It was a father-son frenzy for Brisbane, as they welcomed three sons of guns to the Den through the 2022 National and Rookie Drafts.
Heading into the draft without a first-round pick, the object of the game for the Lions was accumulating enough points to match bids on highly touted products, Will Ashcroft and Jaspa Fletcher.
The bids came early for the two father-son prospects, with Brisbane matching a bid from North Melbourne to secure Ashcroft at Pick #2 and Fletcher at Pick #12 after successfully matching a bid from the Western Bulldogs.
Ashcroft, the son of Bears/Lions legend, Marcus, is a prolific ball-winner that has the ability to play on both the inside and outside with an exciting burst of speed, with many considering the 18-year-old as the best player in the draft.
The talented youngster has drawn comparison to that of Carlton’s Sam Walsh, following an impressive season at all levels in 2022 where he averaged 33 disposals, nine clearances and six tackles a game.
His new teammate, Jaspa, is the son of former Lion Adrian Fletcher, who played a total of 231 games with Brisbane, Geelong, St Kilda and Fremantle.
Fletcher is a player who has a neat step through traffic and is composed with the ball in hand, joins the Lions off the back of an outstanding 2022 campaign.
He won the Hunter Harrison Medal as the best and fairest player in the Academy series and averaged 23 disposals at the National Championships.
The youngster will have a delayed start to the pre-season after suffering a stress fracture in his back two weeks ago.
Brisbane's National Recruiting Manager, Stephen Conole said the Club were ecstatic in being able to secure such high level talent.
"From our initial position in the draft and the limited list spots we had available, our result in obtaining the two Father Son players in Will and Jaspa was an exceptional outcome for us," Conole said.
"Not only are they both very talented players, both boys add high end talent into key areas that we were looking to further advance."
The Lions also welcomed two fresh faces in the Rookie Draft, recruiting father-son, Darryl McDowell-White and zone selection, Shadeau Brain as Category B Rookies.
"The Club is ecstatic that we could also add local lads Shadeau and Darryl into the club as well through this year’s draft," Conole said.
"Both boys have some high-level traits in the way they play the game, and I am sure the fans will have some exciting times watching the boys’ play.
"Both lads play with some real power, have strong ground level games, and can genuinely impact the game aerially as well. They have had a taste of VFL football with the Lions last season and will be looking to further progress their games as they get into the 2023 season."
Brisbane also re-selected Ryan Lester and Nakia Cockatoo through the Rookie Draft, and elevated James Madden to the senior list.
Looking forward to the 2023 draft, the Lions do not have a first-round selection, but have a group after that:
Second Round Selection (Tied to Geelong)
Third Round Selection
Third Round Selection (Tied to Geelong)
Fourth Round Selection
