How injury crisis has opened the door at the Lions as five-year injury luck leaves them

As the feeling of finals nears with “every game like a final at the moment”, Chris Fagan is rapt with the success of the Brisbane Lions in recent weeks.

The Lions' 28-point victory over Gold Coast on Saturday extended their impressive winning streak to eight consecutive games. This strong performance further cemented their rise into the top four.

Fagan admits the club has had some luck in recent years on the injury front, something that has swung against them in 2024.

“We’ve been a pretty a pretty healthy list for the last four or five years, and a group of players who have played most games and as a coach you develop loyalty and faith in those guys”, Fagan explained on SEN Breakfast.

“In some ways maybe, you miss seeing other players come through, the injuries force us to make change and what we discovered is we have good depth on our list with a lot of our young players being really capable at AFL level and brought a new excitement to the team. As sad as it is losing players to long-term injuries, it does open up opportunities for others in the eyes of us coaches.”

Fagan mentioned Darcy Wilmot as a player who has broken out in 2024.

He debuted for the Lions in the 2022 Elimination Final win over Richmond and has now played 48 AFL games.

The 20-year-old has been one of Fagan's most consistent players in 2024.

“He’s had an exceptional year; he sort of flies under the radar a bit so it’s interesting you ask that question. His magnet goes up pretty automatically every week, doesn’t get discussed too much. He came into the side in the finals in 2022, and he hasn’t gone out since, I think he’s played every game,” Fagan mentioned.

“He’s going extremely well, he’s a great rebounder, he’s really brave in the air. He plays relatively accountably for his opponents and there’s times that he’s become an important part of our team.

“You look at the ladder and you feel nervous, nervous pain in the stomach you know, not much in it. Maybe it’s all the equalisation things working, I’m not sure. It’s hard to put your finger on it.

“If you’re a lover of AFL footy, this year’s been extraordinary and let’s hope it keeps that way, right up until the last round. It’ll be interesting to see how it all ends up, now we’re sitting here in second spot at the moment, but it wasn’t that long ago we were 14th or 13th or something.

“All that says to you is if you lose a game, you can tumble down the ladder pretty quickly. Every games like a final at the moment, we’ll all be exhausted by the time we get to finals I reckon.”

The Lions will look to make it nine wins in a row when they meet St Kilda at Marvel Stadium on Sunday evening.