After having a sensational finals series last year, brilliant defender Keidean Coleman is primed for a huge season this year. Photo: AFL MEDIA

BRISBANE
2023 record: 19 wins, 7 losses (2nd)

THE INS
Tom Doedee (Adelaide), Brandon Ryan (Hawthorn), Logan Morris (Western Jets), Luke Lloyd (Sandringham Dragons), Zane Zakostelsky (Claremont), Reece Torrent (Peel Thunder), Bruce Reville (Sherwood Districts)

THE OUTS
Jack Gunston (Hawthorn), Daniel Rich (retired), Marcus Adams (retired), Rhys Mathieson (delisted), Nakia Cockatoo (retired), Tom Fullarton (Melbourne), Blake Coleman (delisted), Daryl McDowell-White Jr (delisted)

THE STRENGTHS
There are plenty of these when you lose a grand final by just four points. It all starts in the middle of the ground for the Lions where they are led superbly by captain Lachie Neale who last year became just the 16th player in VFL/AFL history to win multiple Brownlow Medals. Neale spearheads one of the most stacked on-ball divisions in the competition which was ranked first for clearances last season. It also features the likes of Josh Dunkley, Hugh McCluggage, Dayne Zorko, Jaspa Fletcher and the injured Will Ashcroft, who unfortunately probably won’t be available until the second half of the season as he continues his recovery from a knee reconstruction. The Brisbane mids are well supported by Oscar McInerney, who has developed into one of the most effective ruckmen in the AFL, capable of having an impact up forward, too. When he does drift into attack, he complements one of the competition’s most destructive forward lines. Last year the Lions had the equal-most players kick at least 20 goals (seven), led by Joe Daniher (61 goals), Charlie Cameron (59) and Eric Hipwood (41). And with Zac Bailey (29), Cam Rayner (23) and Lincoln McCarthy (28) all buzzing around at ground level as well, good luck to opposition teams attempting to stop Brisbane from kicking a winning score. If the Lions can maintain their standing as the best team in the league for inside 50 and marks inside 50, they’ll be every chance of lifting their ranking from No.4 in scores per forward entry, which will put them right in the mix again for the flag. They also had the sixth-best defence in 2023, with talls Harris Andrews and Jack Payne, who cruelly missed the grand final due to injury, assisted superbly by the brilliant Keidean Coleman as well as Brandon Starcevich and Conor McKenna. Brisbane is also officially the toughest road trip in the AFL after the Lions won all 13 games at home last year, ensuring their stadium lives up to its moniker of the ‘Gabbatoir’.

THE WEAKNESSES
After putting to bed questions over their reliability in September, having now won four of their last six finals after losing five of their previous six, the final frontier for the Lions is the MCG. They came agonisingly close to breaking their hoodoo at the home of football on the biggest stage of all last year, but sadly for them came up short. That means Brisbane has won just one of its last 16 games at the MCG, and with all roads to the premiership going through that venue every year (COVID seasons aside), it goes without saying that Chris Fagan’s men need to start doing the business more regularly there. They only have two home-and-away matches at the MCG next year against fellow heavyweights Collingwood and Melbourne, so they’ll really have to give everything they’ve got in those games and treat them as finals dress rehearsals. Fagan would probably also like his team to improve in the tackling department considering it was ranked second-last in that category in 2023.

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ONE TO WATCH
After having a sensational finals series last year, Coleman is primed to explode in 2024. The scintillating defender is influential, and rarely wastes any of the 17 disposals he averages per game. His ability to read the play is outstanding, and his decision-making often allows him to set up dangerous surges forward for his team. At just 23 years old and with only 64 games to his credit, Coleman is primed to become one of the premier backmen in the league. Don’t be surprised if he gets included in the All-Australian squad this year.

UNDER THE PUMP
Jarrod Berry isn’t ‘under the pump’ in the traditional sense and remains one of the Lions’ best 22 players. However, he played one of the worst games of his career in last year’s grand final, and capped off his poor performance late in the final quarter when he gave away a silly 50-metre penalty on the wing to Steele Sidebottom, who went on to slot a crucial goal from 50 metres out to put the Magpies up by 10 points with 4 minutes 23 seconds to go. As a result, Berry would undoubtedly have taken the narrow loss to heart more than most, and will be determined to make amends this year and prove the knockers wrong with that effort fuelling the fire in his belly.

BEST 22
B: Brandon Starcevich, Jack Payne, Darcy Wilmot
HB: Keidean Coleman, Harris Andrews, Conor McKenna
C: Dayne Zorko, Josh Dunkley, Jaspa Fletcher
HF: Cam Rayner, Eric Hipwood, Zac Bailey
F: Lincoln McCarthy, Joe Daniher, Charlie Cameron
R: Oscar McInerney, Lachie Neale, Hugh McCluggage
Inter: Jarrod Berry, Deven Robertson, Callum Ah Chee, Ryan Lester
Emerg: Darcy Gardiner, Jarryd Lyons, Kai Lohmann, Darcy Fort

Ashcroft and Doedee aren’t expected to be available until the second half of the season as they both continue their rehabilitations from ACL ruptures, so both have been left out of the line-up for now. But when they’re both right and ready, they could be the difference between more September heartache and the ultimate glory for their club. Darcy Gardiner did not put a foot wrong when he got recalled for the preliminary final, in place of the injured Payne, blanketing Carlton superstar Charlie Curnow, before holding Brody Mihocek to just one major in the premiership decider. But the Lions like to only use two genuine key defenders in their line-up, and that means Payne will resume his status as the incumbent No.2 behind Andrews.

*all team stat rankings mentioned are based on differentials, not totals (apart from overall offence and defence).