AFL Finals 2023: Brisbane Lions’ forward line could be its biggest weapon in premiership push

Rivals know how potent Brisbane’s forward line is. But knowing it and stopping it are two drastically different things, as the Lions proved against Port Adelaide.

You should never be beaten by what you know.

It’s an AFL coach’s catchcry and one that becomes particularly important in the pressure cooker of finals football.

The footy world knows how potent Brisbane’s forward 50 is. But knowing it and stopping it are two drastically different things, as the Lions proved against Port Adelaide on Saturday night.

At this late stage of the season it’s easy to get lost searching for that secret edge – that movable magnet – to upset an opposition’s best laid plans.

But Brisbane has stuck to its guns and challenged rivals to meet its strengths head-on in September.

Zac Bailey got the ball rolling against Port Adelaide with a stunning goal from the pocket. Picture: Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Port Adelaide tried. It sent its chief stopper to Lachie Neale and the Brisbane skipper was blanketed in the first half.

Young key forward Ollie Lord played the best game of his career to nullify Harris Andrews and also make him accountable with four goals.

And yet the Lions ran out comfortable 48-point victors.

The midfield managed without Neale at his brilliant best and the forward line flourished when let off the leash.

Oh how envious Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin would be of the tools at Chris Fagan’s disposal inside 50.

A fully fit Jack Gunston might not even make it into Fagan’s preliminary final side. He would be close to a walk-up starter in just about any other front six still standing – certainly at Melbourne.

Brisbane’s buzzword for September is ‘experience’.

After four seasons of failed finals campaigns, Fagan and his players feel they have earned their stripes and are ready for whatever is thrown at them.

That experience might be felt the most inside 50.

It feels like Zac Bailey and Cam Rayner have been around for a decade. It’s easy to forget they are both just 23.

Eric Hipwood celebrated his 26th birthday on Wednesday. He’s the middleman in a front-half that features no player over the age of 30.

Joe Daniher, Charlie Cameron and Lincoln McCarthy are all 29.

The biggest question for rivals in September will be how to blunt Brisbane’s forward 50 potency. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Those six players share a combined 50 games of finals experience playing in the same side.

It’s a forward line forged in the fires of finals past that might still have its best years ahead of it.

But Brisbane is ready to win a flag right now. And Bailey is confident this forward line can do it.

“It’s going really well. So well,” Bailey told this masthead.

“We’ve sort of been together for the last four or five years now, so I think we’re really gelling well now and know each other’s’ strengths and weaknesses.

“We have so much finals experience now. We’ve been beaten in the past four finals (series) and we haven’t been able to get there (to a grand final) which is disappointing, but we’ve taken a lot out of those and the experience we’ve got will put us in good stead.”

Bailey got the ball rolling against Port with a stunning snap from the left-hand pocket and then watched as his teammates lined up to bang them through over the course of the night.

“I think that’s the beauty about our team at the moment, we don’t rely on one individual player we have so many players across the board that can stand up,” he said.

“If we want to go deep in the finals we have to be able to do that.”

If there is a point of difference this September to last, it’s the form of Rayner inside 50.

The former No. 1 draft pick booted three crucial goals against Port – the biggest finals bag of his career – and his evolution has added a different dimension to the Brisbane attack.

Bailey backed his fellow 2017 draftee to be the Lions’ big game September specialist.

Zac Bailey celebrates with Cam Rayner after kicking a goal in the first quarter against Port Adelaide. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

“Absolutely he’s a big game player,” Bailey said of Rayner.

“He loves the big stage and it’s great having him down there because he just hits up, crashes packs and gets the ball to ground more for us to get to work.

“He’s definitely a big game player and we’re going to need him firing in the next couple of weeks.”

Don’t get beaten by what you know.

The question for Melbourne or Carlton in nine days’ time is: How do we stop it?

Originally published as AFL Finals 2023: Brisbane Lions’ forward line could be its biggest weapon in premiership push