There have been 18 aim celebrations for the Brisbane Lions of their grand last win over Sydney, however the last one would be the most memorable within the years to return.
After rumours surrounding his future within the recreation surfaced on the eve of the match, it was solely proper that Joe Daniher had the ultimate say within the Lions’s triumph, getting on the top of some extra sensible work from Norm Smith medallist Will Ashcroft and Zac Bailey to place the icing on the cake.
Daniher is not one for exuberant aim celebrations often, he isn’t from the varsity of teammate Kai Lohmann, Sydney’s Tom Papley or about 12 Hawthorn gamers, so this celebration stood out.
The 30-year-old leapt within the air and concurrently gave a fist pump to the Lions followers seated close to the ahead pocket earlier than the cameras panned to Chris Fagan on the bench with each arms raised like a victorious boxer.
When the cameras panned again to Daniher he was nowhere to be seen, caught on the backside of a large pack as his teammates got here from all corners of the bottom to embrace him. Even these from the opposite finish of the bottom, Dayne Zorko, Ryan Lester and Harris Andrews joined the celebrations.
If Saturday’s grand last was the ultimate time we see Daniher on the park, he’ll have departed the AFL having performed the quintessential Joe Daniher recreation.
All of the attributes that make Daniher a tantalising and generally wildly irritating participant had been on full present. He was a menace within the ahead line and will’ve ended up with a large bag of targets if not for some wayward kicking, however nonetheless led all gamers on the bottom with 12 rating involvements.
With Oscar McInerney out, Daniher shouldered extra accountability within the ruck and at one level within the second quarter he ragdolled Brodie Grundy to win a clearance which resulted immediately in a aim.
There have been marks on the lead greater up the bottom earlier than he wheeled onto that booming left foot in signature vogue. It was basic Joe.
Daniher completed the grand last with 16 disposals, eight marks and two targets, all roughly across the averages he has amassed in his 204-game profession since making his debut in 2013.
A lot of the appeal and worth of Daniher the footballer is available in his unpredictability. In spite of everything, if he does not know what he’s going to do subsequent, how are his opponents imagined to know? He’s the final word X issue participant to have ahead of the ball.
Subsequently it’s completely Daniher that no-one is aware of whether or not the grand last win over Sydney was his final recreation of soccer.
A number of stories have steered he’ll name it quits within the coming days, weeks or months as soon as the mud settles on Brisbane’s premiership triumph.
Nevertheless, his father Anthony, who performed 233 video games for Sydney and Essendon, has steered his son could be again on the park in 2025. It is anybody’s guess as to what precisely he’ll do.
“No, he’s simply in a really blissful place in the mean time so he’ll maintain going, he is all proper,” he informed Information Corp when requested about his son’s future.
Teammates got here from everywhere in the floor to share an embrace with Joe Daniher after his second and last aim of the grand last. (AAP Pictures: James Ross)
“He’s that blissful, it isn’t humorous, It is a tremendous (work-life) steadiness. Folks learn into issues however that is OK. Joe is Joe and he is good to jot down tales about so let it roll. Once you win, you let it roll. (His future) will type itself out so he’ll simply soak this one up.”
Andrews, Brisbane’s premiership co-captain, gave the impression to be in the dead of night about his star teammate’s future saying, “I can not management what Joey does” when requested about what Daniher would do.
“Nevertheless that performs out, it’s going to play out. We all know that Joey has much more happening than essentially soccer however I could not be happier for him,” Andrews informed Channel 9’s Sunday Footy Present.
“He’s much more than a footballer, Joey, he brings a lot to the group and on the finish of the day it’s his choice.
“You possibly can see all through the finals collection how pushed he was to carry out properly. He has been unbelievable.
“We’ll simply get pleasure from this for the second and no matter occurs, occurs.”
Why a Daniher retirement will not cripple the Lions
Information of a serious participant like Daniher contemplating a untimely retirement breaking 24 hours earlier than a grand last would rock most groups, however Brisbane did not look the slightest bit phased.
There are two totally different causes for this. The primary is the Lions brass is aware of Daniher properly and as some stories have steered, they’d have been conscious of his intentions for 2025 properly earlier than the remainder of the general public was.
The second is a brutal fact for each Daniher and the remainder of the competitors — this group is nice sufficient to repeat with out their large No.3 on the park subsequent season.
Make no mistake about it, the Lions will want Daniher continues to play on and continues to offer defensive items suits like he gave the Swans again six within the grand last.
Daniher has led the Lions’s goalkicking during the last two seasons, however the group is constructed in a means that is not solely reliant on one participant doing the majority of the injury on its ahead half in the way in which different groups within the competitors are.
Brisbane has greater than sufficient firepower in its ahead line to go back-to-back even when Daniher retires. (Getty Pictures: Daniel Pockett)
Together with Daniher, 9 different Brisbane gamers kicked double-digit targets in 2024, with 5 kicking over 30. That mark is an uptick on 2023 the place solely Daniher, Charlie Cameron and Eric Hipwood managed over 30 targets.
Brisbane has diversified its assault in a means the place it will probably reduce you up in a wide range of strategies, quite than merely bombing it ahead to Daniher remoted within the ahead line.
The Lions haven’t any drawback sending Daniher greater up the sector the place his penetrating ball use can discover the likes of Callum Ah Chee or Kai Lohmann greater up the bottom.
Brisbane’s tall ahead shares have additionally been boosted by the emergence of Logan Morris, who loved a powerful debut season with 24 targets and proved to be a respectable aerial menace.
Subsequent season, the Lions will welcome again Lincoln McCarthy, who performed simply eight targets earlier than struggling a knee harm this 12 months. Increase father-son recruit Levi Ashcroft is rated as AFL-ready as any prospect to return by way of the juniors in recent times and is understood for hitting the scoreboard as properly.
Kai Lohmann kicked 4 targets within the grand last and has emerged as one of many AFL’s most damaging younger forwards this 12 months. (Getty Pictures: Daniel Pockett)
If Daniher does name it a day, the Lions could be well-advised to see how Hawthorn responded to shedding Lance Franklin after profitable the 2013 premiership.
Just like the Lions, the Hawks additionally had a fleet of fantastic small to mid-sized forwards who had been in a position to encompass Jarryd Roughead in wonderful vogue as soon as Franklin departed.
The Hawks received two extra premierships after Franklin’s departure, with the likes of Jack Gunston, Luke Breust, Cyril Rioli and Paul Puopolo making up a dynamic ahead pack.
By the point the Hawks had received the 2015 premiership, they’d stacked collectively 4 consecutive grand last appearances, profitable three of them.
Together with final 12 months’s heartbreaking loss to Collingwood, the Lions at the moment are at two straight.
Don’t be shocked if Brisbane emulates that iconic Hawthorn group by making a behavior of constructing it to the large dance.
That is with or with out Joe Daniher.
