Jason Akermanis reckons Chris Fagan's management of Jack Gunston and Daniel Rich's axing was good coaching, but has urged him to turbo-charge Brisbane's midfield or risk short-changing the club's talented list.
Veteran pair Rich and Gunston won't play at the Gabba on Friday against Sydney, Fagan explaining they had approached him earlier in the week believing their form didn't warrant selection.
Rich, 33, and Hawthorn recruit Gunston, 31, will undertake an indefinite training block to rediscover the form that can propel them back into the fourth-placed Lions' flag hunt.
Retired Brisbane triple-premiership star Akermanis said the pair's axing was warranted and Fagan's management of the situation was spot on.
"He's a players' coach, protects them. The guys you need to take the most time with are players early in their career and players later in their career," Akermanis told AAP.
"You still need to be gentle with them; they're experienced, it's good to keep them onside because they can play, those guys.
"They're a top-four side, they can still play a role and it's the best back-hander compliment from Fages. It's quite good coaching."
Akermanis's biggest concern is Fagan "has players he's not getting enough out of", urging the coach to find more time for Cam Rayner and Zac Bailey in a stacked midfield.
"They have one of the best midfields and forward lines in the comp, but there's room for improvement in both," he said.
'They need some spark and speed ... Bailey and Rayner should be getting 20-plus touches and a goal every week."
Akermanis said half-forward Rayner, who will play his 100th game on Friday, in particular, could elevate the team if given more time in the middle.
"For a guy with that talent he should have progressed into a pretty dominant midfield-forward, like a Dustin Martin or Jordan De Goey," he said.
"So I'm a little disappointed in the lack of midfield time for blokes like him.
"I don't know why they leave him on the periphery, he's bigger and stronger than anyone in there, he's got so much more to him."
Brisbane (8-4) enter the Swans clash on a two-game losing streak, but are unbeaten at home.
Akermanis said it looked like "the game has gone past" three-time premiership Hawk Gunston but he could still figure at the pointy-end of the season.
'"He didn't look as quick and it was a bit easy to defend him, but if he can start kicking three or four on the third-best defender that's dynamite," he said.
"Chris trusts him and knows what he can do."
