Brisbane Lions young gun Levi Ashcroft keen to show his versatility

Levi Ashcroft has been quick to make an impression in his young AFL career but wants to further show his value in a star-studded Brisbane Lions team.

AFL Rising Star nominee Levi Ashcroft intends to further “prove” himself in a variety of positions to cement his spot in Brisbane’s premiership-winning outfit.

In just his fourth AFL appearance, Ashcroft, 18, secured his Rising Star nomination with a 22-disposal performance that included a goal, four marks, four intercept possessions and six score involvements in the Lions’ 28-point weekend win over Richmond at the MCG.

“As premiers, it’s a pretty good team to be coming into, so I just wanted to put my best foot forward and hopefully play as early as I possibly could,” Ashcroft said.

“That’s what I’ve done, but I’m still ready to prove myself for the rest of the year.”

And not just as a midfielder, the position in which he was drafted by the Lions as a father-son pick.

Ashcroft has shown his versatility already in his short stint as an AFL player, with the Lions using him as an inside midfielder, on a wing, and in the half-forward line.

Lions pair Levi Ashcroft (left) and Eric Hipwood celebrate after a goal during Brisbane’s win over Richmond. Picture: Josh Chadwick/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

“It’s good to learn different things now, as early as you possibly can because then you can play different positions later in your career,” he said.

“If you are just playing inside mid, it’s not going to develop yourself and your game as well as it possibly can, so to be able to play those positions now and then later in my career (be able to play) at wing, half-forward, midfield, half back … it’s good to put that in my kit bag.”

Ashcroft said he didn’t have a preference as to where he wanted to be used by Lions coach Chris Fagan.

He’s instead just happy to he chosen in a team that has a host of star midfielders, including two-time Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale, Josh Dunkley, Hugh McCluggage and Ashcroft’s elder brother Will, the winner of last year’s Norm Smith Medal for best-on-ground performance in Brisbane’s 60-point grand final win over Sydney.

“I’m happy to play anywhere within this team. It’s a pretty good team at the moment. To be able to be in the team is where I want to be, so if it’s half-forward, wing, midfield … wherever they want me, wherever they need me, is where I’ll play,” Ashcroft said.

He was also grateful to be educated by the likes of Neale, Dunkley and McCluggage when it came to leadership traits on and off the field.

“Those guys have been so great for me to learn from their leadership, they’re off-field stuff and on-field, leading by example. It’s just getting behind them and following them,” he said.

Ashcroft (right), Logan Morris (left) and Lachie Neale sing Brisbane’s team song after the Lions’ win over Richmond. Picture: Josh Chadwick/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

The Lions are aiming to stretch their unbeaten start to the season to five matches in Saturday’s Gather Round clash against the Western Bulldogs at Norwood Oval.

“Four wins, that’s what we wanted out of four games, so we can’t complain there, but there are still there still things we can improve on,” Ashcroft said.

“We know we can finish off games a little better, maybe (produce) more complete games. Even on the weekend (against Richmond), we didn’t finish (strongly) in the last quarter, so just to be able to complete a game would be huge for us.”

Lions forward Kai Lohmann, who missed the win over the Tigers with an ankle injury, ran freely at training on Tuesday in his bid for selection this weekend.

Originally published as Brisbane Lions young gun Levi Ashcroft keen to show his versatility