The retirement decision by Brisbane icon Jonathan Brown is yet to fully sink in for teammate Claye Beams.
Brown called time on his stellar AFL career earlier this week following the latest in a series of sickening head knocks for the veteran forward.
The Lions get a chance to send off their champion at home this Saturday against North Melbourne but Beams doesn't know if Brown's retirement won't provide any emotional boost.
While he concedes getting a win over the Kangaroos for Brown will be in the back of his mind, the 22-year-old is still coming to terms with Brown's decision.
"Browny's career has been well reported this week and how much of a legend he was," Beams said.
"It's sad to see him go, but at the same time he's got a young family, just had his third kid, so it's almost a sense of relief that he can finish up on his own terms.
"It'll probably sink in more the further we get into the season without him there."
While Beams is unsure of how he and his teammates will react without their triple-premiership winning teammate, he knows the onus is now on the club's developing players to step into the breach.
"We've obviously got young blokes there we're trying to develop - Michael Close, Jonno Freeman, those sorts of guys," Beams said.
"Everyone's got to step up now and chip in for Browny."
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