Lions coach Justin Leppitsch looks down at his board during practice match against Sydney. Picture: Mark Calleja Source: Mark Calleja / News Corp Australia
THE reason Brisbane threw a truckload of cash at Richmond superstar Jack Riewoldt last year was brutally highlighted by Sydney at Burpengary on Saturday.
After unsuccessfully chasing Riewoldt, Kurt Tippett and Lance Franklin in recent years, the Lions still lack a legitimate money man in the forward line to be a long-term replacement for Jonathan Brown.
Sydney only had two more inside 50 entries (43-41) than Brisbane in blustery conditions on Saturday but had seven more scoring shots on their way to a comfortable 27-point win.
Brisbane had more possessions (371-367), more hardball gets (44-42), more marks (95-78), more hit-outs (54-41) and only three less clearances (43-46) than Sydney so they achieved parity with the AFL powerhouse across most of the ground.
But the faltering forward line failed to convert the good work further afield as the Swans created contests, won the ball and swept it out of defence with relative ease.
Brown did not sugar-coat Brisbane's deficiencies.
"At the end of the day, we just aren't scoring enough or getting enough marks inside 50,'' he said.
"Conditions weren't great and we weren't getting a lot of clean entries either but there's no doubt we need to improve.
"It is no good winning a lot of the stats if you don't finish off with goals.
"We also have to keep the ball inside 50 for longer. The Swans are elite at transferring the ball out of defence and they made us pay the price for not putting enough pressure on.
"We have to be a lot more diligent with all of those things when we come up against Hawthorn in Round 1.''
The ability to take a game by the scruff of the neck and turn half chances into goals is lacking at the Gabba. There is not a great deal of X-factor.
The Lions have recruited a host of promising young key forward prospects but they will not give Brisbane much in 2014.
Only Brent Staker and Ash McGrath were missing from the near full-strength forward line on the weekend and Aspley thrashed the Lions reserves by 53 points in the NEAFL practice match on Saturday.
Brown, 32, is fighting back from a serious foot injury and had two touches in two quarters on Saturday. He should not have to carry most of the goalkicking load.
He said he pulled up well from his first competitive hit-out for 2014. While Lions coach Justin Leppitsch said Brown's progress will be closely monitored over the next two weeks, the former skipper declared he was ready for Round 1.
"The body feels good. I wanted to play the first two quarters when there was heat on the game so I could get a feel for Round 1,'' Brown said.
The Lions play Hawthorn in Launceston on March 22 to open their premiership campaign.
The Hawks completed their pre-season schedule on Saturday with a 110-point win over Melbourne to go with comprehensive victories over Brisbane (131-point win) and North Melbourne (65 point win) in the NAB Challenge.
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