AFL round 2 Brisbane Lions v West Coast: Brisbane’s key forward question examined after 19-point win

If Brisbane fans had hoped to leave the Gabba on Sunday with their key forward questions answered, they would have been disappointed. Thankfully, the Lions have time on their side.

If Brisbane Lions fans had hoped to leave the Gabba on Sunday with their key forward questions answered, they would have been disappointed.

The no-Joe Daniher conundrum dominated the off-season conversation and will continue to do so until the reigning premiers find their future focal point.

Is it Eric Hipwood? Sam Day? Could it be untried academy graduate Ty Gallop?

Now is the time to experiment because judging by Sunday’s performance, there is still a lot to decipher. Thankfully, time is on Chris Fagan’s side.

West Coast was meant to be the perfect opposition to unveil the new-look Hipwood-Day key forward combination but the pair combined for just two goals and one contested mark between them on an afternoon that underlined why the Lions are asking the question of Eagles skipper Oscar Allen to join them from next season.

Callum Ah Chee led the way up forward in the fightback. Picture: Albert Perez/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Instead it was the ever-excellent Callum Ah Chee who became the Lions’ quasi-key forward, bagging three goals in the third term to lift the home team off the canvas after an uninspiring first half in horrifically humid conditions.

It was telling when, early in the quarter, Hugh McCluggage had Day wide open inside 50 but chose instead to attempt a pinpoint pass to Ah Chee between two Eagles defenders that was subsequently picked off.

It was a scenario that routinely played itself out across the afternoon, which begs the question: How can Lions fans believe Hipwood and Day are the answer this season when their teammates seemingly do not?

“There’s a lot of good forwards that we would welcome into our footy club,” Fagan said when asked about the club’s link to Eagles skipper Allen.

“I know that we’re having a look around. Can’t be specific about that. But we’re certainly in the market for a big, tall forward.”

One game is not enough to give up on the pairing but the Lions have to give Hipwood and Day a fighting chance to prove their wares.

The key question then is what are the expectations of the Brisbane coaching staff this season? And if Fagan and co. are happy for the tall timber to play second fiddle, can the Lions defend their flag without a 55-goal key forward?

Adelaide flashed the blueprint on Saturday with Riley Thilthorpe, Darcy Fogarty and Taylor Walker taking Essendon to task.

Meanwhile Sydney is so desperate to have a talented tall forward line that Dean Cox has thrown key defender Tom McCartin into attack.

Club great Alastair Lynch wants to see Hipwood tried further up the ground and his reasoning is sound. Hipwood’s best moments on Sunday came when leading up and turning back towards goal.

It also allowed him to lose his direct opponent, which opened the door for his uncontested mark and goal in the third quarter when a shot skewed across the face and into his arms.

Day should have goaled in the fourth quarter after pulling down a trademark pack mark at the top of the goalsquare but, perhaps in too-similar fashion to Daniher, missed from directly in front.

Sam Day made his debut against the Eagles. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

He was serviceable without being a standout in his five-minute ruck stints for the resting Oscar McInerney. But is that something Hipwood could do?

Lynch wants Hipwood to be the Lions’ next Daniher. Would it hurt to give him a trial run? And leave Day – or Darcy Fort, who was solid against the Swans a week earlier – in attack to build continuity.

Or, as Fagan hinted to after the match, could the Lions blood Gallop in coming weeks?

The 194cm academy product has been tested in a ruck-forward role at VFL level and impressed in the pre-season intraclub hitouts.

The Lions found a premiership player in Logan Morris last year almost by accident. Perhaps they can be a bit more direct with Gallop’s development.

Both Hipwood and Day had their moments on Sunday. But with much sterner tests to come, the early evidence was unconvincing.

This week club legend Simon Black forewarned not to take the process for granted and it felt like exactly that was unfolding at halftime when the Lions were four goals down at their Gabba fortress.

Taking nothing away from the Eagles, who were excellent a week after being humbled on their home deck by the Gold Coast Suns, but this was a match the Lions had no business allowing to be this close.

It was testament to the importance of mindset in modern football. The Eagles had their desire questioned all week and came out breathing fire for a game in which they had nothing to lose, while the Lions looked like a team that expected to turn up and have it fall their way.

Logan Morris is taking on more responsibility in his second year in the senior team. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

And if not for the humid conditions, which clearly affected the Eagles much more than it did the Lions, the result might have been different.

For a half the Eagles outworked the reigning premiers. Their defensive setup forward of the ball was incredibly effective, and they stifled Dayne Zorko’s exit kick from defensive 50 that sets up so much of the Lions’ attacking chains.

Without that, the Lions looked lost in transition.

But Zorko broke his shackles late in the second quarter and ended the match with 28 disposals – 26 of those kicks. He was, once again, the architect of destruction.

At 36, he might be the Lions’ most important player.

Good teams win matches when not at their best – and Brisbane was well down on its high standards on Sunday.

But importantly, Fagan’s side is 2-0 to open the season ahead of a perfect litmus test next Saturday against Geelong.

And hopefully we get a better glimpse at the Hipwood-Day tandem.

Originally published as AFL round 2 Brisbane Lions v West Coast: Brisbane’s key forward question examined after 19-point win