BRISBANE has extended the contracts of Queensland teenagers Tom Fullarton and Connor McFadyen as it continues to shore up its future.
Fullarton, who switched sports from basketball's Brisbane Bullets midway through 2018, is onboard until the end of 2021, as is his fellow Lions Academy product McFadyen, taken at number 42 in last year's NAB AFL Draft.
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It's a big vote of confidence by the Lions, with both players yet to play a senior AFL game.
Fullarton, a 200cm tall forward who made the under-15 All Australian team before switching to basketball, played twice with the Lions' NEAFL team last season.
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He said the transition back to football had been a smooth one.
"It was always in the back of my mind when I was playing basketball that I could go back to footy and I'm glad I did," Fullarton said at Brisbane's pre-season training camp base in Hobart.
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"Each day I've been coming in with an open mind to work on everything I can to catch up.
"Last year was my draft year anyway. I feel like I'm not far behind the mark. I've still got a lot to work on, but as long as I work hard I'll be able to make up that ground."
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Lions football manager David Noble said it was a huge decision for Fullarton to convert sports and Brisbane wanted to "show the same investment back in him".
"In the limited time he had on field in 2018 he did not miss a beat and has returned in great shape this pre-season," Noble said.
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McFadyen has had a slow start in his first two months at the club as he recovers from a fractured foot that curtailed the end of his 2018.
He was a long-term Academy member and played a number of NEAFL games last year.
"Not long after I got drafted my manager spoke to the Lions … they were happy to sign a three-year deal and I was pretty stoked about that," McFadyen said.
"It gives me time to get my body right and not have to rush into things."
