We take a look at some of the key talking points from Senior Coach Justin Leppitsch’s post-match press conference following the Lions’ NAB Challenge opener against the Suns.

Leppitsch on first impressions:

Many of the Club’s senior players were rested, but the Lions look to have some genuine depth now. Rhys Mathieson and Ben Keays appeared at home in their first senior hit-out, while Tom Bell slotted in well. Bell mixed time between midfield and half-forward and finished with 19 disposals, while Keays (15 disposals) and Mathieson (13 touches) were busy. New recruit Josh Walker showed plenty promise as a key forward option.

“First and foremost, there were no injuries. Everyone’s pulled up pretty well,” Leppitsch said.

“We’ve got some kids that did some good things out on the field and showed some good signs, which is the next step when you’re playing a younger team.”

Watch: Lions V Suns Highlights

Leppitsch on Mathieson:

Impressing over the pre-season with his competitiveness, new draftee Rhys Mathieson was fearless around the contest on Sunday. The 19-year-old had 13 disposals (seven of those were contested) and kicked a superb banana goal from the forward pocket.

“He wants the footy, doesn’t he?,” Leppitsch said.

“He wants to get involved. He’ll be one that is pushing for selection early in the season to get a game and he did pretty well in that area.”

Leppitsch on ball use:

Leppitsch lamented in the post-match press conference that the Lions over-possessed the ball in difficult Burpengary conditions.

“I’m disappointed with the way we used the ball. Particularly in that second quarter we wanted to use the corridor but just didn’t have the confidence to do so and only scored at 22%. We actually scored better heading into the breeze, so that was a little frustrating.

“That comes with young teams, they want to do well. They want to impress and not make a mistake and that often means you pull the trigger. I think there are some things there that are easily fixed.”

Leppitsch on Schache:

Josh Schache was managed by Lions coaching staff on Sunday. The 18-year-old played was rested after half time but contested well in the air early on, taking four marks. He had a set shot attempt on goal to the scoreboard end in the second quarter, but with windy conditions at Burpengary the ball faded late and Schache missed narrowly.

“He wanted to get out there again ‘Schach’, but we’ve just got to be very careful of their loads in their first season.

“We’ve got to make sure we don’t burn them out too early,” Leppitsch said.

Leppitsch on the forward line:

“It’s going to be a work in progress because they’re all new.

“Schache, Hipwood and Walker are all new and Freeman’s only played a handful of games until this point as well.

“Whether we play three all the time or we have two with one off or a bit higher. We’ve got all those things we’re slowly working out.

The next couple of weeks will determine that.”

“Walker’s ability to stand there, take a mark and compete (was good). Those are the sorts of things that have been missing out of our group. It gives the midfield confidence to go in when you know you’ve got a target who can compete and he’ll do that for us. That’s why we recruited him.”