BRISBANE Lions coach Michael Voss said Daniel Merrett could be a used as a more permanent forward after his vice-captain kicked seven goals against Greater Western Sydney on Sunday.

Voss shifted Merrett from his regular full-back post at the start of the season to cover for injured skipper Jonathan Brown, but admitted now it could be a longer-term decision.

The Lions vice-captain kicked seven goals in the first six rounds of 2012, but doubled his season tally with a stunning display against the Giants that was highlighted by five first-quarter goals.

Voss said although moving the 27-year-old to the forward line was originally a short-term move, he was now re-considering his options.

"We've been tested a bit to try and change it but we've stuck with it because we think it offers something," Voss said.

"Part of it is short-term, but there's some long-term sense in it because we want to evolve someone like (rookie) Billy Longer as a forward eventually, but at the moment he's got to spend time in the ruck.

"It's probably taken a few weeks to adjust but he (Merrett) was on fire in that first quarter and kicked a bag himself, which was good for his form."

Voss said he was not concerned by criticism for taking Merrett away from his favoured position and praised the red-haired powerhouse on his team-first focus.

"His value to our team has always been as a full-back but as a leader to be able to step up and take that role when in reality he has a preference to play somewhere else … but ask him today whether he wants to be a back or forward."

Merrett's forward line partner Brown has also had a lean stretch, kicking eight goals in five games before playing the Giants, but Voss said he thought a bigger haul was in the offing if he got more service.

"You've got to have some footy coming in clean and I wouldn't say that's been a strength of our game," he said.

"As a result when we did get a bit of ball use going the forwards become dangerous."

He said keeping things simple had been the major focus after suffering big defeats to competition heavyweights Geelong, Essendon and Collingwood in the past three weeks.

Voss said the Lions' preparation had seen a marked improvement over the past fortnight and it was nice to see some reward on the field.

"You're damned if you do and damned if you don't when you're expected to come out here and win the game and win it healthy.

"There was a few things we wanted to put in place we've let go over the last few weeks and recommit to, and one of those areas was the defensive part of our game and being hard to score against.

"That was pretty important, we were hard to score against and we were relying on that to be able to tick over our own score at the other end if we applied enough pressure."

Michael Whiting covers Brisbane Lions news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_mikewhiting