This view was reinforced when the Lions and Swans played their final practice match at Burpengary.
The Lions competed extremely well through the middle of the ground and in the backline, however it was a lack of firepower up front that would be giving Senior Coach Justin Leppitsch plenty of food for thought heading into Round One against the reigning premiers Hawthorn in Launceston.
As it stands currently, both Brent Staker and Ashley McGrath are at least a month away from returning from calf injuries, and Jonathan Brown is playing catch-up after a slightly interrupted pre-season.
Brown had his first hit-out at Burpengary playing the first half, and it will have done him the world of good against a powerful Sydney defence in the strong Queensland heat on the day.
The beauty of Brown this year will be that when he is playing, he will take the opposition’s number one defender, providing his teammates with an opportunity to win plenty of football when the Lions go forward.
Brown has the strength and football experience to more than match any opponent that he plays on in 2014 and I think will be best suited to playing out of the goal square to maximise his impact on the scoreboard.
But the Lions cannot rely only on Jonathan Brown infinitum as they have done for the past decade to get them over the line and continually lead the way up front.
In addition to veterans Brown, Staker and McGrath, there is a big group fighting for senior spots in the forward line.
Jonathan Freeman, Jordan Lisle, Michael Close and Jackson Paine are all still young and developing players who will probably spend some time working on aspects of their forward play in the Lions’ NEAFL team during this season. They will want to perform and build an irresistible case for inclusion in the senior side, and may yet become the dominant forwards that the Lions are seeking.
Stefan Martin could also be included in this group, however he’s now in his late twenties and, unfortunately due to injuries, has not really had the opportunity to play consistently as the second ruckman/forward that the Lions recruited him from Melbourne for.
A change of luck on the injury front is certainly due for Martin.
The Lions also acquired Luke McGuane from Richmond at the end of 2013. He is in the side primarily to play as the third tall at either end of the ground and support the key position players – but not to necessarily be a key position player himself.
He provides some handy versatility, and has shown through this pre-season that he will be a valuable contributor for the Lions as the regular season unfolds.
What the Lions do have, however, is a very strong selection of small forwards, headlined by Dayne Zorko and Josh Green, who will be supported by various members of the Lions’ midfield when they rest forward.
Both Zorko and Green showed at Burpengary why they are vitally important for the Lions in terms of pressuring the opposition defence and attempting to lock the ball into the forward fifty.
The future of the Lions’ forward line is going to be determined by a combination of the speed of development of the youth on their list and recruitment from the AFL National Draft. In addition to this, the Lions will need to become ‘players’ in the trade period and assess all options available for the Club.
Landing a key forward from another club is no doubt constantly on the agenda for the Lions coaching and recruiting staff – and I’m sure they’ll be assessing their options once again at the end of the season.
Being active in the trade period could provide the Lions with a quality forward with AFL experience to complement the veterans and other young forwards at the Club.
There are clubs currently in the AFL that have a forward set up which gives their midfielders and defence fantastic targets and more importantly allows the team to finish off good work from further up the ground.
It is vitally important for the psyche of a team to finish their work with the reward of a goal, as it not only boosts their confidence but more importantly puts scoreboard pressure on the opposition.
Sydney, Hawthorn, Collingwood and Geelong have been the leaders in hitting the scoreboard in recent seasons. They predominately used a strategy of two or three big forwards and then rested a ruckman forward at different stages to provide them with a constant three-pronged attack. They had the added flexibility that one of the key forwards was also able to pinch hit in the ruck if and when required.
Between them they have won eight of the past nine AFL premierships, with the exception being the West Coast Eagles in 2006, who again look serious contenders in 2014 thanks to a strong forward set-up and ruck combination.
Other clubs who have solid forward set-ups for the season ahead include Port Adelaide, Adelaide (particularly when Taylor Walker returns) and Richmond. It is no coincidence that all of these clubs are considered likely to secure finals action in September.
Then there is the two newest clubs of the AFL, the Gold Coast Suns and GWS Giants, both of whom have taken the build-from-youth approach to their forward line.
The Gold Coast Suns have flagged their intention to play Charlie Dixon, Tom Lynch and Sam Day as their three tall forwards and GWS will at some stage this year play all of Jonathan Patton, Tom Boyd and All-Australian Jeremy Cameron together. Their aim is to maintain the fitness of these young men as long as possible to build cohesion and on-field chemistry.
Both of the Suns and Giants have big squads at the moment but there will come a time when players will seek greater opportunity elsewhere if they are stuck behind in the queue for game time.
Looking at trading purely from a forward perspective I wonder if the Lions can entice another big forward to come up and play their footy at the Gabba…
Carl Nimb is an independent writer and Lions Member (#2604559) who will share his thoughts with lions.com.au throughout the season.
You can follow him on Twitter @CarlNimb
