Selection headaches of a pleasant kind are mounting for Brisbane AFL coach Justin Leppitsch, as he strives to settle on the his forward line mix.
On Friday in Coffs Harbour, the Lions made it two from two in the pre-season challenge with a 36-point win over a rusty and sloppy Sydney side, having their first inter-club hitout of the year.
The Lions manufactured 25 scoring shots to 11 and would have had an even bigger win had it not been for some wayward kicking that left them with a 10.15 scoreline.
Daniel McStay converted a couple of early set shots from around 50 metres and Josh Green bagged 3.2, as Leppitsch continued to tinker with his forward options heading into the Lions' first full season since 2000 without champion Jonathan Brown.
"We've got to take two more out for the next game and still find room for (recruit) Allen Christensen, so the selection headaches aren't going to go away, because there are some guys that are pushing up really well," Leppitsch said.
"Even Jade McGrath, as a late draft pick last year, his work and ability to cause a contest and add some pace around our half-forward line is really impressive."
Also adding to the conundrum is rookie Liam Dawson, the 19-year-old Lions Academy product, who showed some nice touches against Sydney.
"He's a type we probably don't have - he's (close to) 190 (centimetres), a mobile, marking forward. He's got really sticky hands," Leppitsch said.
"He showed some signs ... that forward 50 is still uncertain and he's just made it even harder, with his performance."
A corked thigh for recruit Mitch Robinson was the only injury concern.
The Swans fielded around two-thirds of their 2014 grand final side, but were mistake-prone and had no tall targets up forward, with Lance Franklin and Kurt Tippett both injured.
Sydney's coach for the night, John Blakey, described their 2015 debut as scrappy and disappointing.
"I don't think we handled the conditions that well - we fumbled the ball a lot," Blakey said.
"We made a lot of kicking and skill errors and then we were hurt with the turnovers."
He drew some solace from the encouraging debut of highly rated rookie Isaac Heeney, who accumulated 14 touches, and he wasn't concerned with minor injuries to Sam Reid and Ben McGlynn.
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