The changes
IN: Lachie Neale (trd), Lincoln McCarthy (trd), Marcus Adams (trd), Jarryd Lyons (dfa), Ely Smith (draft), Thomas Berry (draft), Tom Joyce (draft), Noah Answerth (draft), Connor McFadyen (draft), James Madden (draft)
OUT: Dayne Beams (trd), Sam Mayes (trd), Jack Frost (ret), Cian Hanley (ret), Jake Barrett (del), Claye Beams (del), Tom Bell (del), Rohan Bewick (del), Liam Dawson (del), Marco Paparone (del)
What to expect
The Lions haven’t played a proper game since August last year, so understanding what to expect is a difficult one to pin down.
But despite this relative dearth of information over the past six months, high expectations are being placed on the second-youngest side in the competition.
A quick glance at last year’s ladder doesn’t paint an overly flattering image of Brisbane.
Read: Squad announcement - JLT1
Five wins, 17 losses and a 15th place finish – you wouldn’t have thought these numbers would have inspired much in the way of heightened anticipation.
But it was the blatant star factor that was witnessed in multiple youngsters that has Lions fans excited.
Defender Harris Andrews had claims to an All Australian spot, the 200cm Eric Hipwood continued to impressively shoulder the burden of holding up the number one key forward spot and midfield pair Jarrod Berry and Hugh McCluggage emerged as promising engine room pieces.
No one really knows what to expect from the Lions in 2019 – but one thing is for sure: footy fans will be keeping a keen and interested eye on them.
Player to watch
Harris Andrews is a name that might not be as familiar to Hawks fans as the likes of Rance, McGovern and Hurley. But, had it not been for an errant Jeremy Cameron elbow in the Lions clash with the Giants in Round 14 last year, the 22-year-old could have quite easily joined this trio as one of the rare All Australian key defenders in the competition. Brisbane coach Chris Fagan has experimented with deploying Andrews in the forward line alongside Hipwood this summer, a tactic he used as recently as last week’s practice match against the Suns. Whether he remains in defence or is positioned around goal, Andrews is certainly one to watch this weekend and beyond.
