Jesse Lonergan is a chance to demand more opportunities as a tagger this season after showing he’s more than capable of slowing down the competition’s best clearance players. 

Defensively, the strong-bodied midfielder was superb against the Brisbane Lions on Sunday, keeping star midfielder Daniel Rich to just seven disposals up until half time. 

In addition to nullifying the Lion’s most lethal possession-getting, Lonergan piled on an equal game-high 10 tackles to accompany his 11 touches, three clearances and two inside-50 entries. 

Although the tagging role is somewhat new to the 18-year-old, it is one that he thrived on, on Sunday afternoon. 

“Playing on them and seeing how they go about playing was good education for me,” Lonergan said.

Although he has significantly increased his running capability, Lonergan said the added responsibility of keeping the AFL’s best midfielders in check was a challenging learning experience. 

“Just the running patterns and how they get the football was definitely one of the main things to take out of it.”

For the Gold Coast SUNS, it’s a win-win scenario for player and coach. 

An already skilled high half-forward, rebounding defender and contested ball-winner, Lonergan can now add tagger to his versatile resume. 

For Guy McKenna, it’s another positive find, with Clay Cameron, Sean Lemmens and Jack Martin among the other young guns in line for early senior opportunities.

After wrist and hamstring injuries spoiled his maiden season, and Lonergan is ready to atone for lost time. 

“I just want to play consistent footy and play my role for the side.

“Last year I missed a fair few games with injury so I’m just looking to play as many AFL games as I can.

“I’ll play where the coach wants me to play.”