Fagan hails young guns as Lions bounce back
But the Lions might have found another ruck partner for premiership tall Darcy Fort after Henry Smith's impressive performance in his first game of 2025 in Saturday night's 27-point win against Collingwood.
Smith played four games last year before making way ahead of the Lions' successful finals push.
But playing up forward against Collingwood, Smith slotted three first-half goals, partnering superbly with Lions young gun Logan Morris.
A premiership player in his rookie season, Morris bagged a career-best six goals in the crucial victory over the Magpies to take his season tally to 40.
"He's a great player, young Logan," Fagan said.
"When he turned up, I just didn't know he was going to turn into the player that he's turned into very quickly.
"He's a level-headed young man, loves his footy and he was so disappointed in his game last week (in a 66-point smashing by Gold Coast).
"It was good to see him respond in the manner he did.
"Oscar's a bit sore at the moment so I'm not sure when he's going to be right.
"It's good that Henry's been able to come in as a forward, but he's also a pretty handy ruckman.
"I hope he can develop into a really good forward who can be a great back-up ruckman."
The Lions sit third with three games to come against Sydney (home), Fremantle (away) and Hawthorn (home) before their premiership defence begins in earnest during the finals.
Brisbane have been able to rise for the biggest games this season, particularly on the road, having taken care of Geelong at GMHBA Stadium, and Hawthorn and Collingwood at the MCG.
But Fagan is not getting too carried away with their first win against the Magpies in 11 years, having needed a thorough review following a shambolic QClash performance.
The Lions will need to replace Ryan Lester for next Saturday's clash with the Swans after the premiership defender went off with concussion in the second quarter.
Lester's injury potentially opens the door for forgotten recruit Tom Doedee to make his Lions debut, having been cruelled by back-to-back ACL injuries and then struggling to find his best form.
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The Advertiser
4 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Why star's injury could be good thing for looming Lions
Chris Fagan expects Lachie Neale to be his usual self in September when he returns from an injury the Brisbane Lions coach admits is hard to spot. The midfielder has been sidelined by a quadriceps complaint for the Lions' final three home-and-away fixtures, beginning Saturday at the Gabba against Sydney. But the AFL's ironman, who hasn't missed back-to-back games since 2021, will continue to train while the defending champions, sitting third, attempt to lock up a top-four finish in a crowded top-eight. "If you saw him run yesterday you'd think, 'Why isn't he playing?'," Fagan said on Friday of 32-year-old Neale. "The threat is, if he does something more to it, it could be a lot worse. "He'll be able to train quite hard over the next few weeks ... it might even freshen him up." Fagan said Neale felt the injury early in last weekend's win over Collingwood, before he dominated with 36 touches. "I'm this confused coach (asking) 'why's he out? He's running alright and he played pretty good last week'," he said. "But that's the story." Neale has missed just eight games in his seven seasons at the Lions, seven of which came in 2021 as he dealt with ankle and back problems. The two-time Brownlow Medal winner has been a centrepiece of the club's rise since his 2019 arrival and produced some of his best form in finals games. But Fagan was quick to point out they were unbeaten when Neale didn't play in that 2021 campaign. He said Jarrod Berry, Zac Bailey and Levi Ashcroft will spend more time in the engine room in Neale's absence. Defender Tom Doedee, a high-profile recruit from Adelaide in late 2023, has overcome two knee reconstructions and will play his first AFL game in more than two years. "Ryan Lester got injured and it's a like-for-like replacement," Fagan said. "It's been a long time between drinks. "I won't say too much to him, just encourage him. I don't want to add to the noise." Swans key forward Hayden McLean is back from concussion for last year's grand finalists, who are 6-2 in their last eight games but out of finals contention. The Lions can jump Collingwood into second and even finish the round on top of the ladder if West Coast upset Adelaide on Sunday. "Make one mistake and you're in strife, it's ridiculous," Fagan said of this year's jostle for spots. "Last season 14.5 wins got us fifth, pretty easily. We've got 14.5 at the moment and it's not enough to make finals. "It's not worth spending emotional energy on, it's about the here and now." Chris Fagan expects Lachie Neale to be his usual self in September when he returns from an injury the Brisbane Lions coach admits is hard to spot. The midfielder has been sidelined by a quadriceps complaint for the Lions' final three home-and-away fixtures, beginning Saturday at the Gabba against Sydney. But the AFL's ironman, who hasn't missed back-to-back games since 2021, will continue to train while the defending champions, sitting third, attempt to lock up a top-four finish in a crowded top-eight. "If you saw him run yesterday you'd think, 'Why isn't he playing?'," Fagan said on Friday of 32-year-old Neale. "The threat is, if he does something more to it, it could be a lot worse. "He'll be able to train quite hard over the next few weeks ... it might even freshen him up." Fagan said Neale felt the injury early in last weekend's win over Collingwood, before he dominated with 36 touches. "I'm this confused coach (asking) 'why's he out? He's running alright and he played pretty good last week'," he said. "But that's the story." Neale has missed just eight games in his seven seasons at the Lions, seven of which came in 2021 as he dealt with ankle and back problems. The two-time Brownlow Medal winner has been a centrepiece of the club's rise since his 2019 arrival and produced some of his best form in finals games. But Fagan was quick to point out they were unbeaten when Neale didn't play in that 2021 campaign. He said Jarrod Berry, Zac Bailey and Levi Ashcroft will spend more time in the engine room in Neale's absence. Defender Tom Doedee, a high-profile recruit from Adelaide in late 2023, has overcome two knee reconstructions and will play his first AFL game in more than two years. "Ryan Lester got injured and it's a like-for-like replacement," Fagan said. "It's been a long time between drinks. "I won't say too much to him, just encourage him. I don't want to add to the noise." Swans key forward Hayden McLean is back from concussion for last year's grand finalists, who are 6-2 in their last eight games but out of finals contention. The Lions can jump Collingwood into second and even finish the round on top of the ladder if West Coast upset Adelaide on Sunday. "Make one mistake and you're in strife, it's ridiculous," Fagan said of this year's jostle for spots. "Last season 14.5 wins got us fifth, pretty easily. We've got 14.5 at the moment and it's not enough to make finals. "It's not worth spending emotional energy on, it's about the here and now." Chris Fagan expects Lachie Neale to be his usual self in September when he returns from an injury the Brisbane Lions coach admits is hard to spot. The midfielder has been sidelined by a quadriceps complaint for the Lions' final three home-and-away fixtures, beginning Saturday at the Gabba against Sydney. But the AFL's ironman, who hasn't missed back-to-back games since 2021, will continue to train while the defending champions, sitting third, attempt to lock up a top-four finish in a crowded top-eight. "If you saw him run yesterday you'd think, 'Why isn't he playing?'," Fagan said on Friday of 32-year-old Neale. "The threat is, if he does something more to it, it could be a lot worse. "He'll be able to train quite hard over the next few weeks ... it might even freshen him up." Fagan said Neale felt the injury early in last weekend's win over Collingwood, before he dominated with 36 touches. "I'm this confused coach (asking) 'why's he out? He's running alright and he played pretty good last week'," he said. "But that's the story." Neale has missed just eight games in his seven seasons at the Lions, seven of which came in 2021 as he dealt with ankle and back problems. The two-time Brownlow Medal winner has been a centrepiece of the club's rise since his 2019 arrival and produced some of his best form in finals games. But Fagan was quick to point out they were unbeaten when Neale didn't play in that 2021 campaign. He said Jarrod Berry, Zac Bailey and Levi Ashcroft will spend more time in the engine room in Neale's absence. Defender Tom Doedee, a high-profile recruit from Adelaide in late 2023, has overcome two knee reconstructions and will play his first AFL game in more than two years. "Ryan Lester got injured and it's a like-for-like replacement," Fagan said. "It's been a long time between drinks. "I won't say too much to him, just encourage him. I don't want to add to the noise." Swans key forward Hayden McLean is back from concussion for last year's grand finalists, who are 6-2 in their last eight games but out of finals contention. The Lions can jump Collingwood into second and even finish the round on top of the ladder if West Coast upset Adelaide on Sunday. "Make one mistake and you're in strife, it's ridiculous," Fagan said of this year's jostle for spots. "Last season 14.5 wins got us fifth, pretty easily. We've got 14.5 at the moment and it's not enough to make finals. "It's not worth spending emotional energy on, it's about the here and now."
The Australian
5 hours ago
- The Australian
Jeremy Howe OK as Magpies' finals hopes shaken
Collingwood coach Craig McRae slammed his team's lack of fight and effort after their thumping 64-point loss to Hawthorn at the MCG on Thursday night as their late-season form slump reached alarming levels. McRae admitted his team was 'rocked' by Jeremy Howe's sickening concussion in the opening minutes, and while concerned at how disorganised the backline looked without Howe, he refused to use the star defender's absence as an excuse. Scans cleared Howe, who was taken to hospital, of any further damage and the club confirmed he was home and 'recovering well' but would enter concussion protocols with a return to play unclear. Jeremy Howe was involved in a sickening collision. Picture:Howe's loss came as the Magpies suffered a fourth loss from the past five matches and, concerningly, all of those defeats have been against top-eight teams. After sitting 10 points clear on top of the ladder a mere five weeks ago, and being in first place for 11 straight rounds, they could drop to fourth by Saturday. All of a sudden they're no guarantee of a double chance after being premiership favourites for the bulk of the season. The usually upbeat McRae couldn't hide his devastation after what he agreed was Collingwood's worst performance of the year. 'I apologise to our Magpie Army,' he said. 'That's a disappointing performance. You can't sugarcoat that. 'We're hurting. That one really hurt. Just a lack of system and then a lack of fight, lack of effort – sometimes at the same time, which leaves us really vulnerable. 'When we get behind, we want to chase. Six goals is not enough for me for our fans to watch at home. I don't know how many kept watching right through the end. 'Your 114,000 members expect a certain amount of effort and we didn't have it.' McRae said he needed to quickly 'glue' his team back together with just two games left before finals. 'We just had some really poor efforts at times,' he said. 'This is the reality of what we've got right now. Like I've always said to our players, nothing's permanent. The Magpies had every right to look dejected. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images 'For a long time I don't recall us having that poor of connection … we got hurt really bad. 'We've got … 19 or 20 100-game players. They know how to play their role. 'We've got to back our system in. It's served us well and under pressure, under adversity, go back to what you know and go do your job and it's up to me to glue them together … and we take responsibility for what we did tonight.' McRae was in 'no doubt' that his players had started thinking about outcomes rather than staying in the moment and focusing on the process. 'You can see it and I call it out when I see it,' he said. 'We come back to minutes and seconds. So we lost a few minutes and seconds tonight, but we've got to stay present to that. When you start to think outcome and expectation, then you're not doing, you're thinking. 'So you come to a stoppage and you're out of the position, we go, 'Hey, come on. What are you doing in that position?' So you start to think more than do.' The Collingwood coach also suspected his players had started going into their shells during games, and he had a simple solution for that. 'If you're quiet, talk,' he said. Craig McRae questioned his players' effort. Picture:'What do you do when you have confidence and have form? Just do that. 'Oh, I'm quiet when I've got no confidence' – well, then, be loud. 'I don't go for my marks' – well, go for your marks. 'I tackle when I've got confidence' – well, tackle. So they're actions, not thoughts. It's right in front of us.' McRae said the early loss of Howe couldn't be used as an excuse for defensive disorganisation. 'Three guys flying at the one ball, spoiling at the same time, is not system, and we've worked on that all pre-season,' McRae said. 'Those things we can fix. The effort stuff I'd like to think is an anomaly.' Despite the worrying trajectory his team is on, McRae remains supremely confident about what Collingwood can achieve this year. 'There's still lots of minutes as far as I'm aware, and we'll make the most of those,' he said.
The Australian
5 hours ago
- The Australian
AFL: Danny Daly a potential Demons target
Lions premiership-winning mentor Chris Fagan has endorsed the coaching credentials of Brisbane's football manager Danny Daly, who has been linked with the vacant Melbourne job. Daly has recently been touted as Fagan's eventual successor at Brisbane, having long been considered an AFL senior coach-in-waiting during an extensive career that has included previous roles Collingwood, North Melbourne and Richmond. However, the Lions might have a fight on their hands to hold on to Daly, with his name being touted as a potential permanent replaced for sacked Demons coach Simon Goodwin. Lions football manager Danny Daly is regarded as an AFL senior coach-in-waiting. Picture: Richard Walker 'I know we wouldn't like to lose him, that's for sure, but if it was for something like that, I'd be chairing him out of the place and saying `good luck and go well',' Fagan said on Friday. 'He's been a fantastic help to me from the day I arrived here at this football club, and we're like brothers I reckon. 'We talk a lot about football, and I know he's got that capacity inside him to (be an AFL senior coach) if that's what he wants to do. 'That's completely up to Danny, and others who make those sorts of decisions.' Daly replaced David Noble as Brisbane's head of football in November 2020 having previously been the Lions' strategy coach. Noble left Brisbane to become North Melbourne's senior coach, a position he held until July 2022 when he was sacked by the Kangaroos after 38 games at the helm. Marco Monteverde Sports reporter Marco Monteverde is a Brisbane-based sports reporter for NCA Newswire. He worked in a similar role for The Courier-Mail from 2007 to 2020. During a journalism career of more than 25 years, he has also worked for The Queensland Times, The Sunshine Coast Daily, The Fraser Coast Chronicle and The North West Star. He has covered three FIFA World Cups and the 2000 Sydney Olympics, as well as a host of other major sporting events in Australia and around the world. @marcothejourno Marco Monteverde
