With the Lions entering Saturday night's Queensland Clash against the Gold Coast at the Gabba without a win from five starts, the 21-year-old said the club's future leaders had to step up, not its rookies.
Veterans Simon Black (34 possessions) and Luke Power (four goals) drove the team in last week's loss against Richmond, and Rockliff said it was time for others to make their mark.
"We've got to lead the people underneath us and we've got to show them the direction and the way to go about things and the way things get done around the club," he said.
"It's more important for the middle tier and older guys to step up and continue to lead the younger group."
Rockliff, who has 25 games to his name, said Saturday night was a good chance to show supporters the Lions had just as good a list as the much-hyped youngsters of the Suns.
"We've got two predominantly young lists but stepping forward we have a more established older group," he said.
"Our list is probably in a better spot than theirs at the moment. They're going to be good in a couple of years but so are we. We have a really strong list coming through. We're out there on the weekend to show that our younger blokes can play."
The Lions have blooded four new faces this season and have struggled for consistency within each match, but the middle tier of its list now has experience, with Todd Banfield (27 matches), Jack Redden (37), James Pokinghorne (44), Matthew Leuenberger (49), Daniel Rich (51), Mitch Clark (70) and Cheynee Stiller (81) all regulars.
Rockliff said the Lions were still fighting for consistency, and would need four good quarters to beat the Suns.
"It's a massive game for the club and probably the biggest game a lot of us boys have played in so far. It's a must win for us," he said.
"I think you might see some hot footy early on, and there'll be plenty of bodies going here, there and everywhere.
"There's definitely a feeling there that they've come in and tried to take something off us and we're just not going to allow that to happen."
