- Lions face Sydney Swans in AFL decider
- Both teams have points to prove after losing previous grand finals.
- A win could be enough for the champion striker to call it a day.
A premiership victory could mean the end of Brisbane Lions star Joe Daniher’s playing career, with the forward contemplating retirement after the AFL grand final.
Daniher scored three goals against Collingwood in last year’s decider and is expected to again be a key target as the Lions look to avenge that defeat against the Sydney Swans at the MCG.
The 30-year-old has battled injuries this season and Channel 7’s Mitch Cleary has posted on social media that he is considering a surprise recall.
“Brisbane’s Joe Daniher is considering his AFL future after tomorrow’s Grand Final,” Cleary posted on X.
“It is understood that the 30-year-old has spoken to those close to him about whether he will continue playing in 2025. Daniher is under contract for next year.”
Daniher began his AFL career playing for the Essendon Football Club from 2013 to 2020. He was drafted under the father-son rule as the 10th overall pick in the 2012 national draft.
Daniher played 108 games for Essendon and scored 191 goals. He moved to the Brisbane Lions as a free agent in 2021.
Joe Daniher felt the sting of defeat in the 2023 grand final against Collingwood after scoring three goals in the AFL decider.
While Daniher is only 30 years old, his body has taken a beating and he battled an injury this year.
Daniher was selected in the Australian team in 2017. He won the Crichton Medal in 2017 and was Essendon’s top scorer from 2014 to 2017. He also won the AFL Mark of the Year award in 2017.
During his career, he has experienced significant injuries, notably missing most of the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
Daniher also scored a pivotal goal in Brisbane’s knockout final victory against Richmond in 2022.
He has scored 202 goals in 95 games for Brisbane, including four in the stunning comeback win over GWS in the semi-final two weeks ago.
Lions coach Chris Fagan said Daniher is looking forward to winning an AFL flag with Brisbane before finishing his career.
In a telling sign that Daniher could be considering retiring with a big finals win, Lions coach Chris Fagan named the forward along with teammate Dayne Zorko, 35, as players desperate to win a flag before retiring.
“I know they’re desperate to get back there and have another chance,” he said.
‘There is still a long way to go before we can achieve this. Next week we play Geelong, a pretty good club and football team, who gave us a lesson in a preliminary final a couple of years ago.
But I have no doubt that that motivates them.
“I look at Dayne Zorko and it motivates him, you know he’s 35 years old. He doesn’t know how many years he has left to play and he desperately wants to win one.
“I think that drove the group. Joey Daniher is the same. The guys on our team who are a little older, picked up in that last quarter.”