Following Brisbane's premiership triumph, the feeling of achieving the AFL's pinnacle of success was soon met with a bittersweet taste as leading goalkicker Joe Daniher made the shock decision to hang up the boots.
Back-to-back years of kicking 58-plus goals, Daniher was as reliable as he'd ever been, but after achieving the ultimate goal of winning a premiership, the Lions were suddenly without their key forward target.
Daniher and Eric Hipwood had worked effectively as a pairing since the former's arrival four years ago, but now the scoring burden falls primarily onto the latter, with the 27-year-old kicking over 40 goals just once in his career thus far.
The situation leaves AFL pundits wondering who can rise to fill the void of Daniher and alleviate the sudden increase of responsibility for Hipwood.
Without much notice to recruit a replacement, the Lions quickly sought Gold Coast veteran Sam Day as a short-term fix. Out of favour with the Suns, Day still made his appearances count in 2024, averaging two goals per game in his five games at AFL level.
However, during his consistent years of selection at the cross-town rival between 2013 and 2020, Day averaged over one goal per game just once in that period. Compared to Daniher's consistent average of over two goals per game since his arrival at Brisbane, the rush to find an alternative has meant the Lions have landed on an underwhelming choice.
However, the Lions own an overlooked recruit hidden in their armoury, an unheralded talent that has flown under the radar as a suitable Daniher replacement.
Traded to Brisbane in the 2023 trade period through the Jack Gunston deal, AFL fans other than keen-eyed Hawks supporters may not have looked twice when a raw three-gamer was involved in the package to Brisbane.
Yet 2023 mid-season draftee Brandon Ryan could develop into the second half of the Lions' key forward pairing.
Ryan was stuck at the bottom of the pecking order in 2024, and unsurprisingly so given the strong chemistry brewing between Daniher and Hipwood that ultimately led to the end of a 21-year premiership drought.
The 27-year-old played just once at the top flight last year and kicked just one goal from two disposals in a loss to his former club, where he kicked four goals from three games in 2023.
However, performances from a long-term spell at state-level suggest Ryan could be the underrated solution to Daniher's departure. The gangly 200cm key forward had a phenomenal finish to the 2024 VFL season, showing rewarding signs for enduring two seasons of development at the state level while enjoying the benefits of being AFL-listed.
Ryan kicked 26 goals from 18 games in Brisbane's VFL side in 2024, skyrocketing up the goalkicking tally to average nearly a goal and a half per game after a slow start to last year's campaign.
The former Northern Bullant starred with 3.2 on the scoreboard and six marks in the Lions' Round 3 VFL clash with North Melbourne, his first appearance for the season after recovering from a foot injury.
The limited pre-season impacted Ryan in the following weeks, however, kicking just two goals in his next four games.
It was a match against eventual preliminary finalist Footscray that set the wheels in motion for a significant form turnaround for Ryan.
Again kicking 3.2 while clunking nine marks, the rangy long-term project began to string together consistent efforts on the scoreboard for Brisbane's VFL side. Ryan failed to kick a goal in a game just once more in the 2024 season, however, he quickly brushed off his poor qualifying final performance with a season-best 4.3 in the semi-final versus Williamstown.
Ryan appears to have a full bill of health this pre-season, meaning the key forward can focus on making an immediate impact in 2025 after an interrupted beginning to last year. Although likely to be on the fringe come Opening Round, if Ryan can pick up where he left off in the VFL, the 200cm giant may be able to grow his AFL games tally in 2025.
With a contract guaranteeing a list spot until the end of 2026, Ryan is a promising project player for the Lions and will be given appropriate time to develop and build his match fitness.
Entering his third calendar year on an AFL list, 2025 could be the year we see Ryan flourish at the top flight. With an opening there for the taking, the 2023 mid-season draftee could quickly assert himself as a frontrunner for the Daniher role and form a new key forward tandem with Hipwood.
The Lions play Gold Coast and Collingwood in a three-team scratch match, before hosting Adelaide a week before their Opening Round encounter with Geelong. Keep a watchful eye on how the Lions experiment with Ryan this February in the 27-year-old's first bids for AFL selection in 2025.
