BRISBANE Lions AFLW coach Craig Starcevich is confident he will have the personnel to replicate the team’s 2017 success next season.
Speaking after the conclusion of the inaugural NAB AFL Women’s Draft Combine, the Lions coach said he was impressed by standout performances from a number of the Queensland girls.
"It looks like Ruby Blair and Renee Cowan were pretty impressive and really fought it out," he said.
"We'll be definitely having a look at how they stack up against their peers, but also it's a nice little baseline for us coming into this pre-season if we draft any of them to know what their starting point was."
Seven Queenslanders attended the combine – five entering their first draft-eligible year and Cowan being one of two mature-aged draft nominees.
With 23 of the Lions’ 27 players last season hailing from Queensland, Starcevich plans to stick with the same tactic of recruiting local talent.
"We've had a dozen or more players in the QWAFL really put their hands up strongly to be drafted as well," he added.
"We're aiming to find the best talent to play in a variety of roles right across our group.
"With two or three key changes we've had across the off-season, it means we're not going to be able to roll out exactly the same structure we had in 2017."
With the combine wrapping up on Wednesday, Starcevich and Lions women’s team CEO Breeanna Brock now have some two weeks to iron out a strategy ahead of the NAB AFLW Draft on October 18.
"The plan now is to go back to our match committee and sit down to toss around names and get our balance right," Starcevich said.
"The people we take will definitely hit the ground running and a few of them will no doubt be putting their hands up to play straight away. I'd be surprised if they don't."
Brisbane has 11 list spots to fill with All-Australian Sam Virgo’s long-term ACL injury opening up an additional vacancy.
The Lions finished runner-up to Adelaide in this year's AFLW Grand Final.