Inside story: How Brisbane Lions secured Joe Daniher from Essendon and Sydney’s clutches
The football world thought Joe Daniher was leaving Essendon for Sydney, that was until Brisbane came knocking with some powerful names. This is the inside story.
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There was a lot of downtime in last year’s Gold Coast hub as AFL players tried their best to keep themselves distracted from the grind of the COVID-impacted season.
For Essendon’s Joe Daniher it wasn’t Netflix that took the focus in his hotel room, he was busy entertaining suitors on his laptop.
Being a restricted free agent and a player in demand during the bizarre 2020 season meant the normal wooing process had a very different look.
There were no clandestine meetings in club boardrooms after hours or at player agent’s houses, it was all done electronically via Zoom.
Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan never recruits a player without meeting them in person and getting a feel for their character and values.
This time he had to make an exception to his rule.
Despite Daniher being just 90 minutes up the road from his Gabba office, circumstances meant the only way he could get face-to-face was on a computer screen.
That’s how the Lions “met” Daniher and remarkably they never actually crossed paths in person until a few months later when he’d declared his intention to become a Brisbane player.
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It was a scenario 12 months earlier that no-one entertained.
Daniher appeared destined for Sydney, he’d been caught catching up with the Swans hierarchy during the year and had officially asked for a trade to the Harbour City.
But Sydney and Essendon could not agree on a deal, with the Bombers ultimately not playing ball despite the All-Australian forward pleading for a fresh start.
Watching with interest from afar was Lions list manager Dom Ambrogio who then raised Daniher’s name at a list-management meeting which included CEO Greg Swann.
“We had a discussion as a group,” Swann explained.
“The reasons that he wanted to go, such as getting out of Melbourne and going somewhere which is a bit off Broadway, that obviously worked for us also so we decided we should put our stake in the ground.”
Ambrogio made the call to Daniher‘s manager, Nigel Carmody from TLA, and expressed the club’s interest.
He wasn’t the only one who had been on the phone.
Geelong was in the market for a key forward and had the move-to-the-country sell down pat.
BOMBERS RETURN
There was a lot of water to go under the bridge for Daniher so he dusted himself off, put on a fake smile and returned to The Hangar to once again start another pre-season hoping for a miracle.
His body had let him down horribly over the previous two seasons.
After winning the best fairest in 2017, he’d played just 11 games across 2018 and 2019 because of a groin problem that simply would not go away.
He made some changes, escaping Melbourne for the rural setting of Daylesford and shedding a few kilos over the summer.
There was renewed optimism among his Essendon teammates that Daniher was getting his mojo back … and then COVID hit.
Everyone’s world was thrown upside down and suddenly Daniher found himself living out of a suitcase in Queensland.
He understood that getting back on the park was going to help his chances of getting a better contract should he decide to move on and finally the moons aligned and Daniher played in Round 14 against Hawthorn.
And it was a triumphant return with the Dons inspired by their full-forward’s three-goal performance, winning their first game in six weeks.
Daniher played three of the next four games to finish the season and end his 108-game career at Essendon — although at this stage he was the only one who knew that.
There had been a shift in the market of his suitors.
Sydney had lost favouritism with the Lance Franklin situation throwing them a curveball.
Buddy had not played a game all season and with Daniher’s injury history, having two high-priced key forwards with question marks around them on the list was making Swans officials nervous.
Geelong was also drifting given it had zeroed in on Greater Western Sydney star Jeremy Cameron, who had given the Cats a wink and a nudge that he was liking the idea of a move to Kardinia Park.
That left the Lions who’d already ramped up the charm offensive.
Daniher getting to spend a winter in the warmer climate of Queensland had clearly played into their hands as had the club’s renowned record with injured players.
INJURY CURE
Hawthorn premiership hero Grant Birchall had played just eight games in three years before heading to Brisbane in 2020. At the age of 32, he then played 16 games.
Lincoln McCarthy was a talented forward at Geelong who played 29 games in seven injury-interrupted seasons. Since his move north, he’s played 41 games in two seasons.
Both of them got on the phone to Daniher, regaling the magic of the Brisbane air which had miraculously saved both of their careers.
The Lions had another ace in the pack with its head of medical, Peter Blanch, having worked at Essendon and he was there when Daniher had his breakout 2017 season where he won the best and fairest, kicked 65 goals and was named in the forward pocket of the All-Australian team.
They ticked a lot of boxes but Daniher was still battling with breaking the strong family ties to Essendon, so he went off the grid.
Together with teammate James Stewart and their partners, they headed on a road trip around Queensland which took them inland to Birdsville, then up to Mt Isa and across to Hervey Bay.
It was the perfect way to clear the head although there was one minor problem, the communication in the outback wasn‘t the best.
While Brisbane had a finals campaign to focus on, they were starting to get toey about whether they’d landed the big fish.
Carmody tried to keep them in the loop as best he could but found himself spending plenty of time on Google maps working out where Daniher was camping out and trying to organise times when he was in a place where his mobile phone would work.
Eventually everything aligned on the communication front and Daniher finally gave the green light on October 7 — five days after the Lions had stunned reigning premier Richmond in the second qualifying final — for Carmody to inform Essendon that he wanted to play for Brisbane in 2021.
Three weeks later it was official.
The Bombers didn’t match Brisbane’s three-year contract offer for Daniher and received a first-round pick (it was No.7 but then moved to No.10 on draft night) as compensation.
So relieved and excited that the deal was done, Daniher, who is known for unconventional thinking, decided to set up digs in his new state immediately.
Instead of heading back to Victoria to pack up his house and organise his belongings, he got his brother to do that for him.
He never actually set foot back in his old state again until Brisbane’s game in Geelong three weeks ago.
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Originally published as Inside story: How Brisbane Lions secured Joe Daniher from Essendon and Sydney’s clutches
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