AFL: Lions star Joe Daniher is set for plenty of pre-season game time, but Nakia Cockatoo is out with a hamstring injury

It’s mixed fortunes for Brisbane’s two new recruits, with Joe Daniher fit and firing, but Nakia Cockatoo battling a hamstring injury.

Lions recruit Joe Daniher has impressed during the pre-season. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Joe Daniher will play but Brisbane’s other major off-season recruit, former Cat Nakia Cockatoo, will miss Saturday’s first major practice match against Gold Coast Suns because of a hamstring injury.

The Lions play the Suns at Metricon Stadium this weekend and again in an AAMI Community Series game on Monday week in their only two pre-season hit-outs against AFL opposition.

Border restrictions forced the AFL to limit non-Melbourne teams to matches only against their local rivals.

Lions coach Chris Fagan intends to field strong teams in both matches, with former Essendon star Daniher to enjoy plenty of game time over the next two weeks.

“We were looking at our training minutes the other day and our (internal) game minutes, and Joe was in the top two or three in the club,” Fagan said.

“He’s the one bloke that’s new that we need to get a bit of connection with so he’ll play as much of the game as he can (on Saturday) and next week.”

However, Fagan is taking a cautious approach with 24-year-old Cockatoo, who hasn’t played an AFL match since round three in 2018.

Nakia Cockatoo is nursing a hamstring problem. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

“He’s got a bit of a ‘hammy’ at the moment. We’re trying to recondition him so we’re not in any rush to get him out there playing,” Fagan said.

“We’ll bring him along slowly. When you get new players to your club you’ve got to learn a little bit about their bodies and what loads they can take.

“We’ve got a lot of good feedback on that over the last four or five weeks. He hasn’t played much footy for two years either.

“He’s on a good pathway. He’s in good shape at the moment, and running really well so he’ll be introduced back into skills this week, and whether he’s done enough work to be in line for selection in round one, only time will tell.”

Fagan was glad the Lions would finally have the chance to play against an AFL opponent after a host of internal trials and scrimmages.

“We’ve been playing ourselves for a couple of months so it’s good to give our game plan a bit of test out against opposition teams,” he said.

“It’s good for conditioning as well, getting that full four quarters.”

Fagan said Brownlow Medallist Lachie Neale would play “the whole game” on Saturday.

“We’ll just make sure he gets plenty of spells on the bench. We won’t stick to the 75 rotations,” he said.

“By the end of the day, hopefully he’s played around 75 per cent, 80 per cent game time.”

Fagan said there was “pressure on for spots” ahead of the Lions’ round one clash against the Sydney Swans on March 20 at the Gabba.

Originally published as AFL: Lions star Joe Daniher is set for plenty of pre-season game time, but Nakia Cockatoo is out with a hamstring injury