The big name Barrett thinks Lions should chase to fill huge Daniher hole

Leading footy journalist Damian Barrett thinks that Brisbane needs to find as close to a like-for-like replacement for Joe Daniher as they possibly can after the key forward’s retirement.

The 30-year-old told his teammates of his decision to retire on Thursday ahead of the club’s best and fairest and having just won the premiership, Barrett expects the Lions to go all out on finding a replacement for their quest for back-to-back flags.

With little time to prepare for Daniher’s decision, Barrett thinks that the Lions should look towards a potentially gettable veteran in Richmond forward Tom Lynch.

While Lynch has played just eight games in the last two seasons due to injury, Barrett thinks that the Lions should consider bringing the 31-year-old in as they have money to spend in their cap after Daniher’s departure and are in need of someone who can play forward/ruck.

“Joe Daniher has decided to tell his teammates today prior to their best and fairest count tonight that he will be retiring, and the challenge now starts for the Lions,” Barrett told AFL Trade Radio.

“They're in the hitting zone. They've played in the last two Grand Finals, and they've played in the past six finals series. They are there to win premierships. Right now, that is their model.

“They've got so many good players in the hitting zone. I've got the view that they’ve got to replace Joe with as much of a like-for-like as they possibly can.

“There's a guy who's played eight games in two years, he's a two-time premiership player and his name is Tom Lynch at the Richmond Football Club.”

Even though Lynch has been chronically injured recently, Brisbane has a good track record with their medical team and Barrett thinks that the two-time All-Australian could play a big role if he gets himself fit.

“I know that he's on $1.4 million - it's a back-ended deal that he's on to continue or to complete his career at Richmond under that initial contract,” Barrett said.

“But he's the type of player I would be at least talking about internally if I had anything to do with the control of the Brisbane Lions football department.”

In Lynch’s last healthy season, he kicked 63 goals from 19 games in 2022.