AFL's Lions keen to lighten Brown's load Brisbane's midfield have shown there'll be life after Simon Black. Now co-captain Jed Adcock wants to see the AFL club's attack ease their reliance on Jonathan Brown. The Lions were encouraged to go through the pre-season unbeaten with Black sitting on the sidelines after knee surgery. The recruitment of ex-Melbourne ball-winner Brent Moloney has helped. But it's the younger wave such as vice-captains Daniel Rich and Tom Rockliff and fellow leadership group member Jack Redden who have taken control of a midfield that Adcock admits was "the Black show" not long ago. "I'm sure one of those three will be a captain of the footy club in the not-too-distant future," Adcock told AAP. But for now, current co-captain Jonathan Brown remains enormously important, perhaps too much so. The 31-year-old showed his value with a match-winning four-goal haul in the pre-season final. The only other current Lion who has ever kicked 30 goals or more in a season is 29-year-old Ashley McGrath, and that was eight years ago. "That's been a pretty important focus for us over the pre-season, to take some pressure off (Brown) and get some other guys to step up," Adcock said. Multiple goal-kickers is what's going to help us this year. The Lions want more from small forwards Josh Green, who kicked 15 goals in 12 games last season, and Dayne Zorko (16 in 16), along with Aaron Cornelius (13 in eight) and their midfielders. They also have high hopes for ex-Melbourne big man Stefan Martin. The 26-year-old ex-basketballer played just seven AFL games for the Demons last year but could be much more important for Brisbane. "I'd imagine he'd be playing round one," Adcock said. He's another tall target that allows Browny to get off a little bit more by himself. He's our second ruckman, but he's just so athletic. The Lions aren't talking finals despite their pre-season success. Instead, their focus is a brighter season start after winning just two of their opening seven games last year and none the year before. "To get out of the blocks in the first five weeks and get off to a good start is really important," Adcock said.