You could reasonably call the Lions season disappointing given expectations.
You could also reasonably respond to that by calling whoever said it, to quote Ted Cruz, bat crap crazy.
In a world where nothing makes sense anymore, the most reasonable position on the Lions – the pre-eminent global issue of our times – is that two things can be true.
Given how good they were down the stretch last year, and that they added Levi Ashcroft for free, they have been a bit disappointing.
The Lions are down on time in forward half, scores from turnover, scores from the front half, and virtually every transition stat.
But…they’re 10-4-1 and second on the ladder.
It’s been a We Own This City type of season compared to last season’s The Wire. Same creative team, same milieu, same basic subject matter.
But The Wire was supercharged because the characters were funny and magnetic all the way through what was partially a show and partially criminology degree.
We Own This City just didn’t have the same juice. It was more grim and less fun, unless Wayne Jenkins was on the screen.
But with the emergence of Logan Morris, the Lions have found their Wayne Jenkins, the man that can supercharge their premiership defence.
Across Logan Morris’ last two weeks, where he’s kicked 10 goals and been involved in 17 scores, we have seen the true potential of the 2025 Lions.
Morris is not a physically dominant player, but his movement is incredibly clever.
He competes enough in the air to give his small forwards a chance, but he’s not going to take screamers like Joe Daniher did.
He’s closer to the Nick Larkey archetype, where he’s a brilliant leading player who struggles at this point in his career to win genuine one on one contests.
He’s also, crucially, a very straight kick. By expected score, he’s the fifth best shot for goal in the AFL.
That kind of player, working to get on the end of the hyper-aggressive kicking game Brisbane’s pivoted to at the end of last year, is perfect for a Brisbane team that keeps the forward line more open than they did last year so they can play more direct and let their highly skilled players cook.
It’s like dropping when Hugo Weaving dropped into Slow Horses, it just fits.
Their willingness to move the ball quickly from the back half has been notable this year, with Dayne Zorko playing on and kicking aggressively from virtually every kick-in opportunity.
They’re also still a strong transition team, front half team, and a rock-solid defence.
Even if those numbers are down on last year, they’re still top six in all of them.
Prior to the last fortnight where they have really turned the forward line over to Logan Morris, they have just struggled with end product.
Last year with Daniher, they took about 13 marks inside 50 and got a scoring shot on about 47% of their entries.
They also got about 18 ground ball gets inside 50 per game.
This year, all those numbers are down.
They’re taking 12 marks inside 50 per game and scoring on 44% of their entries and, despite taking fewer marks inside 50, they’re also getting fewer ground ball gets inside 50 at about 14 per game.
But, if you just look at the weeks where Logan Morris has dominated, those numbers are back in the premiership neighbourhood.
The Lions took a combined 31 marks inside 50, scored on 47% of their entries, and averaged about 16 ground ball gets inside 50.
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His aerial competitiveness has brought Cam Rayner, Zac Bailey, and Kai Lohmann back into the season which is so crucial for this Brisbane side.
At 31, Charlie Cameron is having the worst season since 2014 by player rating and might officially be at the end.
However, watching him he still looks fast enough to be a pest in the pressure game, and with the other three playing well anything they get from Charlie will be gravy.
He is also another thinker and set up man in the forward line.
He had one kick to Morris where he shoulder faked Jack Henry into oblivion as Henry tried to defend a two on one, and hit Logan Morris wide open in the goal square.
Brisbane still has the horses in the middle of ground, with Hugh McLuggage having a career best year, Lachie Neale and Josh Dunkley still playing well and with the added juice and speed that the Ashcrofts have given them.
They also still have an excellent defence built around the still elite Harris Andrews.
What they were missing was bite forward of the ball.
With Logan Morris, they’ve found it.
His emergence as a number one option, the alchemy of the forward line makes sense. Morris as the lead dog, supported by Day and Hipwood.
Then next to them the AFL’s toughest matchup Cal Ah Chee and the smalls Lohmann, Rayner, and Bailey
If Brisbane is able to get Kidean Coleman back healthy before finals to give Zorko some support at driving the game from the back half, then I don’t see why Brisbane can’t go back-to-back.
I wouldn’t have said that before Logan Morris tore onto the scene like Wayne Jenkins, yelling about working with super cop.