Even if I wanted to, there are not too many things I could say about the Brisbane Lions that could be construed as negative. In the wake of their 2024 premiership, we celebrate what they achieved, reflect on where they came from, and look forward to where they could be at the conclusion of the 2025 season.
After Round 13 of the 2024 season, the Lions were in 13th place on the AFL Ladder.
Did you take notes on who wrote them off?
Charlie Cameron did, and he made mention of the fact that people jumped off the Brisbane bandwagon in the week leading up to the Grand Final. Proving people wrong can be a great motivator.
“I’ll say it, they can’t win the flag with Daniher and Hipwood.” – Kane Cornes
“They’re not gonna kick straight four weeks in a row to win four big finals.” – Matthew Lloyd
“I do not expect them to be able to reproduce the same run of form that led them within a straight kick of a premiership at the back end of the year again.” – our very own Justin Rake
Oops. Sorry, JR.
Riding a wave of momentum, the Lions hit the finals like a tsunami, managing incredible comebacks, and making the trek to the last Saturday in September the hard way. Their character as a club was questioned as they stumbled out of the starting gates, but they composed themselves amid a slew of rumours, and they redeemed themselves after their narrow 2023 loss to Collingwood.
The Lions made wholesale changes to the team following the 2016 season, bringing Chris Fagan aboard to shift the focus and give the team a fresh voice. By 2019, the Lions were in the top four, and after a few years of being around the mark, served their Grand Final apprenticeship in 2023, before lifting the cup, themselves, a year later.
It has been a remarkable journey for these Lions, with the recruitment of Lachie Neale one of the pieces that didn’t just fit into the puzzle, but slotted in right in the middle, and made creating the rest of the picture a hell of a lot easier.
They recruited the enigmatic Joe Daniher, gave Josh Dunkley the professional environment he was looking for, and created their own stars, in Hugh McCluggage, Zac Bailey, Harris Andrews, and Dayne Zorko.
This team is the blueprint for how to turn a club around, and as we head into the 2025 season, one where they will front up without their 2024 leading goal kicker, many are wondering whether their recent father/son picks (don’t forget about Jaspa Fletcher) will pave the way for more glory.
Brisbane are well-positioned to give things another almighty shake in 2025. Outside of Joe Daniher, their list remains in excellent shape, and with Keidean Coleman and Tom Doedee both set to return to action at the start of the season, the question begs; can this team actually get even better?
It’s that time of year, already.
The break after Christmas and New Year is over and 2024 is well and truly in the rear-vision mirror. The holidays are finished for AFL players, and the hard stuff starts now. Yes, the teams had been training for well over a month prior to Christmas, but as we head into 2025, the stakes are raised, and the intensity increases.
This is where premierships are won and lost. This is where improvements are made and lists come together. This is where the kids show if they’re serious or not. New faces, new colours, old heads with renewed passion… so much feeds into the making of a contender. And as the days tick down toward the intra-club clashes, practice games, and eventually the real stuff, questions are raised about each team and how they’re going to perform in this new season.
And that’s where HB and The Mongrel come in.
We don’t do things by halves here, at The Mongrel Punt. When we do a season preview, we go all out to make sure it is the best, most comprehensive coverage you’ll receive. We pride ourselves on it. If you are going to read one season preview for your team, or any team, this series will provide it.
The way it works is as follows.
Each club has a minimum of 15 questions asked about the upcoming season, their coaches, their players, and their expectations. The answers are not glossed over. We dive deep on each and every one of them – some singular answers would normally be long enough for an entire column. The first five questions/answers are free for you to consume. The next 10-14 for each club are for our members, including a special appearance from Mrs Mongrel to throw her two cents in the mix.
Isn’t it a bit early for a season preview? Well, I suppose, but do you know how long it takes to write seven-to-nine thousand words? That’s 18 x 8,000… gets out the calculator… that’s 144,000 words. The average novel is about 85,000 words, so buckle the hell up with these previews; we’re going deeper than ever.
Also, if there are any issues that arise after the publication of the preview for any team, they will be covered in standalone articles to act as additions to this preview.
You will not read a deeper season preview than this – I guarantee it. This is where we start the run to the new season, and believe me – nobody does it better than The Mongrel.
And now we come to the premiers. Brisbane, you’re up.
1 – HOW DOES THE RETURN OF KEIDEAN COLEMAN IMPACT THIS TEAM?
Imagine having this type of luck… if you can call it luck?
Your 2024 season copped a massive blow early on, with Keidean Coleman ruled out for the season with an ACL injury. And you just throw Dayne Zorko into defence, and not only does he play good footy for the whole year, but he also plays such good footy that he picks up an All-Australian blazer as a fill-in half back, and becomes one of the driving forces of a premiership campaign.
Not good luck for Kiddy Coleman, I suppose, but his luck comes in the form of walking back into a premiership side, with the view to make it more potent coming out of half-back.
Yes, that is good luck, indeed – for the club.
Coleman’s number one weapon is his precise kicking, and his ability to hit targets on the 45-degree angle to open up the corridor. He trusts his own skills, so in getting him back on the park for 2025, the Lions have basically got a player back to do what Zorko was doing last season.
It kind of begs the question – what next for Dayne Zorko?
I am sure that, at one point, the former captain must have considered retiring on a high after winning a flag, particularly knowing that Coleman was coming back into the team to play the role he was covering, but his form warranted another year, and old footballers are forever tempted to play one more year.
Zorko turns 36 in February, and will be one of the oldest blokes in the league, but as long as his production remains high, age should not be a factor for him. Some guys just don’t seem to age, and Zorko looked like a puppy out there with his enthusiasm in 2024.
Where do the Lions play Zorko this season? Is there enough room to play two rebounding defenders, in him and Coleman?
I don’t think there is. I’d have to start Zorko at half-forward – he does love a goal – and if the time comes where the Lions are having Coleman get attention from a defensive forward, they can deploy Zorko back there to take the heat off him.
Luck has been mentioned several times in this section, and it’s a bit of a cop out, I know. There is no luck in having both these guys available at the same time. The list has been deliberately built to make it that way. It is great list management, and the outcome of great list management is success.
2 – WHERE DO JOE DANIHER’S GOALS COME FROM IN 2025?
I sincerely hope nobody is going to throw Sam Day’s name out there as the man to provide it.
Day is part of the Lions unit to provide a big body. No more, no less. The real heat will go on both Eric Hipwood, Logan Morris, Charlie Cameron, Kai Lohmann, and Cam Rayner.
Still a highly-talented bunch they have in that front half, isn’t it? Sure, they’re lacking that enigmatic, goofy, and sometimes absolutely bloody wonderful moustachioed marvel named Joe, but great teams have been able to compensate for the loss of a star before.
At the end of the 2013 season, Hawthorn lost the biggest forward star since the halcyon days of Plugger, Dunstall, and Ablett, with Lance Franklin packing his bags and heading to Sydney. He’d got his second flag, and there was a feeling of completion when it came to his time at Hawthorn.
But the Hawks weren’t done just yet. Even before Franklin left, they were preparing for life without him, and sharing the load amongst many.
And when he did leave, the Hawks just chalked up two more flags in succession, whilst Franklin was never able to add to his tally.
The Lions, even without Joe, are still incredibly potent. They have height, and two of the best crumbers in the game at the feet of Hipwood and Morris, ready to swoop in and reward the work further afield.
Daniher snagged 58 goals in 2024, but the ones that counted most came at critical moments in the finals. Given that, it may not be the total number of goals that is the most pressing need to replace, but the presence and the ability to become the go-to man when the team needs him that presents the biggest problem.
So, then… who steps up?
Hipwood has copped a heap of criticism over the journey. He has been the opposite of Joe, inasmuch as he has disappeared in big games, at points, but a further look into the role he played tells us that he was the player responsible for leading further up the ground and opening up space behind him for the others. It was the role Dan McStay used to play, and also copped criticism for, at times. Without Daniher behind him, Hipwood will have the opportunity to play closer to goal, and this will be his chance to put his stamp on the team.
Cam Rayner will likely split time between the middle and the forward line again in 2025. He attended 22% of the Lions centre bounce contests last year, but his skill set could see him being incredibly potent inside 50 if targeted more.
And then there are Charlie and Kai.
The thing about these two, and Lincoln McCarthy for that matter, is that they can take grabs overhead. They are not your regular, run-of-the-mill, small forwards. Lohmann really emerged as a threat late in the season, and Cameron was viewed as having a bit of a down season, but he was also pushing further up the ground than we’re used to.
This is going to take some magnet shuffling from Chris Fagan, but the good news is the Lions have plenty to work with inside 50. They are not left bereft like so many other teams would be if you removed their number one option.
I expect an uptick in numbers from Hipwood, Morris, and Charlie Cameron this season, with each being targeted more often inside 50 in the wake of Daniher’s departure.
And I expect the Lions to score freely, as a result.
3 – HOW CAN PEOPLE BE NOMINATING WILL ASHCROFT – NORM SMITH MEDALLIST – AS A BREAKOUT PLAYER IN 2025?
I read the results of an SEN poll earlier this morning. They asked a dozen or so questions about the upcoming AFL season, and one of the questions revolved around the breakout star of the season.
Will Ashcroft was the one people nominated the most.
Come on, people. He’s already broken out – the bloke just won the Norm Smith Medal, for crying out loud. Where’s he breaking out of? Jail? Some lusty woman’s dungeon?
I suppose a lot of people had their eyes opened by the feats of Ashcroft in the decider. They obviously weren’t paying attention in the Semi-Final against the GWS Giants, when Fages moved him into the middle and he helped swing the game, huh?
That was his breakout game. The Grand Final was like the cherry on top of a very tasty return to action.
That’s two standout performances to announce his arrival, and yet people are spouting his name now, and they’ll pat themselves on the back when he has a great year, like they’re some type of oracle.
It’s like tipping the reigning premier to win the flag – people do it every year, then act like they’re in the know (and yes, I know you’re all tipping your team to do it again!)
People, everyone… Ashcroft is already a star. You don’t just accidentally impose your will on two massive finals and continue to fly under the radar. If your big call for 2025 is that Ashcroft will break out, it’d have to mean he’ll win the Brownlow after the finals series he had in 2024.
Anyway, this season we get to appreciate the continuation of the guard changing at Brisbane – another piece of “lucky” list management, I suppose?
Lachie Neale will turn 32 during the season, and though he has plenty left in him, the gap between his production, and that of Will Ashcroft, will likely start to reduce. It is not a bad thing, though it may mean we won’t be seeing Lachie as the next three-time Brownlow Medallist, but it gives the Lions a midfield that is harder to combat.
Neale, Dunkley, Ashcroft, with Rayner, Berry, and Zac Bailey pinch-hitting in there… they’re a formidable unit. And the more the love is shared, the harder they are to stop.
I reckon Will Ashcroft is about a season and a bit away from becoming The Man in the Brisbane midfield, just in time for his little brother to start carving a name for himself, as well.
4 – A YEAR LATER, WHAT DOES TOM DOEDEE ADD TO THE LIONS’ DEFENCE?
He’s almost the forgotten man in the league, at the moment, after heading to Brisbane following the 2023 season and rupturing an ACL before playing a game for the Lions.
Touted as a future Adelaide captain, at one stage, Tom Doedee is flying under the radar heading into 2025, and I reckon he might be enjoying that. After the will he/won’t he nature of his Adelaide contract situation, and subsequent departure, it seems to have slipped people’s minds as to how good Doedee is and what he brings to the table.
I don’t know about you guys, but when Marcus Adams was forced into retirement with concussion-related issues, and Keidean Coleman went down with an ACL injury of his own, the Lions defence looked a little flimsy. Except, of course, for the fact they had Harris Andrews – perhaps the greatest key defender of his generation – anchoring things in the back half.
Losing Coleman, Adams, and Doedee was supposed to be the downfall of the Lions. And yet, Brisbane were still able to rank second in terms of restricting the opponents’ scoring.
It was a remarkable effort, and one that has been vastly overlooked. With both Doedee and Coleman returning, they’re only going to be better.
So, for those unfamiliar, what does Doedee bring to the table?
He is an excellent intercepting player, and one who knows no fear. He does not take a backwards step when he is asked to run back with the flight and put a body between the leading forward and the footy, and has paid the price on a couple of occasions.
He has great hands, can match it with big forwards, and is trustworthy with the footy. He’s also fancies himself as a bit of a cinephile, so if you hit him up on Twitter with some movie talk, he’ll likely be up for a chat.
The thing that always stuck out to me was his leadership qualities at Adelaide. Many thought he was the front-runner for the captaincy a few years back, but with his contract in limbo, the club went with Jordan Dawson.
And the Lions can now reap the benefits of that sequence of events.
Are they a better team with Tom Doedee in the mix?
To channel Stone Cold Steve Austin, oh hell yeah, they are. This guy is a professional, and he is now in one of the more professional teams in the caper. He will thrive in this Lions team, and in the process, make life just that little bit easier for Harris Andrews.
Come to think of it, let’s talk about the big fella in defence for a minute or two.
5 – HARRIS ANDREWS IS THE BEST KEY DEFENDER IN THE LEAGUE SINCE… WHO?
I’m a sucker for a player who just spoils the party.
Whether it is a defender, a lockdown midfielder, or a defensive forward (Cal Ah Chee was awesome in September), I always attempt to give them the credit they deserve, because the AFL doesn’t do it well, at all.
Harris Andrews was our Defensive Player of the Year in 2023, and was once again in the top ten in 2024.
Actually, here are his annual finishes since we commenced thr award.
2020 – 3rd
2021 – 5th
2022 – 10th
2023 – 1st
2024 – 8th
No other player has finished in the top ten all five years. Not even close.
As a matter of fact, Andrews’ consistency over the last eight-or-so seasons has been the level by which all other key defenders should be assessed.
And it seems the AFL do assess based on what Harris Andrews does, because whenever someone gets near to his level, they reward that player with an All-Australian blazer. Meanwhile, Andrews is sitting there, wondering what the hell he has to do to get the same recognition.
This is not a new thing for Brisbane players, mind you. Not at all. Charlie Cameron had a five-year run as the best small forward in the competition from 2019-23. He has two selections in the team, but it should have been four.
Andrews also has two selections as an All-Australian, and hasn’t made the team since 2020.
What.
A.
JOKE!!!
His past two seasons, as the anchor of the Brisbane defence, should have seen him entrenched in that representative side. Instead, players like Jacob Weitering, Darcy Moore, and Callum Wilkie have been honoured.
No shade at those guys intended – they are excellent footballers. But they are not Harris Andrews, and in terms of impact, they are nowhere near as damaging as he is.
Who was the last, and possibly only full back in the game to be tagged in a Grand Final?
I can tell you who it wasn’t – the blokes who have been on the stage wearing AA blazers over the past few years.
In my opinion, and I am sure it reflects the opinions of many, Andrews is assessed more harshly than others because his standard is so damn high that when he goes out and has 12 one-percenters and ten intercepts, it is viewed as just another day at the office for him – it’s expected that he will control the skies in defensive fifty. When someone else does it, it feels like it’s an anomaly, and they are celebrated for doing what Harris Andrews does as part of his role so often.
Need proof?
I gotcha.
I mentioned tallying double figures in those two categories on purpose, you see, because I keep track of players who notch them.
All time, there is only one man that has more of these defensive double-doubles than Andrews. Alex Rance (five-time all-Australian, by the way) has achieved that stat milestone 19 times.
Andrews is at 17, and he is closing fast. He will be the all-time leader, possibly early in 2025.
And the others, who have been rewarded for their defensive ‘brilliance’?
Darcy Moore has done it five times. Jacob Weitering is at four. And Callum Wilkie has hit the mark three times.
See what I mean?
Andrews is no longer the shiny and new defensive king. He is now the veteran who goes out, does his job, and takes the heat each and every week. For some, that is not enough.
For me, it is more than enough – the bloke is the best big defender in the game, and has been for years.
The next 14 questions are for our members. Option to join below.
This is just under a third of our preview. The rest is available exclusively to our members. People, we give value. No same old gabage you’re going to hear from ten others, taking turns in mimicking each other. No played out opinions. Thoughtful and comprehensive – that’s what we aspire to provide in these previews, and your support makes them bigger and better every year. Jump on board.
