Brisbane may have had an incredibly busy and fruitful trade period, but David King believes they made a huge mistake not pursuing Liam Jones.
The Lions, who will be without key defender Marcus Adams after ongoing concussion systems saw him placed on the inactive list, feel a key defender short going into 2023.
Star key defender Harris Andrews leads the backline, with 27-gamer Jack Payne and delisted Saint Darragh Joyce serving as depth. Darcy Gardiner may be the same height as Adams, but is listed 10kg lighter and does not match up as well on the big key forwards.
Jones, who retired rather than receive the COVID vaccine, was one of the best intercept markers and lockdown key defenders in the AFL for Carlton.
He spent 2022 playing in the QAFL and has now signed with the Western Bulldogs, returning to where his career began.
King believes the Lions made a huge mistake not pursuing Jones, given where they are at in their premiership window.
“Have we seen the biggest back-office error that could drastically affect the premiership chances for the Brisbane Lions in 2023?” the North Melbourne great told SEN Breakfast.
“August 7th last year versus Carlton Marcus Adams went down with concussion. From that moment he didn’t play another game and they’ve seen their line-up without him, and Jack Payne goes down back and ultimately they ran a little bit short and lost in a Prelim Final.
“Eight weeks later the Bulldogs sign Liam Jones, who was underneath the eyeballs of all in Brisbane (playing in the QAFL). They would have met with him, they would’ve analysed whether they would’ve needed to address the issue at full back given there’s a strong likelihood that they don’t get Marcus Adams back.
“At that point, they needed to make a decision to cover full back and Darragh Joyce has been put onto the list and I’m not necessarily saying these guys are not going to be any good, Jack Payne has played 30 games of footy, I don’t know if he’s ready to go and be a high quality full back and lockdown guys like Tom Hawkins.
“Darragh Joyce has played two, three, five and three games in the last four years.
“I’m just concerned that the decision making in the cool clear light of day, and we won’t have the answer on this until September, and that’s assuming Harris Andrews plays the whole year. What if he misses six weeks? Where to then?
“Dan McStay is also gone.
“It’s a back-office error. You make these decisions in the cool clear light of day. Those doing the list and the balancing of the books, and clearly they had a lot going on and they’ve done a great job with who they have acquired, I just feel like they have missed a position here.”
Brisbane signed Joyce to their AFL list in late January, filling Adams’ list spot for the 2023 season.