Leppa urges patience with Lions' AFL cubs

He's starting to sound like a broken record but Brisbane coach Justin Leppitsch wants the AFL club's fans to remember how young some of his players are.

Coach Justin Leppitsch of the Lions

Brisbane coach Justin Leppitsch hopes the AFL gods smile on him and the Lions in 2017. (AAP)

Brisbane coach Justin Leppitsch has once again pleaded with the AFL club's fans to be patient with the Lions' cubs.

Booing could be heard at the Gabba on Saturday during a 49-point loss to West Coast when teenage forward Josh Schache slowed the play down after finding a lack of options ahead of him.

Leppitsch says it can be easy to remember the Lions fielded a trio of teenagers in their forward line at times against the Eagles in 18-year-old Schache, debutant Eric Hipwood and Ben Keays.

"Those kids I watched in an AIS jersey in under-18s last year," he said.

"They are first-year players running around and I'm asking them to take marks, kick goals and put pressure on in the forward 50 against men now.

"You've got to understand the jump in that. They're not coming as a 22-year-old from a different system, they're coming from a kid's system into an adult's system.

"It's unfair to label too much stuff on those young boys."

After watching his team slump to their ninth consecutive defeat, there are areas where Leppitsch is less forgiving however.

The ex-Lions premiership player said some of the basic skill errors by his players against the Eagles were "alarming" and need to be addressed.

"There is a good spirit within our group from Monday to Friday, yes, there are some errors and some things we're not doing well but that hasn't stopped our guys being focused," he said.

"Their knowledge is good, we've just got to get that implementation right more consistently."


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Source: AAP


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