Brisbane Lions lynchpin Joe Daniher pulls out of do-or-die final for the birth of his first child
Brisbane Lions lynchpin Joe Daniher stuns footy fans by pulling out of do-or-die final against Melbourne for the birth of his first child as coach insists ‘we are not a one man team’
- Daniher kicked the winning goal in their elimination final against Richmond
- He has withdrawn from the club’s next do-or-die clash against Melbourne
- The club has confirmed the Lions star’s partner has gone into labour
- Daniher has sacrificed his place in the team to be with his partner for the birth
The Brisbane Lions’ have been dealt a hammer blow in their AFL semi final against the Melbourne Demons tonight with superstar forward Joe Daniher ruled out because of the birth of his first child.
Daniher’s partner is in labour and the star forward has sacrificed his place in the must-win clash against the Dees so he can be by her side.
The Lions star had travelled down with the team on Thursday for the clash, but returned to Brisbane on a flight from Melbourne at 10am today.
Daniher is ultra-protective over his personal life, with his social media accounts locked to only close friends and family.
Joe Daniher of the Lions will miss the club’s semi-final against the Melbourne Demons
The Lions confirmed that Daniher, who kicked the winning goal in the club’s elimination final against Richmond last week, had been omitted because of ‘family reasons’.
The official team sheet for tonight has Daniher ruled out of the final 22 for the clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for ‘personal reasons’.
The Lions have named Tom Fullarton as his replacement.
‘The Club supports Joe’s decision to be with his family at this time and respects their privacy,’ the Lions said in a statement.
Kai Lohmann has been named as the fourth emergency, alongside Ryan Lester, Rhys Mathieson and Jaxon Prior.
Mitch Robinson, Jaxon Prior and Rhys Mathieson were dropped.
Brisbane are attempting to pull off a massive turnaround in results against the Demons, having lost to Melbourne by 64 in round 15 and 58 in round 23.
The Lions have not won at the MCG since 2014 and have lost their last four games to the defending premiers.
With Daniher out, Lachie Neale will have a mountain of pressure placed on his shoulders after starring in the Lions’ last-gasp win over Richmond.
However Brisbane coach Chris Fagan insisted: ‘We are not a one-man team’.
“Anyone would think we were the way Lachie’s game was spoken about last week. It was a great game, but we had a lot of other fantastic contributors.
“We want Lachie to play his best footy but we want the other guys playing in the team to be at their best.”
The winner of Friday night’s match will progress to a preliminary final against Geelong at the MCG next week.
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