After two below-par performances to start his season – and two Lions losses – Daniel Rich's teammates have vowed to get him more involved when they play Gold Coast on Saturday night.
There is far more to blame for the Lions' 0-2 start to the season than Rich being closely checked, but statistics show he is a major catalyst in Lions' victories.
Rich has been copping tags since his second year in the league in 2010, but the impact of being a marked man became more evident last year when Brownlow medalist Simon Black missed four matches with a knee injury.
In his 20 games in 2012, Rich was often a barometer for Lions' victories.
Not only did he rack up more disposals in wins (23 per game compared to 20 in losses), but he consistently hit the scoreboard.
In nine victories he played in, Rich kicked 13 goals, while in 11 losses, he kicked just seven.
In every Lions win he played in last year, Rich had a minimum of 20 touches.
He finished second in the best and fairest and won the Michael Tuck Medal for best afield in the NAB Cup Grand Final in March.
Opponents have quickly recognised that Rich's lethal left foot is the best asset on the Lions' list, and curtailing it goes a big way towards winning.
On Saturday night, Rich can expect to see either Karmichael Hunt – who has performed soundly on Nick Dal Santo and Josh Kennedy this year – or Michael Rischitelli, who kept him quiet for three quarters last year.
"Daniel's a great player, and I read an article saying he was their key driver and if sides are able to knock him off, they go a long way to getting a good result," Hunt said.
"Hopefully this weekend I can do a good job … and put our team in good stead for a win. He's a class player and definitely difficult to stop."
Rich had a career-low eight disposals in round one against the Western Bulldogs under a heavy Nick Lower tag.
He backed up last week with 16 touches when being watched by Adelaide's Matthew Wright.
Early in the week, both Lions co-captain Jonathan Brown and Tom Rockliff said they had to do a better job of utilising Rich's skills.
"'Richy's' the prime target, especially with 'Blacky' not being out there, and I'm sure this week will be no different," Brown said.
"Teammates have got to go out of our way to get the ball in Daniel Rich's hands because he's our main offensive weapon. He's the best kick in the team."
Rockliff said they had to "look after" Rich if he was tagged.
"I think we had a much more team approach (against Adelaide). We blocked more at stoppages and tried to get the footy in his hands, but we have to go to another level with that.
"Gold Coast do that really well where they get the ball in Gary's (Gary Ablett) hands. We have to do that.
"'Richy's' obviously our best player, so we've got to get him as much of the ball as we can."
Daniel Rich is a midfielder in NAB AFL Fantasy. He averaged 85 points in 2012. Register your team at our AFL Fantasy Hub.
Michael Whiting covers Brisbane Lions news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_mikewhiting
