Brisbane Lions CEO Greg Swann says he stands by changes being made at the Gabba, declaring tough decisions are essential to turn the Club into AFL contenders.
Former Lions captain Jed Adcock is set to leave the Club at the end of the season after he sought a meeting on his future and was told by Senior Coach Justin Leppitsch he could no longer command a place in the club’s best 22.
Adcock, 29, is keen to play on in the AFL and enters the player market as an unrestricted free agent.
Elsewhere on the list, ruckman Matthew Leuenberger becomes a free agent at season's end, while young midfielder James Aish remains unsigned.
Off the field, General Manager of Football, Dean Warren, finished with the club on Friday, while Head of Welfare, Leadership and Culture, Manny Lynch, has accepted a redundancy and will leave next week.
Swann said the Club would be kidding itself if it sat idle after recording just three wins in 2015.
He said there should be a natural level of dissatisfaction with results this year and a determination to do whatever it takes to climb back up the ladder.
“We make no apologies for making changes,’’ Swann told The Courier-Mail.
“We are finishing down near the bottom of the ladder and I would have thought that our supporters would expect us to make changes on and off the field to address that.
“So that is what we are doing.
“It is ridiculous to suggest we are in crisis.
"What we are doing is by design.’’
Swann said Vice-Captain Dayne Zorko is in talks about extending his contract, while the Club was confident ruckman Stef Martin will also stay with with the Lions and is close to a possible contract extension.
Swann also confirmed midfielder Jack Redden, who has been battling an on-going groin problem which has impacted on his form, is contracted for next year and has not requested a trade.
The Courier-Mail suggested rumours linked to the Club were being driven by player managers agitating for a larger slice of the pie for their clients, with a host of players are off contract at the end of 2016.
Zorko and Captain Tom Rockliff yesterday hosed down an inaccurate Melbourne media report of a rift between them, and speculation that a number of players want out of the Gabba.
READ: Zorko & Rocky: What Rift?
Zorko said criticism of the captaincy style of Rockliff – who was voted by his peers into the role to replace Adcock – was “way off the mark’’ and it was a “laugh’’ to suggest that he and the skipper were at odds.
“Rocky goes about things really well as captain of this footy club,” said Zorko.
“We have been good mates for a while and will continue to be.”
