Brisbane's major flaw was laid bare on Thursday night as Geelong forward Shaun Mannagh led the visitors to a 41-point victory at the Gabba.
The Lions had no answers for Mannagh, the hard-running half forward, who helped himself to five goals, 30 possessions and three goal assists, easily earning best-on-ground honours.
On the eve of the contest, Chris Fagan lost veteran Dayne Zorko to soreness, and was already missing Noah Answerth (concussion) and Lincoln McCarthy (hamstring), leaving the half-back flank bare.
"It's fair to say we lost Starcevich to West Coast. Answerth (is injured). Both are good close checking defenders. Lincoln McCarthy we're trying to develop into that role and we lost him (to injury)," Fagan said.
"The guys who had the job on him tonight just didn't get it done. That doesn't mean to say we can't get those guys better. We're asking guys like Fletcher and Darcy Wilmot to play on him, and they're probably attacking half-back flankers.
"They've got to get the balance right of when to attack and when to defend. That's just our reality at the moment. We've got to develop somebody into that position."
Fagan explained the club's decision to manage Zorko was a "sensible" one given his age and length of the season.
"He just pulled up sore from the game last week," he added.
"He wasn't feeling 100 percent at training on Tuesday. And he wasn't any better at the captain's run so we decided to rest him.
"He's 37 and played 300 games. Sometimes it catches up with older guys. We just have to be careful with him. You've got to be sensible."
It is a position the Lions have historically been strong in, but found themselves scratching their heads as the Cats ran riot.
A 10-day break before the GWS clash in Round 11 has Fagan confident reinforcements can make their way back into the senior side.
Zorko, McCarthy and Answerth will be pressing their case, while Jarrod Berry (calf) and Ty Gallop (hamstring) will also be considered.
