Despite being less than a month until the start of the AFL Draft, almost all of the league's 18 clubs will believe their starting line-ups are close to complete
But irrespective of this confidence, every roster still has holes.
Due to the nature of the league, it is almost impossible for two sides to be in exactly the same place, so some of these gaps may be chasmic, whilst others may be wafer-thin.
However, if left unattended, those of any magnitude could lead a side to ruin.
Even though their metal has proven too malleable across the past pair of Septembers, should you run your eye across the Lions’ current list, you’ll find that there aren’t many discernable weaknesses.
With a defence that contains a dual All-Australian, another one for the future, a duo of the game’s best one-on-one markers, and a viking-esque competitor with a laser for a left foot, Brisbane’s back third is well and truly watertight.
With an offense that contains six names that were able to slot more than 25 majors apiece in 2021, there are no leaks up forward either.
And employing a midfield that is studded with more stars than Paul Stanley’s on-stage outfit, the bases remain loaded for another attempt at a grand slam for the Gabba side next season.
However, beyond the depths of these burgeoning, brutal and brilliant talents, the pool begins to thin somewhat for the merged club.
Given that so many starters call the river city home and the fact that the Lions’ premiership window remains ajar, it isn’t that much of a shock to find that Brisbane used the league’s least amount of names (32) over the course of this year.
Though this statistic proves that the sunshine state side has both a balanced starting squad and a coach that isn’t willing to tinker with winning formulas, the lack of experienced gained by several names on the club’s roster could rear an ugly head at the worst possible time.
As Australian Rules Football has a lengthy fixture for such an of the most attritional sporting code, injuries aren’t unfortunate across campaigns, they are facts of life.
As Fagan currently has 13 names that have played less than 20 games under his stewardship (six of whom have never played a senior appearance), match-hardened depth could well be the loose stitch that sees their latest premiership challenge unravel if the club’s physio’s become overrun next year.
Still, if these muscle and joint whispers are left happily twiddling their thumbs rather than testing tears, 2022 could well have the competition’s ears deafened by the Lions’ mighty roar for the first time in 20-years.
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