Brisbane will relish the fact that they were able to return highly respected football boss Danny Daly, despite the strong pitch from cross-town rivals Gold Coast.
Daly is deemed one of the architects of the Lions' powerhouse, helping sign Chris Fagan a decade ago before ensuring the consistent improvement that has led to consecutive premierships.
The Suns, who made the finals for the first time in their history in 2025 and were knocked off by their big brother, wanted to bring across someone of Daly's calibre, and also reunite him with Damien Hardwick.
They wanted to fill the football manager role left by Wayne Campbell, who took up a post at Sydney for 2026.
Hardwick and Daly spent time together at Richmond prior to the club's dynasty and had already tried to pair the duo together two years ago, but were unsuccessful.
According to AFL Media's Michael Whiting, "Daly told both clubs of his decision on Wednesday night, having deliberated for more than a week".
Daly has quickly become a man in demand throughout the AFL landscape, having been considered for the Melbourne and West Coast top jobs, while Collingwood also asked if he had a desire for their general manager role following Graham Wright's departure.
Brisbane coach Chris Fagan says he'd "be chairing him out of the place" if an opportunity arose for Daly to sit in the hot seat.
"Obviously, I do [think Danny Daly would be a good senior coach]," Fagan said in August.
"He's been a fantastic help to me from the day I arrived here at this football club. We're like brothers, I reckon, we talk a lot about football.
"I know he's got that capacity inside him to do it, if that's what he wants to do. But that's completely up to Danny and others who make those sorts of decisions."
The Lions farewelled CEO Greg Swann, who took a role at AFL house, as well as assistant coach Stuart Dew, who joined former club Port Adelaide alongside Josh Carr.
