Lloyd doubts Lions' flag credentials amid injury Payne
Payne exited with a ruptured patella tendon in his left knee in the Lions' 17.5 (107) to 13.18 (96) home defeat to GWS on Saturday.
The result dropped Chris Fagan's side to third sport on the ladder, with just two wins from their past six games.
Payne and Lincoln McCarthy have both been ruled out for the rest of 2025 with knee injuries, while star playmaker Keidean Coleman (quad) will miss another month.
Heartbreaking news for Payney 💔 https://t.co/n918WQZwOk
— Brisbane Lions (@brisbanelions) June 15, 2025
Eric Hipwood was sent back to cover Payne against the Giants, while Darcy Gardiner looms as the likely replacement in a huge test against second-placed Geelong at GMHBA Stadium on Friday night.
Gardiner was pulled out of Brisbane's reserves team for their VFL game on Sunday, with an eye to playing against the Cats five days later.
Tom Doedee, who did play in the VFL game, is another option for the Lions but is yet to feature at senior level since his move from Adelaide at the end of 2023.
Retired Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd isn't convinced those options will be enough for the Lions to repeat their September success.
"I don't think they (can) cover him," Lloyd, now a prominent media figure, said on Nine.
"Gardiner's an OK player, but he's been playing as a forward and probably lacks the mobility and the speed of what Payne does."
Brisbane overcame a raft of season-ending knee injuries last year - including Coleman, McCarthy, Gardiner and Doedee - before destroying Sydney in the grand final.
Lloyd doubts their ability to do it again.
"I ruled it out last year, but now they've lost the bookends," he said.
"(Premiership forward Joe) Daniher I know hasn't been there - he's retired - but losing Payne and Daniher makes it pretty hard."
High-flying Geelong (10-4) are on a five-match winning streak after thumping Essendon by 95 points on Saturday.
The Cats have also beaten the Lions across Brisbane's past 13 visits to Kardinia Park.
A key focus will be accuracy in front of goal, with coach Chris Fagan conceding the Lions blew another golden opportunity against GWS.
"We'll just keep working away on that and not become too psycho about it because everyone will talk about it," Fagan said post-match on Saturday.
In a club statement on Sunday, Brisbane said the 25-year-old Payne will undergo surgery as soon as possible.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Cricketer accused of child abuse yet to enter plea
A last-minute disclosure of evidence has delayed court proceedings against a former Big Bash League and state-level cricketer accused of child sexual abuse. Aaron William Summers is accused of penetrative sexual abuse of a child or young person and grooming with the intention of exposing a child or young person to indecent material. The 29-year-old played one game for the Hobart Hurricanes in late 2017 and three one-day games for Tasmania, after making his debut in 2018. The offences allegedly occurred in Hobart on January 16, 2018 - a time when Summers was part of the Hurricanes roster. Summers appeared in Hobart Magistrates Court on Friday via phone from Perth. His lawyer Caroline Graves said she had received an "11th-hour" disclosure which would take three-four weeks to look at closely. The matter was adjourned to September 8 and Summers' bail was continued. He was extradited from the Northern Territory to Tasmania in April and is yet to enter a plea to the charges. Magistrate Andrew McKee said the matter could be committed to the Supreme Court of Tasmania. Summers, a fast bowler, became the first foreign player to play in Pakistan's revamped domestic cricket competition in 2020. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Lions coach responds after whispers about huge retirement backflip for Joe Daniher
Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan says recent texts with Joe Daniher have left him convinced the veteran won't be coming out of AFL retirement. Rumours have been swirling in recent days that the former premiership winner could make a stunning retirement backflip, having finished his career by helping Brisbane win last year's grand final against Sydney. The former All-Australian forward - who booted 395 goals in 204 AFL games for both Essendon and the Lions - has been linked with a move to the Sydney Swans in recent days. But Fagan says he's been keeping in touch with Daniher while the 31-year-old holidays in Europe and would be 'very surprised if Joey ever plays footy again', let alone with one of Brisbane's rivals. Speaking before the Lions' clash with Port Adelaide at the Gabba on Saturday, Fagan emphatically shut down the prospect of Daniher making a comeback when asked by reporters. "I'm nearly 100 per cent sure, 99.99 per cent sure," Fagan said about the 31-year-old remaining retired. "Joe is enjoying life at the moment and the other thing I'd be confident with is if he did (come back), he would play with us. I've been texting him a little bit while he's been in Portugal and Spain, enjoying life, so I don't think he'd be in great nick right now. "I'd be very, very surprised if Joey ever plays footy again." Daniher was an integral part of Brisbane's charge to the premiership last year but retired with a year still to run on his contract, citing amongst other things, business interests outside of footy. It was the perfect way to bow out as Daniher ended his glittering career by booting Brisbane's final goal in the 60-point grand final thumping of Sydney. And despite recent links to the Swans, veteran AFL reporter Jon Ralph echoed Fagan's comments by insisting the veteran is 'not making a shock comeback'. "The market is so thin that clubs are asking about him,' Ralph told Fox Footy's Midweek Tackle. 'He's been linked to Sydney in the last week or two, of course they were the club that were really interested in him initially and then he found his way to Brisbane. 'Sydney's asking everyone including Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, but Daniher's really set up financially, he's not interested in the money. I think if he was a one per cent chance he'd come back to Brisbane anyway, people close to him say he is a zero per cent chance." Fagan's second-placed Lions host the 10th-placed Power on Saturday fresh off a bye. But while Brisbane have lost just two games on the road since last season's mid-year bye, their 4-3 record at home this season is something Fagan is keen to fix after they went all of the 2023 regular season unbeaten at home. "We've been a very good team on the road and we haven't been a very good team at the Gabba," Fagan said about the Lions' form in 2025. "(This week's been about) a bit of the why, but mostly what are we going to do about it. It's pretty important when teams come here teams they feel really uncomfortable." RELATED: AFL slammed over mid-season move that could change Brownlow winner Vision emerges of sneaky Zak Butters act he copied from Nick Daicos AFL responds to rival coach's concerns over 'unsafe' surface at SCG The Power (7-8) are two wins outside a crowded top-eight but Fagan knows how quickly things can change in the league and won't be allowing complacency to creep into their game. "You can have a loss and tumble three or four spots," the Brisbane coach said. "We shouldn't feel comfortable ... and we play a team this weekend that's still a live chance to play finals, sort of where we were at the same stage last year. They'll be coming in all fired up, thinking they're a chance because of the way we've played at the Gabba." with agencies
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
'Better again': Lions to step it up against Waratahs
Not content with two half-century scorelines, the British and Irish Lions are promising the NSW Waratahs no let-up. After piling on more than 50 points against both the Western Force and Queensland Reds, the rampant tourists tackle the Waratahs in Sydney on Saturday intent on shifting up yet another gear. With a huge squad of almost double the amount of players needed for the first Test against the Wallabies in Brisbane on July 19, the Lions hopefuls are hungry to impress coach Andy Farrell and push for a place in the match-day 23. "That's the ultimate goal, isn't it, for everyone here. They want to play in those Tests and the only way to do that is to play well in these in all these games leading up to it," said Irish lock Tadhg Beirne, who will captain the Lions at Allianz Stadium. "If you're not producing in these games, you're not giving yourself a fighting chance. "Everyone here wants to be in that 23 so everyone's going to put their best foot forward." That could spell trouble for the undermanned Waratahs, who are missing several Wallabies on duty for Sunday's season-opening international against Fiji in Newcastle. Bookmakers are giving the Tahs no hope, offering the hosts 40 points start in head-to-head betting. In a chilling warning to Dan McKellar's side, fellow Irish second-rower James Ryan says the Lions are out to improve on their eight-try victories over both the Force and Reds in the past week. "It's about just getting better again,' Ryan said on Friday. "We thought we took a step forward on Wednesday in terms of our performance, discipline and some of our defensive work was better against the Reds than maybe it was against the Force. "So we want to just push on the standard now again. You know the Tests are coming up in the next couple of weeks, so it's just about getting better tomorrow night. "That's the main thing." Captaining NSW in the absence of Wallabies star Jake Gordon, lock Hugh Sinclair says the Waratahs are embracing their big underdogs' tag. "We've been lucky that a lot of the (Waratahs) coaches and the players that we have have been involved in Test matches and they've spoken heavily throughout the week that it is a Test match," Sinclair said. "A lot of us haven't had those sort of weeks and those experiences, but we're treating it that way and we want to put in a performance. We don't want to get beaten by 50." "We've talked about the Olympics is every four years, but the Lions is every 12 years so many players don't get an opportunity to play against them, so we're extremely fortunate to be able to be in this position. "The boys are just excited." Win or lose, it will be the retiring Sinclair's last match for the Waratahs and says the honour ranks as the highlight of his career. "I actually played the curtain raiser in 2013 for Northern Suburbs at the old stadium so that was pretty cool. "To captain this state and to do it against the British and Irish Lions, it will be my greatest rugby memory for sure."
