Brisbane Lions boosted by "Mosquito Squad" of small forwards THEY are one of the reasons why there is a buzz around Brisbane heading into the 2013 season. They are the Lions' "Mosquito Squad" of small forwards who are providing invaluable - and long awaited - support to Jonathan Brown. Not since triple-premiership player Craig McRae retired at the end of 2004 have Brisbane had a reliable source of points from a goalsneak. The club's undefeated run through the NAB Cup was due in no small part to the efforts of pocket rockets Josh Green, Dayne Zorko, Ash McGrath and Rohan Bewick, who significantly lightened the load for the key forwards with a regular stream of goals. Brisbane open their season on Saturday against the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium and TattsBet has the Lions $1.53 favourites to win. Green, 20, booted three goals in the NAB Cup grand final win over Carlton to follow on from a strong finish to 2012 when he kicked eight goals in the last five games and 15 majors from 12 matches overall. The speedy Tasmanian announced his arrival at the club as a midfielder with three goals in the round-10 upset of West Coast at the Gabba. "I've got a lot of confidence out of the NAB Cup," Green said. The goals are a result of the chasing and pressure which is a big part of the role so I need to keep doing that. I finished last season up forward and felt really comfortable there. I understand the role really well and I wanted to improve throughout the NAB Cup. We've got four or five guys who can go through that small forward role so we've got plenty of depth. If we are doing our job, it makes it easier for Brownie to do his. We can't leave it all up to him. Green showcased his strongest assets in one goal against the Blues when he produced a turn of speed, good hands and a clever finish with a checkside kick on the run. The consistent Bewick bobbed up with four goals against Collingwood the week before the pre-season final, while Zorko's entire NAB Cup campaign was eye-catching with his goalkicking, defensive pressure and decision-making. Zorko is not super-quick, but his footy smarts ensure he is invariably in the right place at the right time. Green said there was a focus during the pre-season on improving Brisbane's speed across the ground. The ball movement is certainly direct and precise and the forward pressure is suffocating and creating scoring opportunities. It's the way the game is going. We are a lot fitter and we are running out games a lot better too," Green said.