Zac Bailey laughed before declaring he was at the Brisbane Lions “until retirement”, as he revealed why he spurned lucrative interest from Adelaide to ensure he remained a one-club man.
In poetic circumstances, the 26-year-old’s decision to remain with the two-time defending champions was confirmed this week ahead of his side’s semi-final clash with the Crows.
Suggestions Bailey was agonising over the choice between Adelaide’s reported $10 million offer or staying loyal to Brisbane have followed the livewire midfield-forward throughout 2026.
Not that it had impacted his form – averaging 21.70 disposals and 4.26 inside 50s a game to garner his second All-Australian blazer.
Bailey revealed there had been interest from other clubs in his services, but the dilemma purely boiled down to Brisbane and Adelaide.
But he said the longevity of the Lions’ offer – through to the end of 2034 – and the lifestyle he and his partner had built were alluring factors.
“Throughout the year it was 50-50, there was a bit of interest there and something I had to consider, but I just love it here so much and really wanted to get a deal done here,” he said.
“It was also a decision for me and partner to make. She also loves it here and is very settled.”
He described himself as a relaxed guy, but said the off-contract years could be stressful.
“To have this out of the way now and not have to worry about this for – hopefully – the rest of my career is something I’m really excited about,” he said.
“But with that, it’s now on me to make sure I keep trying to improve and take my game to another level. [The club] have put a lot of trust in me to perform, so now it’s on me.”
Bailey said there was no explicit pact in the Lions’ squad to deny rival advances, but hinted at an unspoken vow that “a lot of people have taken less to stay here” in the quest for sustained success.
His teammate Cam Rayner backed Bailey to make an impression against the club who hunted his signature, but warned individual success would need to be put aside if Brisbane were to avenge their 53-point to the Swans last week.
Earlier this year, Bailey’s three goals, 29 disposals (a figure he has only bettered once) and seven clearances against the Crows was arguably his career-best performance.
Two of those majors, and his quick slick hands helped lay on chances for Logan Morris and Will Ashcroft, came in a seven goals to one third quarter which took the life out of their foes.
Rayner said his teammate’s announcement about the Lions couldn’t have come at a better time.
“I’m not sure if it was something he’d planned or had in the pipeline, but it probably couldn’t come at a better time,” Rayner said.
“I feel like for him to get that off his back, it’s perfect timing for him to come out and have a great weekend.
“He’ll be wanting to come out and play, but it’s no different to anyone else in our team now. We’re ready to go, we’ll be looking forward to responding from last week, and I think that’ll be straight away from the start.”
Lions veteran Dayne Zorko, who himself announced a one-year extension to the end of 2027 on Thursday, added: “All the external noise and money thrown his way wasn’t distracting him.
“That sort of money that was thrown at him was just extraordinary, it would’ve made him one of the top three or four paid players in the competition, so that itself carries a lot of weight.”
For much of his career, Bailey appeared on the cusp of realising his potential, but was unable to string together consistent game-breaking outings.
That has all changed in the past two campaigns – kicking 73 goals and averaging more than 20 touches a game in that time.
After their Swans defeat was described as “lethargic” by Lions great Simon Black, Zorko felt the energy Bailey’s decision had injected into the group had proven a circuit-breaker this week.
“Some of the parts I’ve seen grow this year for Zac have been incredible – his selflessness in front of goal, the energy he brings to the group … that’s grown tenfold in the past 12 months,” he said.
“The timing of it, it is what it is, but it certainly put some energy back into the group on Tuesday, and probably something we needed after a pretty poor performance last week.”
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