Brisbane Lions - SC Relevance for Season 2026

Brisbane Lions 2025 SC scoring - 

For 

SC points for = 1731 (2nd)

Average 100s scored = 5.4

Average 120s scored = 2.3

Against 

SC points against = 1569 (2nd hardest)

Average 100s conceded = 3.6

Average 120s conceded = 1.1

2025 CBA'S - Players who controlled the middle for the Lions. 

Lachie Neale 81%

Josh Dunkley 75%

Darcy Fort 73%

Hugh McLuggage 73%

• Brisbane tended to use 4 main midfielders in their CBA rotation (Neale, Dunkley, McCluggage, Will Ashcroft)

• The ruck CBAs are a little misleading with Fort or Big O were mostly sole rucks but because one was often injured the % are high for both.

• I’d expect Sam Draper to assume the number 1 ruck role after his free agency move and it will be interesting if the Lions play two rucks with the 5 on the bench or go with an Oscar Allen type as second ruck.

• Will Ashcroft could be the one to watch here, he averaged only 52% CBAs for the year, so there is clearly some scope for that to increase as Lachie Neale and Josh Dunkley are another year older. 

• The other thing to keep an eye on is does Levi Ashcroft get more CBAs in his second year? 

• With such a mature team a rookie like Dan Annable will likely be eased in, and might be overpriced for the role he is likely to have.

Kick ins 2025

Dayne Zorko 54%

Darcy Wilmott 23%

Jaspa Fletcher 12%

• Zorko had a monopoly on the kick ins and played on 96% of his 147 kick ins.

• The Lions really only used 3 blokes to kick it in so it will be interesting to see if the addition of Coleman into the defence changes anything.

• In 2023 before Zorko returned to defence the leading kick in takers were McKenna, who you’d imagine won’t be in the line up very often in 2026, Wilmott, who stayed relevant even when Zorko became the main seagull and Coleman was 3rd choice, so you’d expect if he gets his spot back in defence he may get a share of the kick ins, how big a share may depend on Zorko though.

Fixture and Schedule

Play twice :

Geelong (3rd), Collingwood (8th), Gold Coast (7th), Sydney (10th), Carlton (9th) and Essendon (16th)

*Rankings are based on avg points against in 2025

• Brisbane’s fixture from a SC perspective is a great one. For the 2nd highest scoring team to only face one of the 6 most difficult to score against teams twice, is a good fixture. They do play the 7th, ,8th, 9th and 10th most difficult but that’s not bad for the back to back premiers.

Byes:

Round 2

Round 15

• Two byes sharing with Collingwood, Carlton and Geelong in their early bye followed by Essendon, Sydney and West Coast in their mid season bye make selecting too many Lions problematic. 

• Being selective about which Lions premo’s to select would be smart, but with the bye challenge if you can structure your team well you might find some PODs in really safe premo's and get an advantage on your competitors.

Projected Top Scorer from each line: 

Jaspa Fletcher Def $474,300

• If Seagull Dayne Zorko keeps his role and stays injury free he’s the obvious highest scoring Lions defender, but I’m going to predict he has a regression due to either age, injury or role and that the new wave takes over lead by Jaspa Fletcher. He averaged 87.7 in 2025 so would need a spike in kick ins to make him a viable pick though.

Hugh McCluggage Mid $646,300

• The suitcase took over the mantle as number one premo in a high scoring lions midfield and there’s no reason to think that won’t continue. I’d expect Will Ashcroft to continue his rise and is probably the one I’d look to start (if any) at $545k.

Sam Draper Ruck / Forward $396,600

• If Draper gets the first ruck position at the lions you’d have to start bim in SC. Priced at a discount, coming off an Achilles injury is the big risk. But at 71 there’s every chance he makes $100k even if he can’t match it with the big Dogs in the Ruck. With new ruck rules likely to suit, and some uncertainty about how the big dogs will be impacted, starting Sammy at R2 is a strategy I am seriously considering, buying a few weeks of evidence before trying to buy into one of the premos. The added bonus of him being DPP means you can also pick him as a forward or start him R2 and flick him forward after a month. Should be on everyone’s radar.

Zac Bailey Fwd / Mid $474,700

• The hot property Free Agent shoild continue to be the Lions top scoring forward, excluding Draper, who I’ve mentioned above. Cam Rayner would need a spike in CBAs to catch him and I can’t see that happening. 

Tempting Mid Pricers:

Keidean Coleman Def $233,800

• Kiddy Coleman will be a very popular pick, if he is fully fit and gets a spot in the Lions back 6, it’s a no brainer pick. There is some risk he does neither of those things though and so he’s a watch in pre season to determine if he gets the nod for that D5/6 spot or if we need to go to a rookie instead.

Rookie priced players:

Tom Doedee Def $189,400

• Not sure if Tom makes the lions backline or nit, but if he does that price for an experienced defender might be appealing.

Sam Marshall Mid $197,600

• Sam proved he was capable in the finals last year, and he is relatively cheap if he plays each week in a high scoring outfit. There is severe competition for spots though, so not sure if he will play every week.

Others to keep an eye on :

• Daniel Annable Mid $181,000, James Tunstill Mid $161,600, Ty Gallop $132,600, Connor McKenna $121,200