Brisbane set to sign second Dunkley, with Kyle in talks to play for Lions’ VFL team next season

Brisbane is likely to have a second Dunkley brother don its colours next year, with Kyle Dunkley in discussions about joining the Lions’ VFL team for 2023.

Kyle and Josh Dunkley, seen here during a 2019 AFL game, are set to be reunited at the Brisbane Lions. Picture: AAP

Brisbane is likely to have a second Dunkley brother don its colours next year, with Kyle Dunkley in discussions about joining the Lions’ VFL team for 2023.

Kyle, 22, who played five AFL matches for Melbourne in 2019 before being delisted at the end of the following year, has moved to Queensland to join his older brother Josh, who was traded to Brisbane from the Western Bulldogs earlier this year, and older sister Lara, who plays netball for the Queensland Firebirds.

While Brisbane is yet to formalise a deal, sources have indicated that Kyle, a mid-season draftee to the Demons in 2019, is likely to play for the Lions reserves next year.

It would be Kyle’s third VFL club in as many years, with the midfielder playing for Essendon’s reserves in 2021 and the Northern Bullants this year.

Kyle was courted by the Bombers at the end of 2020, at a time the club was also trying to recruit Josh; who requested a trade to the Dons from the Bulldogs, a move that was rebuffed.

Josh Dunkley, 25, was traded to the Lions after 116 matches for the Dogs, winning a premiership in his first season in 2016 and claiming the club’s best and fairest this year.

Josh, Lara and Kyle Dunkley. Picture: Jason Edwards

The three siblings are the children of former Sydney defender Andrew Dunkley. Both brothers were eligible as father-son selections to the Swans but were bypassed by Sydney.

Kyle was loosely aligned to the Swans this year as a Covid-19 top-up player, a result of Sydney being assigned the Bullants for the purposes of the AFL scheme.

Brisbane’s VFL side is topped up with father-son and academy players, including Will Ashcroft, who will be taken by Brisbane early in the AFL draft on Monday night.

Kyle told website Zero Hanger earlier this year that he remained keen to pursue an AFL career, and that he wanted to play with Josh.

“Josh and I have always had a dream of being able to play together,” Kyle said.

“We were both for it. I still remember the last night of the trade [period]. Josh and I, mum and dad, gran and pa were sitting on the farm just around the campfire hoping for the best.

“It obviously didn’t happen. It would have been nice for Josh and I, but at the same time, who knows what can happen in the future.”

Originally published as Brisbane set to sign second Dunkley, with Kyle in talks to play for Lions’ VFL team next season