The future of Brisbane star Joe Daniher remains up in the air with a leading journalist saying there’s a “very, very strong chance he has played his last game of football”.
Wild speculation sparked by AFL commentator Brian Taylor saw Daniher head into the 2024 Grand Final with retirement questions circling.
The Lions’ thumping win over Sydney, capped off by a Daniher goal in the final minutes which prompted wild celebrations from both the 30-year-old and his teammates, only added to the claims the enigmatic forward will hang up the boots.
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“There was a conditioning and an awareness of that news, (Daniher) made Brisbane Lions officials aware prior to the game, I believe it was a month ago or thereabouts,” Damian Barrett said on Nine’s Sunday Footy Show.
“There had been talk during the course of the season that he might be considering his future. I believe there were key people at the Lions aware of that going into the game.
“While there is still some wiggle room, there will be a concerted pitch to have him revisit this decision.
“At the moment there is a strong conditioning and even expectation that is it, which is extraordinary given how well he played in that grand final, how well he played in last year’s grand final and how well he played in big matches for the Brisbane Lions.”
Daniher’s Brisbane teammates made it clear in their post-match comments they were aware of the possibility.
While Lions co-captain Harris Andrews said the reports were “a bit of a shock”, he conceded on the same program: “However that plays out, it will play out. We know that Joey has a lot more going on than necessarily football but I couldn’t be happier for him.
“He has worked so hard, and just pumped for him.”
Asked whether he would try and convince Daniher to stay, Andrews added: “Potentially, but I cannot control what Joey does.”
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Meanwhile Lions veteran Dayne Zorko effectively conceded Daniher had been weighing up retirement during the season when discussing a midseason catch-up between the team’s veterans.
“At Round 12 (when) we had the bye – myself, Joe (Daniher) and Ryan Lester sat down with Harris Andrews and we said: ‘Might be time we start playing the kids, we might have to turn to next year. ‘If that’s the case, it’s been fun’,” Zorko said on 3AW post-game.
“But we came up with a real clear plan that day that we weren’t going to go down that path; there was so much football to go.
“Every week for the last 14 weeks, we’ve caught up as a group – we added Josh Dunkley to that frame… and we just talk through everything every week, we catch up for coffee. We really wanted to make a difference and impact this season.”
The Lions forward’s father Anthony Daniher talked down the possibility of retirement, without truly confirming his plans either way.
“He is just in a very happy place at the moment so he will keep going, he’s all right. He is that happy, it’s not funny, It’s a super (work-life) balance. People read into things but that’s OK,” Daniher told the Herald Sun.
“Joe is Joe and he’s good to write stories about so let it roll. When you win, you let it roll. (His future) will sort itself out so he will just soak this one up.
“It’s been hard work to get there and they missed out last year by so little. To get back and win it like that, I am so happy for the whole team. I am so happy for Joe. He has worked his arse off to get into this position and we will soak this one up and enjoy it.”
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