Kane Cornes has highlighted one area where he thinks Brisbane can improve on the back of their Grand Final appearance last season.
While the Lions won 19 games in 2023 and came within a kick of winning the flag, Cornes thinks there are some areas where Chris Fagan’s side can go to the next level in 2024.
Already possessing one of the competition’s most potent forward lines, Cornes thinks the Lions could double down on trusting their small to medium players inside 50 as an avenue to goal.
While the Lions rate him, Cornes isn’t sold on the output of key forward Eric Hipwood and he thinks they could instead try out a forward line of just Joe Daniher surrounded by dangerous smaller players at his feet.
Cornes believes Brisbane’s small forward group that includes Charlie Cameron, Lincoln McCarthy, Zac Bailey and Cam Rayner is the best in the league and sees that quartet as one of the club’s strongest advantages.
“It is really tough to say it was Eric Hipwood’s fault that Brisbane didn’t win the premiership… but the jury is out on whether Hipwood is a viable second option (to Daniher),” Cornes said on SEN Breakfast.
“I reckon Brisbane may be better without him and go with something a little more unique because they have the most talented small forward group, medium smalls as well (in the competition).
“Chris Fagan would say, ‘Well you don’t see what Eric does off the ball and how strong he is defensively and all of the other stuff he does to make everyone around him better’. I would argue that he’s a forward, there to make a contest and far too often he’s inconsistent.
“I would like – even though they’ve signed Hipwood to a ridiculous seven-year deal, which was a really strange one at the time – for them to explore just going a little bit smaller in their forward line with the amount of talent they’ve got.
“That may be something that they won’t do every week, but something they could go to at times this year.”
While Cornes says the jury is out on Hipwood, he was hugely impressed by Joe Daniher in 2023 and admitted that the key Lion came close to making the All-Australian side after kicking 61 goals last year including three in the decider.
“Daniher really impressed me,” Cornes said.
“I was in the All-Australian meeting, and we discussed him at length.
“I thought he was enormous and definitely his reputation has grown significantly.”
Brisbane will hope to get their 2024 season off to a flyer when they face Carlton in an Opening Round clash at the Gabba on Friday, March 8.
