Brisbane Lions duo Daniel Rich and Jack Gunston stand down

Two Brisbane Lion veterans have stood themselves down in a bombshell development amid a worrying on-field trend in recent weeks.

Jack Gunston of the Lions . (Photo by Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Brisbane veterans Jack Gunston and Daniel Rich won’t play Sydney on Friday night or for “a little while” after telling coach Chris Fagan their form wasn’t up to scratch.

In the wake of the Lions‘ loss to Hawthorn at the MCG last weekend, the duo went to Fagan early in the week and told the coach their form didn’t warrant selection against the Swans.

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But rather than play in the VFL, the duo will undergo a significant training block to build their fitness.

“Both those guys aren’t going to play this week and they’re not going to play for a little while,” Fagan said on Thursday.

“Both lads came to me on Monday and wanted to have a chat about their football.

Daniel Rich has been struggling in 2023. (Photo by Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

“They‘re not happy with the way that they’re playing at the moment, they believe that their form doesn’t warrant selection at the moment and it just goes to show what good honest men they are.”

Gunston, who joined the Lions from Hawthorn this season, only six disposals and no scores against his former team last week.

The 31-year-old has kicked 11 goals in his 11 games, but only one in the past four.

Rich, 33, has come under scrutiny for his lack of form for much of the season and only had 13 disposals against the Hawks and was subbed out of the game.

Fagan said there was little point them playing in the VFL given their vast experience and it was better to build their fitness up and push to get back in the senior team.

“There’s obviously the option to go back and play in the reserves but I think at their age the best thing we can do for them to give them the best chance to get back to playing their best footy is to give them a training block,” he said.

Jack Gunston of the Lions Brisbane Lions and the Gold Coast Suns at The Gabba on May 20, 2023 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

“For the next few weeks, that’s what they’ll be doing, just building their bodies up, building their fitness up. Hopefully in a few weeks time they’re feeling really good.”

Fagan said Rich, who has only played seven games this season, was also battling injuries and the extra fitness work would help him towards the back-end of the season, a Brisbane finals campaign.

“Rich has had a few injuries this year and missed games and Jack takes a bit of time between games to recover and what happens is they end up not training and it doesn’t help them,” he said.

“We sort of want to give a circuit breaker with them, if you like. I’m not sure how long they’ll be out for and when they’ll be ready to come back, but that’s the decision that we made this week.

“You want to give them a bit of time to get back to playing their best football, but they recognised it themselves this week.

“I‘m very confident those boys will get back and play some good footy.”

Originally published as Brisbane Lions duo Daniel Rich and Jack Gunston stand down