Brisbane Lions champion Jonathan Brown is struggling to believe his former side can challenge for a premiership with Joe Daniher and Eric Hipwood filling their key forward posts.
Daniher and Hipwood have struggled early in the AFL season, combining for seven goals and just three contested marks in the Lions' 1-2 start.
The pair combined for 64 goals last season as Brisbane reached a preliminary final but Brown has seen enough to declare they can't be premiership pillars playing as they are.
The Lions have lost power forward Dan McStay from their preliminary-final side, the 27-year-old having signed with Collingwood in the off-season as a free agent.
Brown - who helped Brisbane to three consecutive premierships in the early 2000s - said he had "serious doubt" the incumbent duo would ever reach the level required to win a premiership.
"Three contested marks between Hipwood and Daniher for the year, that's a terrible return," Brown told Fox Footy on Monday.
"They're starting to see McStay has been missed. He seemed to be the bullocking, straight-down-the-line type forward that was able to contest and compete.
"Any key forward needs to be reliable and predictable to his teammates and I'm not seeing (that) in Daniher and Hipwood at the moment.
"That's a problem for the Brisbane Lions and they've got to sort it out."
The Lions rank 14th in points scored through three games, with their attacking issue never more glaring than in their 10.7 (67) to 7.11 (53) loss to the Western Bulldogs on Thursday night, when they turned 48 inside-50s into just 53 points.
Brown said Brisbane could only fix their woes by persisting with two ruckmen and asking more of big man Oscar McInerney up forward, with Hipwood lacking the ability to swing to the backline and take up an intercepting role like Collingwood skipper Darcy Moore did early in his career.
"You see McInerney being the main guy to play enough time forward because he's the guy with a bit of mongrel, he's good down the line, he's taken five contested marks," Brown said.
"He's the guy that can take the mark and make the contest down the line."
