Kristian Dwyer - TheCoventryEnd.com
The revolving door at Brisbane continued during trade period as James Aish became the latest youngster to be plucked from Queensland’s talent pool.
Long gone are the days of triple premierships, and coach Justin Leppitsch will know this as he attempts to stem the bleeding of quality players to the south.
Craig Lambert has been put in charge of youth welfare after his success at GWS, so this latest batch of draftees might stick around a bit longer
Picks
2, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 78
Likely
Joshua Schache (Murray Bushrangers/Vic Country)
Finally a key forward prospect will be headed north to the Brisbane Lions with the club all but confirming they’ll be going after this talented youngster.
His father Laurence played for the old Brisbane Bears before injury brought a halt to his AFL career and he died just five years into young Josh’s life.
Schache dominated for Vic Country in the U-18 championships, snaring 24 goals in six games.
Other likely picks
Any of the 30+ picks are likely to be used on matching academy picks, such as Eric Hipwood.
Wildcard
No wildcards here, with Schache and their academy picks the league’s worst kept secret.
Where does that leave them?
Brisbane are at least a few years away from finals contention but with a welfare program in place led by Lambert, will see player retention less of an issue.
Schache will provide much needed fire power, to complement a midfield that is starting to grow in maturity.
Picking up Bastinac will help sure up the weak spots, but don’t expect anything more than a 10th place finish, if that.
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