Brisbane Lions players give new draftees an awkward welcome to pre-season training

THE puns are endless but the awkwardness is real. Brisbane Lions players welcomed the club’s new draftees with a weird new ritual.

Brisbane Lions draftees (from left) Jarrod Berry, Hugh McCluggage, Cedric Cox and Alex Witherden. Picture: Jono Searle

“WATER welcome”, “Lions hope draftees don’t go to water”, “Lions give draftees the cold squirter.”

Get it? The puns are endless but the weirdness of Brisbane’s welcome to its batch of draftees is very real.

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Walking into a dark changing room, the Lions’ youngsters were “welcomed” with a water gun attack.

Certainly not the usual introduction to AFL life but they do things differently in the Sunshine State.

The Lions snared some of Australia’s best young talent in Friday’s national draft, including No.3 pick Hugh McCluggage, who was rated as the potential No.1 pick.

Jarrod Berry, Alex Witherden, Cedric Cox, Jacob Allison and Corey Lyons were also picked up last week while Jake Barrett, Mitch Hinge, Oscar McInerney and Blake Grewar were added in the rookie draft on Monday.

Lions veteran Mitch Robinson stopped by the airport to pick the newbies up.

Check out the Lions’ Instagram videos above and below.

Originally published as Brisbane Lions players give new draftees an awkward welcome to pre-season training