The Brisbane Lions' Rhys Mathieson will likely be searching for a new club after it was revealed by Lions GM of footy Danny Daly that the midfielder's future is up in the air.
In addition to Mathieson, Daly also discussed the futures of Deven Robertson and Tom Doedee at Brisbane.
After their heart-breaking Grand Final loss last weekend, the Lions have gone straight back to the drawing board for 2024, looking to quickly take care of business ahead of the draft. A number of key decisions have already been taken, highlighting that the club means business.
Speaking to AFL Trade Radio, Daly was asked about Mathieson's free agency status after struggling to break into the side in 2023. With no contract on the table, it appears almost certain that the 72-gamer will move on.
“I'm sure that Rhysy (Mathieson), because he hasn't played a lot of footy this year, might be looking at what else is out there,” Daly said.
“We'll touch base with him over the next 24 hours and then have a good chat with him … I've got no doubt that he'd be trying to see what else is out there at the minute.”
Mathieson won't be alone in seeking new pastures, with ruck-forward Tom Fullarton reportedly seeking a trade to Melbourne. Also struggling to break into the side, Fullarton is eyeing off a role alongside Max Gawn at the Demons.
See Also: Demons release club statement regarding Clayton Oliver's future
In a busy week for Brisbane, it was revealed earlier this week that Deven Robertson has opted to stay with the Lions despite a lucrative longer-term deal being offered by the Eagles to return to his home state of Western Australia.
Daly conceded that the club was aware that Robertson was being heavily courted by West Coast and that there had been a real risk of losing him, but was ultimately glad the developing midfielder had decided to stay for a further two years.
“We can't hide behind that – he had a big decision to make, he was to-ing and fro-ing. The opportunity to go back home and potentially settle himself into West Coast's midfield was probably enticing for him,” he said.
“We're very grateful for him in (staying), and we've been very fortunate this year that we've had Kai Lohmann stay, Harry Sharp has stayed as well … it's a great sign for us, and we're pretty pumped.
“We haven't (guaranteed Robertson a spot), but he's up for the fight … he'll work hard, he'll get better, he wants to get into our midfield group and I love that about him.”
Daly also revealed that Tom Doedee is likely to be their only acquisition during the trade period and that they had taken the decision to target him after sadly learning that Marcus Adams would need to retire due to concussion.
That, coupled with the need to stockpile draft points for Levi Ashcroft, brother of Will, as a possible high-end father-son recruit in 2024, means the Lions will need to be shrewd this year.
"I think that will be part of our policy in [this] trade period… that will be one of our focus areas, trying to get as many points as we can next year for Levi, who we hope picks us... I'm not sure we'll be too active outside of that … obviously we've got Tom (Doedee)," Daly said.
Despite their disappointment at losing the Grand Final, the Lions are clearly keen to do everything possible to return to the same stage in 2024 and appear to be going about things as efficiently as possible.
