As the Lions struggle to save their season, Brisbane icon Jason Akermanis has urged 2017 No. 1 draft prospect Cam Rayner to finally live up to his potential.
The Lions’ disappointing 25-point loss to Hawthorn, their fifth straight loss to the Hawks, brought them back to earth after a bright three weeks.
The Lions, who qualified for the playoffs the previous season, are now sitting in 12th place with a 4-6-1 record going into the bye.
Against Hawthorn, Rayner only had seven possessions and touched the ball more than big rookie Brandon Ryan and substitute Harry Sharp combined.
Only six weeks had passed since Rayner’s maybe best-ever effort, a match-winning midfield turn that helped Melbourne upset the MCG.
After being praised for what appeared to be a breakthrough performance, the 24-year-old has once more returned to his inconsistent ways.
“Cam Rayner, he’s an incredible player, but he hasn’t really produced now he’s in his seventh season,” Akermanis told the Associated Press.
“He should actually be playing much better football.
“Win, lose, or draw, he’s just not even accomplishing any of it. He should be getting more in the midfield, having more than 20 possessions, and a few shots on goal each game.
“You watch a player like Harley Reid, the first overall choice by the West Coast, perform exceptionally well at home in his rookie season.
“For Cam there’s not really a reason, unless he’s injured and we don’t know about it.”
Before becoming a Brownlow medalist and an AFL superstar in 2001 when the Lions won their first of three consecutive titles, Akermanis filled tagging duties in defence and midfield.
To increase Rayner’s production, the Australian Football Hall of Famer advised the Lions to attempt something similar with him.
“Unless you’re a natural ball-winner, which he he doesn’t really seem to be a guy that accumulates and gets in the right spots, like other players who play midfield all the time,” Akermanis stated.
“He’s not getting anywhere near the ball so let’s put him in a spot, whether he tags straight out in the midfield and learns where to run and how to run on good players who can take him near the ball.”
Akermanis maintains that Brisbane has a bright future and that the Lions can use the second half of the season as a catapult into 2025, even if they are facing elimination from the finals for the first time since 2018.
With five players—Will Ashcroft, Keidean Coleman, Tom Doedee, Lincoln McCarthy, and Darcy Gardiner—out with chronic knee injuries, the Lions have been severely impacted by injuries.
“The younger guys are getting a taste, where they’ve just been denied for the last number of years,” Akermanis stated, noting that the group of less seasoned players on the Lions had “so much to like.”
“I would continue to focus on the six or seven role players you require to keep them motivated if I were Chris Fagan.
“Get them playing a brand that is slightly different to what it is now – even though when they play it well, it works – but the tweaks that they need.”
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