Karnezis was one of the Club’s shining lights in the second half of 2011, booting 17 goals from his 11 senior games and taking home the Lions’ Rookie of the Year award.
He also quickly became one of the fan favourites among the Gabba crowd.
But despite the resultant hype surrounding the former 19 year-old’s breakthrough year, he remains grounded and is not taking his first season form for granted.
“I think I’ve got a better feel now for senior football, but I never feel safe in my spot,” Karnezis said.
“There’s a lot of healthy competition at the Club at the moment with plenty of good young forwards chasing only a couple of spots.”
“It’s much better to have competition for spots. The drive and the challenge (for spots) is really good.”
Karnezis will likely be competing with the likes of Bryce Retzlaff, Aaron Cornelius and Jordan Lisle for a position in the Lions’ attack alongside Captain Jonathan Brown.
Much of that final line-up for Round 1 will be determined by each player’s performance throughout the NAB Cup competition, which kicks off for the Lions this Saturday night at Metricon Stadium.
“I can’t wait to get out there in these first NAB Cup games and get a feel for footy again,” Karnezis said.
“It will be good to get some match fitness back, get some more run in the legs and work on my defensive stuff.”
“Everyone’s feeling really confident. We’ve had a good pre-season, now we just can’t wait to get out there.”
