Fagan reveals Lions’ plan to fill Ashcroft AFL void

Murray Wenzel | July 28, 2023

Chris Fagan is confident his Brisbane Lions side already have the cattle to fill the void left by injured rookie Will Aschroft, flagging more midfield time for a host of his stars against Gold Coast.

A season-ending knee injury to the Rising Star favourite during last weekend’s clash with Geelong has been a heavy blow for the Lions, let alone the teenager himself.

But the coach’s response at the selection table ahead of Saturday’s trip to the Suns was telling, Fagan recalling small forward Kai Lohmann rather than another midfielder.  

“He’s just been knocking on the door, we can use other players in our midfield to replace Will,” Fagan said of 20-year-old Lohmann, who will play his fifth AFL game of the season.

Fagan said Jarrod Berry, Hugh McCluggage, Cam Rayner and former captain Dayne Zorko would all see more time in the engine room after Ashcroft ruptured his right anterior cruciate ligament last weekend.

“We’ve got got a quite few guys that can play more minutes in there … Kai can help us up forward and in and around midfield as well, but it won’t change the way we play,” Fagan said.

Fit-again captain Zorko’s defensive pressure had returned to it’s trademark level, prompting his return to the midfield, the coach added.

Brisbane led by just five points in the final quarter when they met the Suns earlier this year, before running out 43-point winners at the Gabba to notch a ninth-straight win against their Queensland rivals.

Gold Coast have since faded out of the finals calculations but Fagan said there would be no complacency as Brisbane hunt a top-two finish.

“They’ve beaten some really good sides … sides in the eight now or vying for a position, so it speaks volumes for what they’re capable of,” he said.  

“If they bring their best they’ll be very hard to beat.”

The Lions also confirmed a two-year contract extension for back-up ruckman Darcy Fort, who has played 24 AFL games since arriving from Geelong last year.

Gold Coast have made two changes to the side that lost to the Giants last weekend, Malcolm Rosas and Sean Lemmens replacing Ben Long and Hewago Oea.