It’s always difficult playing catch-up footy, but that’s what the Brisbane Lions have been forced to do of late.

Last Saturday against Richmond, the Lions conceded the first three goals of the match to the Tigers, and were never really able to peg that margin back.

There were stages late in the second quarter and midway through the third when the Lions edged to within a single kick, but they failed to take the lead at any stage during the match.

By the time the final siren had sounded, the Lions were 25 points in arrears.

Had they not conceded those early goals, who knows how the match might have panned out?

Football is always a game of ‘ifs’, ‘buts’ and ‘maybes’, but the Lions have been left ruing their slow starts more than most this season.

In Round 15 at the Gabba, North Melbourne had seven shots at goals before the Lions had even entered their forward 50m arc.

Fortunately the Kangaroos were wasteful, and left the door open for the Lions to gain control in the second term and produce a memorable win for Jonathan Brown’s official farewell.

The previous week was that fateful match against Fremantle where the Lions conceded the first 10 goals of the match.

Then there was the Round 13 match against Greater Western Sydney, when the Giants got the early jump, giving them the confidence to go on with the job.

Across the entire season so far, the Lions have led at quarter time on just three occasions.

Two of those – Round 6 v St Kilda and Round 11 v Carlton – resulted in wins, while the other (Round 8 v Essendon) wasn’t far off.

It proves how important it is for young sides to build confidence early in the game.