Door opens for Brisbane Lions defender Darcy Gardiner to make AFL return

With Jack Payne sidelined, the Brisbane Lions have the chance to give one of their premier defenders his first AFL appearance of the season.

Darcy Gardiner is on the verge of making his first AFL appearance of the season. Picture: Darrian Traynor / Getty Images

Lions great Alastair Lynch says Brisbane has little choice but to hand Darcy Gardiner his first AFL appearance of the season following Jack Payne’s unfortunate bout of concussion.

Key defender Gardiner – for so long a pillar of Brisbane’s backline unit – has returned from shoulder, foot and adductor issues via the Lions’ VFL team.

After two appearances for Brisbane’s reserves, Gardiner is expected to be recalled to AFL duty for Sunday’s clash against the Crows in Adelaide as the replacement for the in-form Payne, who suffered delayed concussion in the aftermath of the Lions’ 43-point weekend win over the Gold Coast Suns.

Lynch said Gardiner would be required to help Brisbane combat a Crows forward line set to include returning pair Taylor Walker and Riley Thilthorpe, as well as Darcy Fogarty.

“Adelaide will try to stretch Brisbane by going with the three big forwards,” triple-premiership winner and Fox Footy expert Lynch said.

“That will test Brisbane, so Gardiner’s got to come in. His experience will be needed, and he can play on small or big forwards.”

Darcy Gardiner is set for an AFL recall. Picture: Michael Willson / AFL Photos via Getty Images

Lynch also said although it was unlucky for Payne to be sidelined while in such good form, Gardiner needed a run in Brisbane’s top 22 after not playing any top-flight football this season.

“The Lions haven’t had too many injuries until now, so some of their quality players in the reserves haven’t had an (AFL) opportunity, so getting them into the team is not a bad thing,” he said.

“They have to get some games into them. Ideally you never want injuries, but that’s never going to happen, so for others to get some games in is important.”

Another vital member of Brisbane’s defensive unit, Brandon Starcevich, welcomed the likely return of Gardiner, suggesting he would also be very fresh after the Lions’ 117-point VFL weekend thrashing of Coburg.

“Darcy’s obviously had an interrupted start to the year and it’s good to see him back out there,” Starcevich said.

“He’s been playing some pretty good footy in VFL even though he probably didn’t have to do too much defending on the weekend, given the way the boys played, but he stood pretty tall and his form’s been good for the past couple of weeks.”

The Lions, who are chasing an eighth successive win, will also have veteran defender Daniel Rich again available for selection after a three-game absence with a calf injury.

With Brisbane having a bye after this weekend’s game, Lynch said the Lions would not want to take a loss into their break.

“It’s obvious, but a win going into the break is really important. You never want a loss going into a break because you’ve got to stew on it for a couple of weeks,” he said.

Originally published as Door opens for Brisbane Lions defender Darcy Gardiner to make AFL return