2005 record and ladder position: 10 wins, 12 losses – 11th
What went right: To borrow a line from former Prime Minister Paul Keating, 2006 was the year the Lions had to have. After so long at the top, it was inevitable that injuries, old age and retirements were going to catch up with the Lions. Whereas other clubs would have been anchored to the bottom of the ladder had they endured the terrible run the Lions had this year, Brisbane has still managed to scrounge together seven wins and give finalists Adelaide, Melbourne and Collingwood decent frights.
By necessity, the club has blooded 10 youngsters - including five from the rookie list - with Cheynee Stiller easily the most impressive of the lot, though Rhan Hooper and Jason Roe have both shown enough to suggest they have what it takes to carve out decent AFL careers. Despite playing just 12 matches, Stiller finished the season as the Lions' eighth most prolific ball-winner, averaging nearly 23 touches a game - not bad stats for a first-season player.
While he is too short to ever be asked to play in a key position, Hooper bears an uncanny resemblance to Darryl White. He has a similar hair cut, wears the number 33 and has the same cat-like agility which the three-time premiership utility displayed during his stellar 268-game career.
While dropped later in the season, Roe will become a key member of the Lions' defence in the coming years, especially if his role model Mal Michael walks away from the game as expected. The 192cm defender, who performed admirably against Barry Hall on debut, moves well for a big man and looks like he will be able to stack on more muscle to his 84kg-frame.
What went wrong: The club endured an awful run with injury - only four players played every game - and for much of the season there was the Jason Akermanis sideshow that will have its merciful curtain call during trade week. The circus was interrupted after round 15 when the fed up Lions voted unanimously for the wayward star to clean out his locker and clear off. At least they should be able to secure some prized picks heading into this year's highly rated NAB AFL Draft.
Injuries also paralysed the Lions' quest for success. Champion midfielder Nigel Lappin did not play a game due to a broken ankle during the pre-season. Jonathan Brown managed just 10 games thanks to a hip fracture, bringing to 24 the number he has played in the past two seasons. Two-time All-Australian Chris Johnson cobbled together eight games and was seen just twice after round six due to a groin strain. Throw in an entire season on the sidelines for veteran Chris Scott, who hurt his hip, two-time knee reconstruction victim Richard Hadley, and a combined total of 25 games from senior ruck trio Jamie Charman, Clark Keating and Beau McDonald and it's apparent how hard the Lions were struck down.
As a result, the club had a dismal finish to the season, closing 2006 with six losses on the trot by an average margin of 51 points. The Gabbatoir is also a venue that no longer intimidates rival clubs, the Lions managing just four wins from 12 matches at their home ground. The club must also find a way to persuade Michael, 29, from either making a premature retirement to AFL football or heading back to Melbourne.
Who stepped up: Daniel Bradshaw has spent much of his career in the shadow of Alastair Lynch and Brown but the underrated spearhead had a stellar 2006. With Brown missing, Bradshaw, who did not miss a game, received more attention from rival clubs but still managed to boot 59 goals to be the competition's ninth leading goal-kicker. The 27-year-old produced two bags of six and an eight-goal haul which almost enabled the Lions to topple the Demons in round 14.
Black also had a fine season in the heart of the Lions' engine room. The midfielder was second for the Lions and eighth in the competition with 531 disposals, and he was easily the Lions' best player in heavy traffic. While his fellow foot-soldiers have either retired or been injured, Black powered on and it was not his fault the Lions finished so far down the ladder this year.
Missing in action: How can you look past 22-year-old Jared Brennan, who played 16 games this season without convincing experts that he had arrived? The highly talented Brennan can no longer blame youth for his inconsistency. After four seasons, it is fair to say that Brennan has not yet gone close to justifying the Lions' decision to secure him with pick three in the 2002 draft. Likened to Carlton great Anthony Koutoufides because of his combination of height, athleticism and the ability to gather the ball in one hand, the injury-prone Brennan has shown only glimpses of his considerable talent at AFL level. Brennan has not only been overtaken by the likes of Sherman, Michael Rischitelli, Roe and Hooper, but he could find himself either with a new club or out of the game altogether if he cannot stay fit and have a serviceable 2007.
Rising star: It is testament to Rischitelli's season that he was on the shopping list of several clubs, including Essendon. However, he put talk of a switch of clubs to rest when he re-signed with the club last week. A tough tackler who certainly passes Michael Voss's test of courage - a willingness to put his head over the ball - Rischitelli can still add a few more kilos to his frame. Seventh in the NAB AFL Rising Star award, Rischitelli, who averaged 16 possessions in his 18 matches, will be expected to provide support for Black and Power in the midfield and will benefit further if given another season under the guidance of Voss.
Best win: There isn't much to choose from, but given Fremantle's recent form, it would have to be the Lions' 68-point demolition of the Dockers at home in round nine. Inspired by seven goals and 13 marks by Brown, the Lions led at every change, won each quarter and made the Dockers look second rate. That win came a week after they inflicted the same punishment on arch-rival Port Adelaide, when Brown and Bradshaw booted 13 goals between them. So well was Brown playing earlier in the season - he booted 35 goals from 10 games - it is conceivable he could have won the Coleman Medal and carried the Lions into the finals had he managed to stay on the park.
Worst defeat: While the loss to Essendon, which had not won since its first game of the season, started the Lions' disappointing finish to 2006, their 82-point mauling at the hands of the Tigers was appalling. The Lions kicked two goals in the first three quarters, trailed by 80 points at half-time and did not take a mark inside their forward 50 until the second half. Having just lost four in a row, it was not as if the Tigers were in red-hot form themselves. The first-round loss to Geelong was also one to forget. Again, the Lions scrounged just two goals in the first three quarters on their way to a 77-point hiding to a club which they had lost to just once since 1997 prior to this season. The only saving grace was that the Cats were then the flag favourite and had their confidence sky-high after their NAB Cup triumph.
Shopping list: The Lions have plenty of items on this list. A cure for Brown's injury problems would be a great starting point. With their powerful forward in the side, the Lions are a legitimate finals contender but they struggle without him. Bradshaw was outstanding and still has age on his side, while Ashley McGrath and Anthony Corrie, who both had their seasons wrecked by injury, are both quick small forwards who will thrive at the feet of Bradshaw and Brown. The forward line looks sound.
With Lappin to return to help out Black and Power and the emergence of Rischitelli and Sherman, the Lions do not have too many pressing concerns in the midfield either. But their once feared defence is no longer as imposing as it was earlier this decade. Gone are White, Brad Scott, Justin Leppitsch, with perhaps Michael to join them. That's 863 games of experience leaving in the space of 12 months. Roe is promising but it is unfair to ask a player still finding his feet in the game to mind the likes of Hall, Brendan Fevola, Matthew Richardson and Fraser Gehrig week in week out. With picks four and 22 in this year's NAB AFL Draft, the Lions should be able to secure a quality tall.
While Charman and McDonald are 24 and 27 respectively, the pair has endured a shocking run with injury and the Lions may want another option, especially with Keating on the wrong side of 30. However, they should resist any temptation to secure either Peter Everitt or Michael Gardiner as both players are risky short-term prospects.
What the coach says: "It (the season) has been disappointing - very poor. We've won seven out of our 22 games. It can only be rated as poor.
"But I guess we never found out what we were capable of because we were never able to get our team together to find out. So the consolation prize of having a really poor season this year is I feel we are little better placed for the future," – Leigh Matthews.
What we say: Things could not have possibly gotten much worse for the Lions this year, yet they still managed seven wins. The likely departures of Voss and Michael will hurt the Lions but if they can manage a reasonable run with injury and get Brown playing at least 18 matches, they could quite easily challenge for a finals berth in 2007. With Aker's offloading likely to yield more early picks in the draft, the Lions will be well equipped to secure some more young talent as they prepare for what they hope will be another prolonged period at the top of the ladder. The heady days of 2001-04 are long gone but there is still plenty to look forward to for Lions supporters.
