Brisbane set to inject exciting pair Charlie Cameron, Cameron Rayner into midfield
Brisbane coach Chris Fagan is set to unleash some of his hugely talented youngsters into the midfield while the Lions provide updates on some smart trade acquisitions who have flown under the radar — so far.
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Brisbane will introduce a dangerous edge to its midfield this year by adding quicksilver pair Charlie Cameron and Cam Rayner to its onball mix.
The Lions midfield will look vastly different this year without departed onball king pin Dayne Beams, but coach Chris Fagan is unafraid of what lies ahead given the talent at his disposal.
Fagan’s side played three 15-minute periods of match practice on Sunday at the club’s Tasmanian training camp, with Lachie Neale already making a seamless transition into the Lions midfield.
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Neale has shown his intent by knocking back an AFL overture to play AFLX on February 22 — costing himself a $5000 pay day — and instead suiting up for a Lions practice match against Gold Coast.
Cameron (foot) is back in full training, defensive recruit Marcus Adams has had a strong summer and injury prone ex-Cat Lincoln McCarthy is making excellent gains.
Ex-Crow Cameron started his Lions career as a small forward, while the 2017 national draft’s No.1 pick Rayner was last year an explosive goalkicker who didn’t stray far from home.
Lions football boss David Noble said Fagan’s mantra when he came to the club about flexible players would allow the team to tinker with its midfield mix.
McCarthy has continually battled foot, hip, hamstring and quad injuries but after a managed pre-season will join a group able to push from the forward line into the midfield.
“Charlie is back into full training and McCarthy is going well. We have taken it slow with him and are trying to build his loads, but he played in the three periods today and he hasn’t missed anything,” Noble said.
“Fages has spoken about versatility and McCarthy has got that versatility to play wing and half-forward, Charlie is the same. His midfield play is pretty dynamic.
“Rayner has the power and he is coming off a low base with his aerobic capacity, but we will use him there in small spurts.
“He is clean and competitive and gets through traffic. He was in the midfield rotations again.”
Evergreen defender Luke Hodge, 35 this June, hasn’t missed a beat over summer after 19 games last year.
Like many sides, the Lions will seek to slingshot the ball from their backline quickly as the AFL attempts to boost scores with a range of new rules.
In match simulation the Lions have tried 5-10 different kick-in tactics using new rules allowing players to play on from full-back without kicking the ball to themselves.
Noble said new 50m penalty rules that applied a 10m exclusion zone each side of a player running forward to take his kick had been surprisingly effective in match simulation.
A player can play on at any time as he advances 50m, kicking or handballing sideways to teammates with unimpeded disposal skills.
If the player who gave away the 50m penalty falls behind the advancing player rushing forward they cannot block his run, meaning a player can sprint forward 50m then play on over the mark.