WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Melbourne making audacious bid to lure Joe Daniher out of retirement.<\/p>\n
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today \u201cMelbourne and coach Simon Goodwin are attempting to convince Joe Daniher to return to the AFL next season, less than 12 months after he called it quits,\u201d Cleary told 7NEWS on Monday night.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 31-year-old has spent recent months in Europe and lives in northern New South Wales, but it hasn\u2019t stopped Goodwin and the Dees making a pitch.<\/p>\n \u201cGoodwin was an assistant coach at the Bombers for two years with Daniher, while Dees forward Jake Melksham \u2014 currently in the form of his life \u2014 previously called him a teammate.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is still seen as unlikely, however the approach highlights how keen the Demons are to bolster their key forward stocks.\u201d<\/p>\n A notoriously private and unique character, Daniher famously shocked the footy world<\/a> by calling time on his career in the aftermath of his second club\u2019s premiership success last year.<\/p>\n The enigmatic, match-winning left-footer had arguably the best season of his career in 2024, but walked away from the lucrative contract he still had at the Lions to retire.<\/p>\n Daniher, who was drafted to Essendon as a father-son selection in 2012, was critical to the Lions\u2019 success in 2024, and almost dragged them over the line against Collingwood in the previous year\u2019s decider.<\/p>\n He left the game with 395 goals from 204 games across his time at Brisbane and Essendon.<\/p>\n \u201cI retire knowing I gave my absolute all to the Brisbane Lions and Essendon, and I am extremely proud of what I achieved individually and as a team,\u201d Daniher said last October<\/a>, less than a week after the flag.<\/p>\n \u201cI am tremendously grateful for the opportunities given to me by both Brisbane and Essendon and I want to thank both clubs and their incredible fans for their support.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been an incredible journey here at the Brisbane Lions to go from a club that was really struggling at the bottom of the ladder to winning a premiership.<\/p>\n \u201cAs I finish up my career, I do so with the club in a great position on and off the field and I can\u2019t wait to see the Brisbane Lions experience more success in the future.<\/p>\n \u201cI am beyond excited by the squad we have at the Lions and especially the young talent we have coming through that are the future stars of this club.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to thank everyone that has played a part in my AFL career and helping me become the player and person I am today.\u201d<\/p>\n Following his retirement, Lions coach Chris Fagan revealed that it was after the 2023 grand final that Daniher first told the coach of his desire to walk away.<\/p>\n In a meeting after that loss to the Magpies, Daniher told Fagan that had the Lions won that game, he would have hung the boots up there and then.<\/p>\n \u201cLast year after the grand final, Joey gave me a call and said, \u2018Can we have a meeting?\u2019 So I caught up with him,\u201d Fagan said at Brisbane\u2019s best and fairest last year.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd he said to me, \u2018You know, if we had have won this week, I was going to retire\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought, \u2018Geez, I hope he\u2019s not going to retire (now)\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cBut he said, \u2018But I\u2019m going to play for one more year, and I hope we can win a premiership\u2019. I\u2019m so pleased that that\u2019s happened, Joey, that you\u2019ve got to go out on the back of winning a premiership.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Text message uncovers truth behind Joe Daniher rumour<\/p>\n 2 min read<\/p>\n![\"Download](\"https:\/\/7news.com.au\/static\/media\/right-red-arrow.92bca5db.svg\"){kind=icon}
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Chris](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/329f573f0de02269998f1d4f7ca02b6ec987f508.jpg\")
Chris Fagan has talked down the possibility of a Joe Daniher comeback. Credit: Getty<\/p>\n![\"Joe](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/a833c7a57cba185cea4162e1390e95586bfc312a.jpg\")
Joe Daniher announced his retirement shortly after last year\u2019s grand final. Credit: Getty<\/p>\n