AFL 2024: The numbers behind Brisbane’s brilliant defensive improvement
From 13th on the ladder after round 11, the Lions are roaring into premiership contention. And they are about to get even scarier for opposition teams.
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Brisbane’s beleaguered backline is defying the odds and improving its defensive profile, with reinforcements set to return for the surge to September.
After suffering through an early season slump it’s all trending upwards for the Lions, who expect to have Darragh Joyce and Eric Hipwood available for Saturday’s top-four tussle with GWS at the Gabba.
Chris Fagan’s side is comfortably the form team of the AFL since the mid-season bye, stringing together nine consecutive wins to rise from 13th to second. A maiden minor premiership is now in sight with the gap to ladder-leaders Sydney just two points.
Even during the club’s three-peat era in the early 2000s it never finished atop the ladder at the end of the home-and-away season, but the Lions are roaring into September and – scarily – improving in all facets.
Scoring inefficiency was the major flaw in their early season struggles, but that issue was rectified mid-year, with the familiar front-half turnover game and clearance dominance returning.
The shrewd addition of Stuart Dew to the part-time coaching ranks as a goalkicking mentor paid immediate dividends and the Lions have significantly bolstered their scoring output since the loss to Hawthorn in round 11.
But even as the tide turned, Fagan highlighted some deficiencies in the Lions’ team defence that he knew needed to be fixed if they were to become a serious top-four contender.
From rounds 13-17 they were among the worst teams in the competition at conceding scores from opposition intercepts and clearances, and ranked 18th for opposition scores per inside-50.
A glut of injuries to key defenders threatened to make matters even worse. But, somehow, the Lions survived those recent stress tests and are now trending upwards.
Over the past three weeks Brisbane has become a significantly tougher team to score against. Fagan’s side is now ranked among the top-eight sides in those key defensive metrics and, crucially, has risen from 18th to fifth for opposition scores per inside-50.
The Lions already dominate the territory battle but now they are much better at stifling opposition scores when they do go forward.
All of this has come without key defensive post Jack Payne, who the club hopes will be fit to return in round 24 against Essendon.
His understudy Joyce fractured his jaw in the win over Sydney two weeks ago and missed the Gold Coast and St Kilda victories, while All-Australian contender Harris Andrews sat out the Suns clash with concussion.
Brisbane’s backline, which last season was a picture of stability, has had a revolving door of defenders but still stood strong.
Long considered a team built on talent over system, this iteration is belying that belief.
The early-season injury struggles now appear a blessing in disguise, with the forced adaptation giving Fagan and his coaching staff a litany of levers to pull should things go south.
Brisbane’s new-found defensive fortitude will face its biggest test yet against the in-form Giants, whose spearhead Jesse Hogan has booted 22 goals in their recent five game winning run.
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Originally published as AFL 2024: The numbers behind Brisbane’s brilliant defensive improvement
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