SOMETHING had to give when the Brisbane Lions suffered repeat casualties in the player retention war.
The problem reached a crescendo when Elliot Yeo (West Coast), Sam Docherty (Carlton), Jared Polec (Port Adelaide), Billy Longer (St Kilda) and Patrick Karnezis (Collingwood) left at the end of 2013.
That meant 12 of the Lions' previous 15 first-round draft picks had departed for other clubs or been delisted since 2001, an ugly statistic however you spin it.
The others to go were Jason Gram (2001 draft year), Jared Brennan (2002), Llane Spaanderman (2003), Cameron Wood (2004), Mitch Clark (2005), Matthew Leuenberger (2006) and Lachie Henderson (2007).
Only Daniel Rich (2008), Sam Mayes and Marco Paparone (2012) remained.
The fallout was severe: Brisbane dropped from 10 wins in 2013 to seven in 2014, four in 2015 and three last year. The Lions' celebrated last-quarter chase down of Essendon on Sunday made it three victories from 14 matches in 2017.
Senior coach Justin Leppitsch lost his job in August last year after 14 wins in three seasons, and was replaced by Hawthorn's former football boss, Chris Fagan.
But change was already in motion.
Just four of the 24 players the club picked in the NAB AFL National Draft from 2013 are no longer on the list, although another first-round selection (James Aish) departed the club.
Tasmanians Josh Watts and Josh McGuinness were delisted without playing a match, while South Australian Aish requested a trade to Collingwood and Victorian Jaden McGrath quit AFL football.
The introduction of the Brisbane Lions Academy helped, giving the club first choice on players it could develop in particular zones, with Jonathan Freeman, Liam Dawson, Harris Andrews, Eric Hipwood, Ben Keays and Jacob Allison graduating to the senior list.
Connor Ballenden is the cream of the 2017-eligible Academy crop and a sure-fire first-round pick, but Jack Clayton, Jack Payne and Ben Sloan also represented the Allies at the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships.
Key forward Josh Schache's decision in June to re-sign until 2019 was a crowning moment for the Lions, and one of last year's first-round choices, Jarrod Berry, has already re-committed.
It is too simplistic, the Lions' national recruiting manager Stephen Conole says, to suggest their retention success owes to selecting interstate footballers from the country more often than the city.
Ten of the 24 recent draftees are country Victorians, including three last year from the North Ballarat Rebels – Hugh McCluggage, Berry and Cedric Cox – and that is not a coincidence, but only part of the club's vision.
Conole has worked in recruiting at the Lions since 2011.
"If there's an opportunity to bring in some players who have had a prior relationship, then great," he told AFL.com.au.
"We were really happy to get Hugh and Jarrod together in last year's draft and it worked out really well, but probably where we rated them is where they fell.
"We certainly didn’t alter our draft board on the night, but if you can do it, it has a lot of positives.
"We've been fortunate enough the last few years to be able to group together a few AFL Academy kids, so even though they may come from different areas of the country, they've got a bit of a background."
Only Phillip Island's Docherty among the 'Go-home Five' of 2013, was from the country. Docherty seemed genuinely pleased this week when asked about the Lions' progress.
The Lions have been better at keeping their talent since Sam Docherty left for Carlton. Picture: AFL Photos
Conole said player retention demanded a "whole club approach" and the Lions had improved across the board.
"It's in your welfare, it's in your coaching, it's in your rehab and your recruiting certainly – and, of late, we have done all of that well," he said.
"Everything works together, so I don’t think the whole area of retention is just as simple as 'If we draft these kids from that area, then everything will be fine'."
BRISBANE LIONS' DRAFT HAUL SINCE 2013
Bold: player no longer on the Lions' list
Italics: Lions Academy product
2013: James Aish (Norwood), Darcy Gardiner (Geelong Falcons), Daniel McStay (Eastern Ranges), Lewis Taylor (Geelong Falcons), Tom Cutler (Oakleigh Chargers), Nick Robertson (East Perth), Jonathan Freeman (Aspley)
2014: Liam Dawson (Aspley), Harris Andrews (Aspley), Josh Watts (Glenorchy), Jaden McGrath (Bendigo Pioneers), Josh McGuinness (Lauderdale), Josh Clayton (Sandringham)
2015: Josh Schache (Murray Bushrangers), Eric Hipwood (Aspley), Ben Keays (Redland), Rhys Mathieson (Geelong Falcons), Sam Skinner (Gippsland Power)
2016: Hugh McCluggage (North Ballarat Rebels), Jarrod Berry (North Ballarat Rebels), Alex Witherden (Geelong Falcons), Cedric Cox (North Ballarat Rebels), Jacob Allison (Aspley), Corey Lyons (Sandringham Dragons)
