Zac Bailey became somewhat of a whipping boy for Brisbane Lions supporters in 2024, never getting into a groove with his form even though he was picked every week on the way to a premiership. In previous years he had shown his ceiling, but last campaign was a lot closer to his floor with too many turnovers and disappointing efforts. Last week, however, he saluted with a best-on-ground performance to drag the Lions over the line in the grand final rematch over Sydney, perhaps signalling a return to the sort of quality of which we know he is capable.
Zac Bailey became somewhat of a whipping boy for Brisbane Lions supporters in 2024, never getting into a groove with his form even though he was picked every week on the way to a premiership. In previous years he had shown his ceiling, but last campaign was a lot closer to his floor with too many turnovers and disappointing efforts. Last week, however, he saluted with a best-on-ground performance to drag the Lions over the line in the grand final rematch over Sydney, perhaps signalling a return to the sort of quality of which we know he is capable.
Zac Bailey has had a fairly disappointing year by his standards, and he wasn't alone in the early part of the campaign when the Lions were on a big run of losses. The evenness of the competition has allowed Brisbane to roar back into contention with a top four spot very much within their capabilities, and as the seas rises in Queensland so do the opportunities for the likes of Bailey to regain their best form. With Charlie Cameron also struggling, Bailey and Cam Rayner will be at the forefront of a deep September run by the Gorillas.
Zac Bailey is the sort of player you are seeing a lot more of in the modern AFL: a small forward who rotates a lot through central midfield, garnering a large share of centre bounce attendances despite not being able to compete inside with the heavier bodies.
Zac Bailey was given the much-vaunted more-midfield-time treatment in the media this preseason, building on an excellent 2021 campaign where he won more than one game off his own boot starting mostly off a half forward flank. The reality across four games this season has been less than pleasing: two good games in home wins, and two terrible scores in away games including a sub-50 in last week's loss in Geelong. If you picked him in preseason in salary cap competitions you haven't done your dough yet, but you've been left far off the pace.
Zac Bailey may not have had the chance to cement himself in the Brisbane best 22 were it not for Cam Rayner's LTI early in 2021. As it is, Bailey has won at least one game off his own boot and had a breakout season, much more productive than Rayner in both disposal accumulation and scoreboard impact... with the added intangible of a cool head under the greatest of pressure. His last two have been poor, however, after a string of very useful scores for those who picked him in in fantasy draft leagues from the free agent pool early in the season. Is he running out of puff?
Zac Bailey has been one of the good news stories in a year full of them for Brisbane, moving from a wing to a HFF to provide lots of zip and energy in making use of a lot of supply from the dominant Lions engine room. It's a good time to be a flanker at the Gabba, and Bailey fills his boots when the team is up like a good flanker should. He's certainly in the conversation for daily fantasy use against lesser sides, though his floor is still not high enough to be a consistent starter in draft leagues. Another preseason might fix that last issue.
Bailey sailing lightly
Dashing wingman Zac Bailey improved in his second season, playing every match from round 15 with his best performance against the Suns, gathering 18 possessions and two goals. Coach Chris Fagan will look for Bailey to improve on his 2.3 inside 50's and 2.6 score involvements. There is limited reason to select Bailey in your fantasy sides for the 2020 campaign. Having not yet shown a propensity to attain significant statistical production, selection would be based on an increased role or natural progression. The free agent pool is where he belongs.
Daily grind for Bailey
Of the 12 senior games that Zac Bailey was given in his first year at Brisbane mostly off a HFF, it was only the last against the Eagles where he showed the sort of volume that interests fantasy coaches, the first time he reached 20 disposals and his debut bag of multiple goals. Bailey's one wood is not running to receive on the outside so, like Hugh McCluggage before him, he will have to wait for his body to mature and the Lions coaches to swing him to his favoured position in the guts to unlock his fantasy scoring potential. Season two is not that time.
Bailey better than Beatles?
Some of the best players in the AFL in recent times have shown elite acceleration from packs to get clear, then often fail to steady for the kick. Zac Bailey might be able to one-up Patrick Dangerfield and Chris Judd by adding kicking efficiency to that skill set. He has so far lacked the tank to push his disposal averages past 25, and doesn't often run to receive on the outside, but other than that he has all the toys. There is a lot of promise in Bailey's game. It took the aforementioned stars five years to hit their peak and they weren't startable in draft leagues in their first years, so even if the kid gets to play an extended run in the seniors he is likely to be the type who shows glimpses rather than hit the field like a workhorse. He will be a pleasure to watch for long-starved Brisbane fans, not so much for fantasy purposes this year though.
