Latest news with #Daniher
West Australian
6 days ago
- Sport
- West Australian
Brisbane coach adamant that former Lions star Joe Daniher will ‘never' come out of retirement to play in Melbourne
Lions coach Chris Fagan says the suggestion that former Brisbane star Joe Daniher will come out of retirement to play in Melbourne ranks among 'the great jokes of all time'. Ex-Essendon forward Daniher was only 30 when he announced that he was retiring after helping the Lions win last year's premiership. Fagan has previously said that if Daniher made the unlikely decision to play again, it would only be for Brisbane. However, the Melbourne Demons have approached Daniher about playing next season. 'I might've sent him a cheeky text message just to check in with big Joe … but he laughed it off pretty quick,' Demons coach Simon Goodwin told AFL 360. On Friday, the Daniher matter came up again when Fagan was asked about Carlton star Charlie Curnow being linked with a move to the Gold Coast Suns, whom the Lions meet in Saturday's QClash at People First Stadium. 'I sort of noticed it (the Curnow speculation) going on in the background, but I don't have any firm thoughts on it,' Fagan said. 'It's that time of the year where everything gets speculated on. How many times are people going to come up and say that Joey Daniher's going back to Melbourne? 'It's one of the great jokes of all time – it'll never happen.' Daniher's previous spot in Brisbane' forward line has been filled for 10 games this season by former Suns player Sam Day. However, Day won't take on his former club on Saturday, having been named among the emergencies for the second successive match after missing Brisbane's win over Carlton earlier this month for personal reasons. Fagan has instead again opted to select two ruckmen in Oscar McInerney and Darcy Fort. 'It's been good, but it's still just an experiment. It's just a week-to-week thing,' the Lions coach said. 'We are happy with what we've seen so far (in playing McInerney and Fort). They've both been able to contribute in the ruck, and they've both been able to contribute up forward in little ways.' However, there will be one change to Brisbane's forward line after Kai Lohmann injured his calf at training. Lohmann will be replaced by the versatile Zac Bailey, who returns after serving a one-game suspension for rough conduct. 'Zac Bailey can go and play forward. We got a bit of flexibility there, so it's good because you never know what's going to happen down the track. You've always got to be able to cope,' Fagan said. The Lions have made one other change to the 23 that beat the Bulldogs by 10 points last Friday, with Irishman Conor McKenna replacing the omitted Bruce Reville. The second-placed Lions can deal Gold Coast's hopes of playing finals football for the first time a blow with a win on Saturday. 'The truth is that the Gold Coast Suns have beaten some pretty good teams this year. The last time they played at their ground they beat (competition leaders) Collingwood,' Fagan said in anticipation of a tough encounter. 'They're a much better version of themselves than we've played against for a long time, so it's a big game.'
Perth Now
6 days ago
- Sport
- Perth Now
Daniher speculation a ‘joke': Fagan
Lions coach Chris Fagan says the suggestion that former Brisbane star Joe Daniher will come out of retirement to play in Melbourne ranks among 'the great jokes of all time'. Ex-Essendon forward Daniher was only 30 when he announced that he was retiring after helping the Lions win last year's premiership. Fagan has previously said that if Daniher made the unlikely decision to play again, it would only be for Brisbane. However, the Melbourne Demons have approached Daniher about playing next season. 'I might've sent him a cheeky text message just to check in with big Joe … but he laughed it off pretty quick,' Demons coach Simon Goodwin told AFL 360. On Friday, the Daniher matter came up again when Fagan was asked about Carlton star Charlie Curnow being linked with a move to the Gold Coast Suns, whom the Lions meet in Saturday's QClash at People First Stadium. 'I sort of noticed it (the Curnow speculation) going on in the background, but I don't have any firm thoughts on it,' Fagan said. 'It's that time of the year where everything gets speculated on. How many times are people going to come up and say that Joey Daniher's going back to Melbourne? 'It's one of the great jokes of all time – it'll never happen.' Daniher's previous spot in Brisbane' forward line has been filled for 10 games this season by former Suns player Sam Day. However, Day won't take on his former club on Saturday, having been named among the emergencies for the second successive match after missing Brisbane's win over Carlton earlier this month for personal reasons. Fagan has instead again opted to select two ruckmen in Oscar McInerney and Darcy Fort. 'It's been good, but it's still just an experiment. It's just a week-to-week thing,' the Lions coach said. 'We are happy with what we've seen so far (in playing McInerney and Fort). They've both been able to contribute in the ruck, and they've both been able to contribute up forward in little ways.' However, there will be one change to Brisbane's forward line after Kai Lohmann injured his calf at training. Lohmann will be replaced by the versatile Zac Bailey, who returns after serving a one-game suspension for rough conduct. 'Zac Bailey can go and play forward. We got a bit of flexibility there, so it's good because you never know what's going to happen down the track. You've always got to be able to cope,' Fagan said. The Lions have made one other change to the 23 that beat the Bulldogs by 10 points last Friday, with Irishman Conor McKenna replacing the omitted Bruce Reville. The second-placed Lions can deal Gold Coast's hopes of playing finals football for the first time a blow with a win on Saturday. 'The truth is that the Gold Coast Suns have beaten some pretty good teams this year. The last time they played at their ground they beat (competition leaders) Collingwood,' Fagan said in anticipation of a tough encounter. 'They're a much better version of themselves than we've played against for a long time, so it's a big game.'
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Brisbane coach adamant that former Lions star Joe Daniher will ‘never' come out of retirement to play in Melbourne
Lions coach Chris Fagan says the suggestion that former Brisbane star Joe Daniher will come out of retirement to play in Melbourne ranks among 'the great jokes of all time'. Ex-Essendon forward Daniher was only 30 when he announced that he was retiring after helping the Lions win last year's premiership. Fagan has previously said that if Daniher made the unlikely decision to play again, it would only be for Brisbane. However, the Melbourne Demons have approached Daniher about playing next season. 'I might've sent him a cheeky text message just to check in with big Joe … but he laughed it off pretty quick,' Demons coach Simon Goodwin told AFL 360. On Friday, the Daniher matter came up again when Fagan was asked about Carlton star Charlie Curnow being linked with a move to the Gold Coast Suns, whom the Lions meet in Saturday's QClash at People First Stadium. 'I sort of noticed it (the Curnow speculation) going on in the background, but I don't have any firm thoughts on it,' Fagan said. 'It's that time of the year where everything gets speculated on. How many times are people going to come up and say that Joey Daniher's going back to Melbourne? 'It's one of the great jokes of all time – it'll never happen.' Daniher's previous spot in Brisbane' forward line has been filled for 10 games this season by former Suns player Sam Day. However, Day won't take on his former club on Saturday, having been named among the emergencies for the second successive match after missing Brisbane's win over Carlton earlier this month for personal reasons. Fagan has instead again opted to select two ruckmen in Oscar McInerney and Darcy Fort. 'It's been good, but it's still just an experiment. It's just a week-to-week thing,' the Lions coach said. 'We are happy with what we've seen so far (in playing McInerney and Fort). They've both been able to contribute in the ruck, and they've both been able to contribute up forward in little ways.' However, there will be one change to Brisbane's forward line after Kai Lohmann injured his calf at training. Lohmann will be replaced by the versatile Zac Bailey, who returns after serving a one-game suspension for rough conduct. 'Zac Bailey can go and play forward. We got a bit of flexibility there, so it's good because you never know what's going to happen down the track. You've always got to be able to cope,' Fagan said. The Lions have made one other change to the 23 that beat the Bulldogs by 10 points last Friday, with Irishman Conor McKenna replacing the omitted Bruce Reville. The second-placed Lions can deal Gold Coast's hopes of playing finals football for the first time a blow with a win on Saturday. 'The truth is that the Gold Coast Suns have beaten some pretty good teams this year. The last time they played at their ground they beat (competition leaders) Collingwood,' Fagan said in anticipation of a tough encounter. 'They're a much better version of themselves than we've played against for a long time, so it's a big game.'
7NEWS
24-07-2025
- Sport
- 7NEWS
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin confirms ‘cheeky text' to Joe Daniher as comeback rumours swirl
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin has admitted he sent a cheeky text message to Joe Daniher in an audacious bid to lure the premiership player out of retirement. 7NEWS chief AFL reporter Mitch Cleary exclusively revealed the Demons approached Daniher as they look to fix their forward woes. 'Melbourne and coach Simon Goodwin are attempting to convince Joe Daniher to return to the AFL next season, less than 12 months after he called it quits,' Cleary told 7NEWS on Monday night. 'The 31-year-old has spent recent months in Europe and lives in northern New South Wales, but it hasn't stopped Goodwin and the Dees making a pitch. 'Goodwin was an assistant coach at the Bombers for two years with Daniher, while Dees forward Jake Melksham — currently in the form of his life — previously called him a teammate. 'It is still seen as unlikely, however the approach highlights how keen the Demons are to bolster their key forward stocks.' Goodwin confirmed he touched base with Daniher, but said the 31-year-old was happy in retirement. 'I might have sent him a cheeky text message just to check in with big Joe,' Goodwin said on Fox Footy's AFL 360. 'I obviously coached Joe at Essendon in my early days as a coach and sent him a message just to make sure he was enjoying retirement as much as I thought he would. 'The answer was pretty clear - he is enjoying it. It (the pursuit) was pretty short-lived.' The coach added that they will leave 'no stone unturned' in making their list better in the off-season. 'Whether that be through the draft, through trade, through developing our players on our current list in terms of how we look and how we play,' he said. 'So we're going to leave no stone unturned in how we go about getting better and Joe was a sneaky text but he laughed it off pretty quick.' A notoriously private and unique character, Daniher famously shocked the footy world by calling time on his career in the aftermath of his second club's premiership success last year. The enigmatic, match-winning left-footer had arguably the best season of his career in 2024, but walked away from the lucrative contract he still had at the Lions to retire. Daniher, who was drafted to Essendon as a father-son selection in 2012, was critical to the Lions' success in 2024, and almost dragged them over the line against Collingwood in the previous year's decider. He left the game with 395 goals from 204 games across his time at Brisbane and Essendon. 'I retire knowing I gave my absolute all to the Brisbane Lions and Essendon, and I am extremely proud of what I achieved individually and as a team,' Daniher said last October, less than a week after the flag. 'I am tremendously grateful for the opportunities given to me by both Brisbane and Essendon and I want to thank both clubs and their incredible fans for their support. 'It's been an incredible journey here at the Brisbane Lions to go from a club that was really struggling at the bottom of the ladder to winning a premiership. 'As I finish up my career, I do so with the club in a great position on and off the field and I can't wait to see the Brisbane Lions experience more success in the future. 'I am beyond excited by the squad we have at the Lions and especially the young talent we have coming through that are the future stars of this club. 'I want to thank everyone that has played a part in my AFL career and helping me become the player and person I am today.' Following his retirement, Lions coach Chris Fagan revealed that it was after the 2023 grand final that Daniher first told the coach of his desire to walk away. In a meeting after that loss to the Magpies, Daniher told Fagan that had the Lions won that game, he would have hung the boots up there and then. 'Last year after the grand final, Joey gave me a call and said, 'Can we have a meeting?' So I caught up with him,' Fagan said at Brisbane's best and fairest last year. 'And he said to me, 'You know, if we had have won this week, I was going to retire'. 'I thought, 'Geez, I hope he's not going to retire (now)'. 'But he said, 'But I'm going to play for one more year, and I hope we can win a premiership'. I'm so pleased that that's happened, Joey, that you've got to go out on the back of winning a premiership.'
Mercury
04-07-2025
- Sport
- Mercury
Joe Daniher return rumours denied by Sydney coach Dean Cox
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News. Swans coach Dean Cox has categorically denied that the club has reached out to premiership-winning key forward Joe Daniher as a potential solution to their attacking problems. Sydney has been far from their free-flowing attacking best this season, with last year's key trio of Joel Amartey, Logan McDonald and Hayden McLean all impacted by a combination of injury, suspension and form issues in 2025. Daniher stepped into retirement after last year's grand final triumph with the Lions, and is currently gallivanting around Europe while focusing on business interests. But it hasn't stopped reports linking him with a potential AFL comeback in the red and white. The Swans have also been recently linked with a move for the Bulldogs' former number-one draft pick, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, but it is the Daniher connection that has been stronger over the past fortnight. The Swans also initially tried to lure Daniher to the Harbour City before he eventually left Essendon for Brisbane at the end of 2020. However, Cox was adamant that the Swans had not picked up the phone to the 31-year-old. 'As a footy club, we haven't inquired or spoken to Joe,' Cox said. 'I can categorically say that. 'Having said that, I make sure the list management team are exploring everyone across the country to improve our list. Joe just hasn't been on that list. 'I wouldn't mind going over to Europe to say hello. But no, we haven't made any contact.' Isaac Heeney and Will Hayward are the only two players who have kicked 20+ goals this season for the Swans, while Amartey is set to return for Sunday's clash against Fremantle as the club's main key forward threat. Meanwhile, Daniher's former coach Chris Fagan also played down any talk that he could be convinced to pull on the boots again. The pair teamed up for the ultimate premiership success against the Swans last September, and it's clear that it was the highlight that Daniher wanted to end his career with. 'I'm nearly 100 per cent sure, 99.99 per cent sure,' Fagan said. 'Joe is enjoying life at the moment, and the other thing I'd be confident with is if he did (return), 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.' Originally published as Sydney coach Dean Cox denies club has reached out to Joe Daniher about an AFL return
