With the Brisbane Lions’ playing list now officially settled for 2013, lions.com.au takes an in-depth look at how the Club’s off-season movements might have affected the team in terms of overall age, experience, and size.

In case you have somehow missed what’s happened over the past few months, a complete rundown of the Lions’ ‘ins’ and ‘outs’ have been provided below:

ADDITIONS
Brent Moloney – Restricted Free Agent signing from Melbourne
Stefan Martin – Traded from Melbourne for Picks 53 and 73
Sam Mayes – Drafted with Pick No.8 at the AFL National Draft
Marco Paparone – Drafted with Pick No.23 at the AFL National Draft
Michael Close – Drafted with Pick No.32 at the AFL National Draft
Nicholas Hayes – Drafted with Pick No.6 at the AFL Rookie Draft
Jordon Bourke – Drafted with Pick No.63 at the AFL Rookie Draft

DEPARTURES
Josh Drummond (Retired)
Ben Hudson (Retired)
Amon Buchanan (Retired)
Cheynee Stiller (Delisted)
Sam Sheldon (Delisted)
Bryce Retzlaff (Delisted)
James Hawksley (Delisted)
Josh Dyson (Delisted)
Brad Harvey (Delisted)

Among the new arrivals are five 18 year-old draftees, plus two seasoned AFL recruits in Brent Moloney (145 games) and Stefan Martin (57 games).

Meanwhile, the nine players farewelled by the Club at the end of 2013 combined for a total of 576 games of senior AFL experience.

The Lions now boast a total of 32 players aged 23 or younger, which is among the highest number of under 24s at any club across the competition (excluding the two newest AFL franchises – GWS and Gold Coast).

Ben Hudson’s departure also means Simon Black reclaims his mantle as the Club’s oldest player (33), while rookie recruit Nick Hayes is the Lions’ youngest having only turned 18 last month.

AGE BREAKDOWN

Black, Jonathan Brown and Ash McGrath remain the only players at the Club to have featured in 150 or more senior matches, while exactly half the list has less than 20 games experience.

The Lions’ youth is probably best exemplified by the fact that, among his current teammates, 22 year-old Daniel Rich has played the seventh most matches (82) for the Club after completing just his fourth season.

Rounding out the top 10 are James Polkinghorne (81), Jack Redden (76), and Matthew Leuenberger (69). 

GAMES BREAKDOWN

Another area where the Club has seen some significant shifts is in the physical size of its players.

The off-season recruitment of Martin, Paparone, Close, and Bourke, in particular, gives the Lions greater depth in the height department.

Importantly, the Club’s healthy stock of 190cm+ players includes individuals who have an ability to play a multitude of roles – including the midfield in some cases.

Matthew Leuenberger (204cm) and Dayne Zorko (175cm), meanwhile, maintain their position as the Lions’ tallest and shortest player respectively. 

HEIGHT BREAKDOWN