Brisbane Lions senior coach Chris Fagan is confident that Joe Daniher will not come out of retirement, despite the influx of recent reports that have suggested a return to the AFL in Sydney.
Daniher was an integral part of the Lions' 2024 premiership side, kicking 58 goals during the campaign, including two spectacular finishes in the grand final. The key forward went out on top at age 30 after playing 204 games across Brisbane and Essendon. While Daniher still had plenty to give at the AFL level, Fagan believes he is loving retirement and almost certainly will not return.
"I'm pretty sure that will never happen. I'm nearly 100% sure, I'm 99.99% sure," Fagan told media on Friday.
"I think Joe is enjoying life at the moment... I've been texting him a little bit while he's been in Portugal and Spain and he's been enjoying life. I don't think he'd be in great nick right now, he'd be enjoying everything that he's doing.
"I'd be very, very surprised if Joey ever plays football again."
However, Fagan made sure to point out that in the unlikely scenario Daniher did play football again, it would not be at the Swans.
"The other thing I'd be very confident in, is if he did come out of retirement, he would play with us," Fagan said.
The Lions have managed to fill the void of Daniher well so far in 2025, with young gun Logan Morris emerging as the key forward of the future, already having kicked 30 goals in his second season.
Fagan also said that ruckman Oscar McInerney was close to returning after his stint in the VFL, as Brisbane look to manage Darcy Fort in the Lions' Round 18 clash against Carlton next Thursday.
"He's close, he played well against Geelong [in the VFL]," Fagan said of McInerney.
"We have got a five-day turnaround after this game so we're mindful of that. If Darcy Fort is a bit knocked around by the game tomorrow night then we've got a fresh man in Oscar to play on Thursday, so there was a bit of that in our thinking. So, [Oscar] won't play in the reserves this weekend."
Fagan is energised by the return of Callum Ah Chee to the team this week as he looks to dynamise their forward line in an important fixture against Port Adelaide.
"Ah Chee has been really great for us over the last two years playing as a forward," Fagan said.
"Will McLachlan did a great job against Geelong, but he's unfortunately missed out despite the fact that he played well, but Callum is a really experienced player.
"He brings versatility to our team too because he doesn't just play as a forward. He can play wing, he can play half-back and a number of different things so we like having him in the team."
The Lions will look to make Port Adelaide "uncomfortable" at the Gabba on Saturday night, with first bounce at 7:35pm (AEST).
