Lionsâ next gen a scary prospect for flag rivals
Brisbane Lions co-captain Harris Andrews is bullish about his team’s chances of completing a premiership hat-trick, buoyed by the emergence of young stars.
Brisbane co-captain Harris Andrews believes theyâve found another one.
As a bevvy of young stars shone in the Lionsâ successful premiership defence, a six-game forward caught his skipperâs eye.
And he looms as another weapon at coach Chris Faganâs disposal in his bid to complete a hat-trick of flags.
âWill Ashcroft is obviously a young star but someone whoâs probably not as well known, for mine, is Ty Gallop,â Andrews told AAP.
âHeâs a young key forward, played in the granny last year and kicked three goals in the prelim to get us there.
âHeâs someone whoâs had a great summer. Heâs super competitive, hard at it, young guy, big body.
âIâve played on him a little bit at training and he always gives me some good trouble. Heâs got a lot of scope for improvement.â
As Eric Hipwood recovers from knee surgery, Gallop should have plenty of chances in the Lionsâ evolving forward line alongside Logan Morris and off-season acquisition Oscar Allen.
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The 20-year-old Gallop and gun midfielder Ashcroft were among the eight players â more than a third of the team â aged 22 and under in the Brisbane side that blew away Geelong in the grand final last September.
Jaspa Fletcher, Levi Ashcroft and Kai Lohmann also fired, part of a new generation seemingly set to keep the Lions in contention for years to come.
Throw in highly-touted draftee Daniel Annable (No.6 overall) and the wave of talent building under Faganâs guidance is a daunting prospect for rivals.
âIt gives awesome optimism and hope for us,â Andrews said.
âThe one thing youâre a little bit concerned about when you go back to pre-season is those younger guys might not necessarily push themselves through the break and not come back as fit as possible.
âBut to their credit they came back in unbelievable shape and theyâre all super motivated.
âTheyâve got their own individual stories and journeys that they want to create and theyâre all hungry to keep learning and get better.â
Experienced recruits help, too, with free agents Allen and Sam Draper offsetting the loss of premiership trio Callum Ah Chee (Adelaide), Brandon Starcevich (West Coast) and Oscar McInerney (retired).
Allen has made an instant impression, picked in Brisbaneâs leadership group and handed a fresh nickname relating to his booming voice.
The 26-year-old former West Coast captain, who endured a torrid time in the fall-out from his not-so-secret meeting with Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell last year, is relishing life away from Perthâs football fishbowl.
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âHe can go to the shops in Brisbane and not have people coming up telling him what they think of him,â Andrews said.
âHeâs really enjoying that and weâre really enjoying having him here.
âThe boys call him âVolâ because he speaks really loudly and makes a lot of noise, but heâs a good laugh.
âHeâs someone Iâve been able to lean on, obviously being captain of the Eagles as well, heâs seen some leadership stuff.â
Just about everything points to Brisbane contending again after three straight grand final appearances, but it hasnât all been smooth sailing in the afterglow of another flag.
The public breakdown of former co-captain Lachie Nealeâs marriage â and the two-time Brownlow Medal winnerâs subsequent step away from the leadership group â threatened to derail the Lionsâ season before it began.
âI feel like as a club weâve handled it relatively well and weâll continue to handle it,â Andrews said.
âIt is what it is and weâve just got to get on with it. The start of the season is exciting and it will be a good opportunity for us to really lock in.
âHeâs a super professional guy. If you look back to the last couple of years late in the season where heâs had a foot injury and last year his calf, and he worked super hard to get back from that.
âHis ability to lock in on what he needs to and really focus and dial in on the important things is a great challenge but one that I think heâs up for.â
Brisbane, who beat local rivals Gold Coast in their final pre-season hit-out last week, host an opening-round fixture against the Western Bulldogs at the Gabba on Saturday night.
âItâs a great opportunity to showcase our sport on the big stage in Brisbane,â Andrews said.
âIâm tipping it will probably be a sell-out and I think Queensland, and Brisbane in particular, is just ready for footy to come back.
âItâs been great to see the growth of it.â
-with AAP
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