The Brisbane Lions are fortunate to boast three of the competition’s most promising young midfielders - Daniel Rich, Jack Redden and Tom Rockliff.

The ‘Three R’s’, as they have become to be known, are all aged 22 or under and only last month finished among the top half-a-dozen vote-getters in the Club’s Best and Fairest award.

And under the guidance of one of the game’s best all-time midfielders in Simon Black, the trio present an exciting future for the Club.

But even with the recruitment of clearance specialist Brent Moloney from Melbourne, the reality is more on-ball options need to emerge for the Lions to propel themselves further up the AFL ladder.

Assistant Coach Shane Woewodin says the Club is still in the process of developing its midfield depth in preparation for the inevitable post-Black era.

Claye Beams, Patrick Karnezis, Dayne Zorko, Jared Polec, Elliot Yeo, Ryan Lester, Jack Crisp and Josh Green have all proven capable of playing in the midfield, and are among those who are being groomed as the next batch of players ready to step into the engine room.

“That next group have already had some experience, but they still need to work really hard on certain parts of their game - like endurance and running, ability to win the ball, and work at stoppages,” Woewodin told lions.com.au.

“The elite midfielders in the game excel with their ability to cover the ground and sustain efforts. Our boys are still building those capabilities, and that maturity will hopefully come after some more pre-seasons.”

Woewodin used 2010 Premiers Collingwood as an example of a team that has benefited from having incredible midfield depth.

“You can never have enough midfielders - you’re always looking for a top-up,” Woewodin said.

“Just take a look at Collingwood and the quality of players they have. Most of them are A-graders.”

“We’re trying to build that.”