For the better part of the past decade, Jonathan Brown has been the Brisbane Lions’ focal point up forward.

And it’s little wonder why, considering he ranks fourth on the Club’s all-time goal-kicking list and is widely regarded as one of the modern-day AFL greats.

But with Brown entering the twilight of his career (he turns 31 next week), the Lions are learning to become less reliant on the powerful centre half-forward to kick a winning score.

Even though Brown booted a Club-high 47 goals in 2012, there was enough evidence to suggest that Lions could still win without a huge scoreboard contribution from their skipper.

In fact, he booted just one and two goals respectively in what were widely considered to be the team’s best two wins for 2012 - against West Coast and Adelaide at the Gabba.

He was also held goalless in the side’s commanding 58-point win over the Western Bulldogs in Round 13 at Etihad Stadium.

Lions Assistant Coach Adrian Fletcher believes that being able to share the scoring load is essential in today’s game.

“It’s a healthy thing for the team to not have Browny as the beacon,” Fletcher told lions.com.au.

“He gets double-teamed a lot, so he’s been spending more time up the ground. It isolates another key forward, and Browny’s a fantastic kick inside 50.”

Brown’s support act for the majority of 2012 was regular full-back Daniel Merrett, before Jordan Lisle worked in tandem with the skipper in the final five matches of the season.

But Fletcher says forward set-ups are more than just about having one or two key marking options.

“Your forward line now consists of six players, plus four midfielders - that’s what we work on as a group,” he said.

“You still need to have two key forwards, with a third roaming player who gets up the ground. Then, of course, you need that chasing pressure as well.”

“It’s a delicate balance - you need the best of both worlds.”

Interestingly, after Brown and Merrett, the Lions’ next five leading goal-kickers were either small forwards or midfielders - Daniel Rich, Tom Rockliff, Rohan Bewick, Dayne Zorko and Josh Green.