FOR THE past decade Simon Black has been the prime mover in the Brisbane Lions midfield, winning the hard ball and farming it out to his teammates.

Since his current coach Michael Voss retired at the end of 2006, Black has often been the only one in there with his nose over the ball on a consistent basis.

Even at 32, the 2002 Brownlow medallist is still playing superb football, with his 'quiet' 22-disposal, four-clearance output against Richmond a mark of his brilliance and consistency over the years.

You barely noticed him, yet there he was bobbing up with plenty of stats despite a hard tag from Tiger Daniel Jackson.

But as Black reaches the back-end of his career, the younger Lions have to step up.

Enter Jack Redden.

At just 20 and with 43 games experience to his name, the Glenelg product is starting to cement himself as an elite midfielder.

On Saturday night against the Tigers he racked up 25 disposals, a team-high six clearances and two first-half goals.

"Yeah, it'll big shoes to fill when Blacky does leave, he's such a great player, but most definitely I would love to replace that spot in the team," Redden said.

"There's plenty of other boys that have the potential to do that and put pressure on each other."

Redden said the Lions' poor season - they now sit 15th with a 2-10 record - was hurting, but he thought the likes of himself, Tom Rockliff and Daniel Rich could help develop them over time.

"It definitely burns in the guts after these games but we're in a developing phase. We don't like losing obviously, but hopefully we can get what we need to work on for 2012 and get that down pat," he said.

"I definitely reckon we've got the potential to do that if we can stick together and create good relationships and push forward in the years to come."

Redden led by example against the Tigers, kicking the match's first goal after snapping truly from a clearance in the forward 50, while his nine-disposal second quarter kept the Lions in the contest while they were under severe pressure.

He is a composed young player with strong hands overhead and a great work ethic, as evidenced by his standing as third in the competition for tackles.

Redden also has a hunger for the contested footy, which was his main focus on Saturday night.

"It was more of a case of getting front position and getting first hands on it than anything," he said.

"Giving us a chance to win that ball off the hands - it's been a hot topic for us the last few weeks, we've been lacking it.

"Leuey (Matthew Leuenberger) has been in great form. He gets over the top of most ruckmen and we need to take more advantage of that in the middle."

Michael Whiting covers Brisbane Lions news for afl.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @mike_whiting