Brisbane expects former No.1 pick Cam Rayner to be available for the start of pre-season after tearing his ACL earlier this year.

The 21-year-old is returning to full fitness after injuring his knee just weeks before the opening round.

"He's basically another recruit for us," Lions football manager Danny Daly told Continental Tyres AFL Trade Radio on Tuesday. 

Daly said Rayner, who was taken with the top selection in the 2017 NAB AFL Draft, would split his time between the forward line and onball next season.

"Cam has had the whole season to get his knee right and basically put in a pre-season. He's been able to really work on the running side of his game which is something that he lacked a little bit," Daly said. 

"Cam will help us enormously. We've all seen snippets of what he can do but I'm pretty sure he can go to another level. We thought he might do that this year."

Daly also anticipated a return to form for Harris Andrews would significantly boost Brisbane's improvement after three years of falling short in finals. 

Andrews, a two-time Therabody AFL All-Australian, was disappointed with his own form this year after being restricted by injuries including to his PCL.

The 202cm defender still ranked among the best in the League for intercept marks, intercept possessions, spoils and one-percenters, but Daly said he still felt he let the team down in 2021.

"He was a bit disappointed in his own season," he said.

"He had a couple of off days and one of them was in the finals, so everyone remembers the last couple of games you played.

"It wasn't his greatest year but one thing about Harris is he's a great competitor and he'll come back next year and have a terrific season."