AFL free agency and trade: Brisbane Lions continue to fend off free agency
Brisbane has recorded a double signing coup, with Charlie Cameron and Jarrod Berry both extending their contracts. CALLUM DICK has the details.
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Brisbane has secured a major double signing coup with both Jarrod Berry and Charlie Cameron recommitting to the Lions on fresh deals.
The club on Tuesday confirmed free agent Berry had penned a five-year extension, with Cameron adding a further three years to his previous deal which expired at the end of 2025.
After the Lions successfully staved off significant rival interest for superstar midfielder Hugh McCluggage, who signed on for a further seven years last month, extending his great mate Berry became the next major focus for Brisbane’s list management team.
The pair were drafted together in 2016 and have played pivotal roles in reshaping the Lions from finals pretenders to premiership contenders under Chris Fagan.
“I’m just super proud of my journey so far and being able to stick with the one club is pretty special to me and it was nice to see the club put their faith in me,” Berry said.
“The friendships and bonds I’ve formed over the eight years that I’ve been here … it was pretty easy for me to not want to leave. I feel like I’ve built a life up here.
“Hughy was a factor, him staying. He’s one of my close mates. It wasn’t the main factor but it certainly contributed to it.
“We’re both pretty hungry to go that next level and get the ultimate goal for the club (a premiership).”
Berry, who is set to play game 150 against West Coast in Perth next Sunday, is averaging a career-best 21.3 disposals this season.
He returned to the on-ball rotation in round 8 against Gold Coast and thrived in his new role as a defensive midfielder and occasional two-way tagger.
He has played some brilliant stopping roles in recent weeks, notably limiting the influence of Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli and St Kilda skipper Jack Steele in back-to-back games. All the while keeping the offensive part of his game intact.
Berry’s emergence as a talented two-way midfielder gives Chris Fagan a second such magnet to use through the middle of the ground, alongside Josh Dunkley who has established himself as one of the best in the business in that role.
The 192cm midfielder now looks set to be a Lion for life with his latest deal keeping him in the maroon, blue and gold until at least 2029, when he will be 31.
Meanwhile, questions over Cameron’s future have been put to bed by a new deal that will almost certainly mean he plays out the rest of his career in Queensland.
Cameron, who turns 30 on Friday, had been rumoured to be in the sights of rival clubs who thought he could be gettable at the trade table after a down start to the season by the All-Australian forward’s lofty standards.
But it would have been a genuine shock to see the Brisbane-Cameron partnership broken after such a fruitful six seasons.
Cameron has booted four goals in the past fortnight and looks to slowly be rounding back into form. His extension puts to bed any talk of a move out of Brisbane and will give the superstar small forward a solid foundation to launch into the back of the year as the Lions surge towards September.
Dayne Zorko, Ryan Lester and Jarryd Lyons are now the only Lions regulars without a contract beyond the end of 2024.
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Originally published as AFL free agency and trade: Brisbane Lions continue to fend off free agency
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