In his first season on the other side of the fence, Brisbane Lions Assistant Coach Simon Black has quite the challenge in bringing the team’s forward line together.

Compared to the relatively settled midfield and defensive groups, the Lions’ line-up in attack is probably a little less predictable.

It hasn’t been helped by the absence of experienced trio Jonathan Brown, Brent Staker and Ash McGrath, who have all had limited pre-seasons, while exciting recruit Luke McGuane is also under an injury cloud after hurting his knee against Sydney last Saturday.

Throughout the NAB Challenge, the Lions’ key forward positions have been largely rotated through Jordan Lisle, Michael Close, Jonathan Freeman, and Marco Paparone – who combine for just 23 games of senior AFL experience.

Black told LIONS TV that it will probably take a little time and development before these players begin to function seamlessly together in the forward line.

“We’ve got key forwards who are trying to build relationships,” Black said as part of the Vero Coaches’ Wrap.

“Then there are the smalls, who have to busy when the ball hits the ground. Hopefully they can come and tidy up and have a shot on goal.

“Our smalls and our talls have got to work together.

“There’s plenty to work on, but I’m excited by that. Hopefully we can start to show some real improvement soon.”

One area that the Lions showed considerable improvement last Saturday was in the engine room against a quality, match-hardened outfit such as the Swans.

“In the caches box throughout we kept talking about our contested footy and some of our clearance numbers were pretty good and pretty competitive with a Swans side who are strong in that area,” Black said.

“That was a real positive for us.

“There’s no doubt our ball use and polish with our foot skills let us down at times. That was probably the main difference on the scoreboard – they were able to go inside 50 and hit a target.”