Brisbane were hit by a massive injury blow early in their clash with Richmond, with ruckman Oscar McInerney subbed out after less than three minutes.
McInerney was clearly groggy as he was assisted from the field in the opening term, before being ruled out of the contest after a brutal head clash.
The big man had attempted to come in for the spoil on Tiger Jack Ross early in the opening term when disaster struck for the Lions.
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As he tussled with Tiger Toby Nankervis, McInerney’s head crashed into the back of Ross and he then landed heavily on the Gabba turf.
The sole Lions’ ruckman selected for the do-or-die final was then clearly dazed and bleeding from the nose.
“McInerney stays down!” commentator Hamish McLachlan said.
“He was the one arriving late and he’s the one to come off second best.”
Commentator Luke Hodge said the big Lion “didn’t look well” after the solid collision.
The accidental head clash saw the Lions without a recognised ruck as forwards Joe Daniher and Dan McStay were forced to step up.
“This really disturbs the way they wanted to set up,” commentator Brian Taylor said.
“You wonder how the McInerney out will unbalance Brisbane.”
Daniher hadn’t featured at a ruck contest in 2022 before McInerney went down.
“Of the players out on the ground, McStay has 50, Hipwood seven and none for rest,” McLachlan said of the hitout count of 2022.
“This is the first time Joe Daniher has gone into the ruck since he came back with his shoulders. They’d normally use Daniel McStay as a back up ruckman,” Hodge added.
“He missed a lot of footy early in the year with both of his shoulders, so they probably don’t want to put him in the ruck to risk that.
“They can’t have that man (Daniher) going down.”
McInerney came into Thursday’s clash as one of the Lions’ most in-form players, averaging 13.8 ratings points across the past four weeks – up from 11.4 across the first 19 rounds.
Callum Ah Chee, in his first game back from a brutal Patrick Cripps bump that ended in concussion, was activated as the medi sub.
