THE SIZE of Joe Daniher's remarkable contribution to Brisbane's premiership can only be matched by the chasm his retirement will leave.
Getting to the Lions at the end of 2020 following three seasons decimated by injury at Essendon, the 30-year-old became as reliable as any key forward in the competition during his time at the Gabba.
He wasn't always conventional and even had coach Chris Fagan raising his eyebrows in amusement sometimes at the quirky nature of his play, but when Brisbane needed him to perform, Daniher delivered in spades.
His two clutch goals against Greater Western Sydney in this year's semi-final will live long in the memory, while he again starred on Saturday in the Lions' Grand Final rout of Sydney – the second straight year he had shone on the game's biggest stage.
There was a game-winning goal in an elimination final win over Richmond in 2022 and a bag of five in a qualifying final win over Port Adelaide in 2023. His big-game resume was fantastic.
Daniher's departure with one year remaining on his contract leaves a 200cm hole in Brisbane's forward line that will be difficult to fill.
As Hawthorn showed following Lance Franklin's move to Sydney in late 2013, covering the loss of a key forward is not impossible – the Hawks won premierships in 2014 and 2015.
The Lions have some unexpected salary cap space now should they choose to use it during this off-season.
However, they could move some money forward (for example, by front-ending the new deals of Jarrod Berry and Hugh McCluggage should they agree) and chase an established forward in 12 months from now when they will surely still be in premiership contention.
The 'quick fix' options are scarce, although Fagan revealed at Brisbane's best and fairest on Thursday night that Daniher planned on retiring 12 months ago had the Lions saluted against Collingwood in last year's Grand Final.
Perhaps the Lions have had longer than we think to work on a succession plan.
The first name that comes to mind is Richmond's Tom Lynch should the Tigers want to make a complete clean out of their experienced talent. However, with one year remaining on his contract, the former Sun has pledged his allegiances to the club he won two premierships with. He is the ideal short-term fit.
One roadblock for Brisbane, as highlighted in Inside Trading, is its desire to trade pick 18 for draft picks to match bids on father-son Levi Ashcroft and Academy graduate Sam Marshall.
Acquiring these two young talents will also likely wipe out any later picks.
Tim Membrey, Sam Day, Levi Casboult and Matt Taberner have all either been delisted or are without a contract and could fill a void for 12 months either at VFL or AFL level.
Perhaps Brisbane's best choices come from within.
Henry Smith played four games at senior level this season and is seen as a ruckman with excellent forward traits.
While he's not likely to be close to Daniher's output in 2025, Smith plays a similar role and could develop as a marking option that gives first-choice ruck Oscar McInerney quality back-up minutes.
Brandon Ryan now has 18 months in AFL systems, while Luke Lloyd is also a year more mature after being drafted 10 months ago.
Darcy Gardiner started the season in the forward line and could return to that end of the ground when he recovers from a ruptured ACL.
Brisbane's other choice is to revert to a model that provided great success in 2023. Led by Eric Hipwood and impressive first-year forward Logan Morris, the Lions could opt for a 'two tall' model and surround them with Cam Rayner, Charlie Cameron, Cal Ah Chee, Kai Lohmann, Zac Bailey and the returning Linc McCarthy.
With 204 goals from 96 games in Lions colours, plus some quality ruck relief, no one can replace Daniher's output.
However, whether it's a short-term experienced fix, a longer play for another star, or re-jigging their current setup, Chris Fagan and his coaching staff have enough options to again be one of the competition's most devastating attacks when 2025 begins.
