Just three weeks after champion centre-half forward Jonathan Brown played his final game for the club, the Lions struggled for marking targets near goal in their 25-point defeat to Richmond at the MCG.
Merrett was deployed forward alongside 19-year-old option Michael Close on Saturday, and although Merrett was outplayed by Tigers defender Alex Rance, Leppitsch sees an important role for the senior Lion in the next few seasons.
"We're in a development phase of our club, we know that. We have to continue to keep putting hours and hours into our players to get them better," Leppitsch said after the defeat.
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"I think Daniel Merrett can hold the fort for a few years anyway, I think he does that pretty well as a bit of a monster. I don't think it's all dreary for our footy club in that position."
The Lions have several young tall forwards on their list in Close, Marco Paparone, Jono Freeman and Jackson Paine. But asked if the next key target would come through the NAB AFL Draft, Leppitsch said the Lions already had some developing options yet to reach their peak.
"We've got a couple of probables, but you're talking first-year players [like] Jono Freeman. And you see 'Closey' tonight who's a second-year player. I'd love a crystal ball to know the answer to that. It seems like every free agent is getting taken up so it's not going to come from there," he said.
After their strong win over top-four hopefuls North Melbourne last week, the Lions put in a solid if scrappy game against the Tigers, with Leppitsch lamenting their lack of polish to finish opportunities.
They had the same number of scoring shots as the Tigers – 19 – but kicked five fewer goals.
Still, he was pleased they didn't fall away in the second half when it appeared Richmond could run away with the win.
"There's a few games where we've really dropped our effort in the last quarter when the scoreboard was getting away from us. I'm pleased with that, that we were able to forget the scoreboard but continue our effort," Leppitsch said.
"It's been a challenge for us when we've been down, so I was happy with that."
Getting that same effort and intensity for the remaining seven rounds of the year, with finals out of the equation, will be the challenge here on for the Lions.
"They're human beings, they're not stupid. They'll eventually do their mathematics and realise we can't play finals, what are we all doing this for?" he said.
"So we have to find the reasons why we're doing that, and the bigger picture what we're trying to achieve."
"I think Daniel Merrett can hold the fort for a few years anyway, I think he does that pretty well as a bit of a monster. I don't think it's all dreary for our footy club in that position."
The Lions have several young tall forwards on their list in Close, Marco Paparone, Jono Freeman and Jackson Paine. But asked if the next key target would come through the NAB AFL Draft, Leppitsch said the Lions already had some developing options yet to reach their peak.
"We've got a couple of probables, but you're talking first-year players [like] Jono Freeman. And you see 'Closey' tonight who's a second-year player. I'd love a crystal ball to know the answer to that. It seems like every free agent is getting taken up so it's not going to come from there," he said.
After their strong win over top-four hopefuls North Melbourne last week, the Lions put in a solid if scrappy game against the Tigers, with Leppitsch lamenting their lack of polish to finish opportunities.
They had the same number of scoring shots as the Tigers – 19 – but kicked five fewer goals.
Still, he was pleased they didn't fall away in the second half when it appeared Richmond could run away with the win.
"There's a few games where we've really dropped our effort in the last quarter when the scoreboard was getting away from us. I'm pleased with that, that we were able to forget the scoreboard but continue our effort," Leppitsch said.
"It's been a challenge for us when we've been down, so I was happy with that."
Getting that same effort and intensity for the remaining seven rounds of the year, with finals out of the equation, will be the challenge here on for the Lions.
"They're human beings, they're not stupid. They'll eventually do their mathematics and realise we can't play finals, what are we all doing this for?" he said.
"So we have to find the reasons why we're doing that, and the bigger picture what we're trying to achieve."
