Senior Coach Justin Leppitsch has delivered a “State of Play” assessment of the Club’s playing list and footy operations leading into the 2016 preseason:

“Now is a great time to explain the off field changes that are happening at the Club. Over the past two seasons we have had 34 list changes, which is significant given there is 40 on a list. What I am here to tell you is 95% of these changes have been planned by the Football Club. We have been quietly undertaking a major list change over this period. We have gotten younger as a side every season, mainly due to the retirements of eight of our veterans. We have replaced them with high-quality youth that may not look ready right now, but will give this club a real tilt at grabbing its next Flag.

Unfortunately in this system of ours in the AFL you need to go through this process – no short cuts, stay the course. What I am pleased to tell you is that we feel our list is now in a position where it can be competitive, consistently. Yes, we are only a year older but the positive is you now can see the talent. Two years ago we did not have Harris Andrews, Lewis Taylor, Dan McStay, Darcy Gardiner or the trade-in experience of Dayne Beams, Allen Christensen, Mitch Robinson, Tom Bell, Ryan Bastinac and Josh Walker.  Add to this potentially a great crop of All Australian kids in this year’s draft. They complement our tried-and-true Lions in Daniel Merrett, Pearce Hanley, Dayne Zorko, Daniel Rich and our skipper Tom Rockliff. Our future is bright and it is young and exciting.

Over this Trade Period we have gotten everything we were after. Replacements for the players we lost, kept our draft picks and ability to grab our young Queensland talent through the Hyundai Help For Kids Lions Academy. As an added bonus, we picked up enough points to equate to a future pick 13 for next year’s Draft to secure the services of yet another local Academy player. Peter Schwab and his team have done a great job.

Some might accuse us of stockpiling youth talent – well we are, and as Senior Coach I will make sure this club is successful in not just the short term, but medium and long term as well. We will no longer play to exist, but play for a purpose and that purpose is to give our fans something to cheer for in September.

We have added some major off-field changes also. The addition of Craig and Melissa Lambert in our Welfare and Retention space is a huge win for the club. In a period where player fragility and homesickness is huge, acquiring the competition’s best in this area is a fantastic result. Craig and Melissa kept the ship steady at GWS for five hard seasons with minimal player loss. We have also been lucky enough to secure Damien Austin from the Swans to head up our fitness. Well qualified and planned, Damien comes with experience through the QLD Reds, Sydney Roosters and Swans.

We value your support of the Lions and we are as committed as ever in making 2016 a successful one.”