8.12 (60) at the MCG
Rd. 15 Brisbane 7.7 (49) def by Sydney 10.10 (70) at the Gabba
