Brisbane’s ongoing boardroom and coaching dramas continue to destabilise the AFL club with popular utility Brent Staker the latest player linked with a rival club.
Out-of-contract Staker is due to meet Lions’ officials to discuss a tabled offer on Friday but he reportedly spent Thursday at Carlton inspecting the Blues’ Princes Park facilities.
His Melbourne visit comes a day after Brisbane, who are interviewing candidates to replace dumped coach Michael Voss, confirmed Jared Polec was leaving the club.
Adelaide product Polec, a No.5 draft pick, has asked to be traded due to homesickness while fellow 2005 draftee Patrick Karnezis is also wanting to return home to Victoria.
A month after surprisingly axing Voss, the Lions are struggling to retain a host of rising players with their three top recruits from the 2011 draft – Billy Longer (No.8), Sam Docherty (No.12) and Elliot Yeo (No.30) – all considering their futures.
Carlton great Mark Maclure warned the loss of all five would do irreparable damage.
“They are almost going to end up like a basketcase – that gets rid of a generation of kids,” Maclure said on Fox Footy’s 360 program.
“Where do you go from there?”
Lions officials want the off-contract players to speak to the incoming coach, expected to be appointed within the next three weeks, before making their final decisions.
“We hope they stay but, if not, we’ll be looking after the club’s need and seeking value at the trade table,” football manager Dean Warren told the club’s website.
High-profile veterans Jonathan Brown and Simon Black are also waiting to see who will be named coach before they decide whether to extend their glittering careers.
Adding to the Lions’ problems is the stalemate at board level with chairman Angus Johnson under pressure from a rival ticket, headed by current directors Paul Williams and Mick Power and including Leigh Matthews.
The rival group had demanded an extraordinary general meeting to overthrow the incumbent board and it’s believed they have the requisite number of members (five per cent) calling for an EGM.
But mystery surrounds why a formal notice has not been lodged with the club.
Williams would not return calls on Thursday and Johnson is not commenting, suggesting the two parties are in talks to heal rifts.
