JUSTIN Leppitsch says a fit Allen Christensen has the potential to be a better pick up for the Brisbane Lions than former Collingwood midfielder Dayne Beams.

The Geelong speedster, Beams and ex-Carlton midfielder Mitch Robinson joined the Lions last off-season as the club looked to add to its midfield maturity.

Christensen is only now starting to show signs of his best after arriving at the club while recuperating from back surgery.

But despite his slow start and the fact he'll be managed this season, the Lions' coach is bullish about what the 2011 premiership player will bring if he can stay fit.

"He's a terrific player and there's questions whether over the long period of time Allen may potentially be a better pick up than Dayne," Leppitsch told AFL.com.au this week.

"He's that good a player, I think.

"But we've just got to get him fit and healthy so he can supply those skills for us.

"This year is going to be a real management case with him. We've got to make sure we can get him through the year so he can have a full pre-season next year and his body can be at his best."

Christensen played just eight games last season because of the injury, and underwent a second bout of surgery in September.

The first operation on his lumbar disc took place in February, designed to alleviate pain in his back and leg.

Leppitsch said the Lions were confident the problem wasn't something that would plague the 23-year-old throughout his career.

"It's a little bit like a knee (arthroscope), but it's your back," he said.

"When you look at it like that, it's not a career-threatening injury but anything where you're going near your spinal cord, people think, 'That's a bit of a worry'.

"Realistically, they took a little bit of stuff away off his disc and away from his nerves to make him freer to play – it's no different to removing a bit of meniscus out of your knee to let it move better.

"It won't affect his football.

"For the long term, that's probably going to be the big thing for Allen, making sure he keeps his strengthening up and making sure he's treating it well so he can have longevity in his career."

The Lions went shopping during last year's player exchange period and traded away early draft picks to bring in Beams and Christensen.

It meant they didn't enter the draft until pick No. 44, where they recruited Lions' academy product Liam Dawson.

Leppitsch said there was money to move again this season if the club decided to attempt to lure experienced talent to bolster their stocks, but it was likely the Lions would focus on the draft rather than snaring experienced talent.

"We've probably got room for another big target, but whether there's one out there, that's the thing," he said.

"The decision is, do we develop one of our own or is the next guy we bring in going to be any better than the guys we can develop ourselves?"

"If there was a 50-50, I'd rather keep the kids we've got and develop them than bring in someone who's going to be no better.

"It would be unlikely we'd trade out our first pick [this year] because we just need to keep that steady flow of good talent coming in.

"Now that we've got maturity in the midfield, we just need to continue to grow that."

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