{"id":177861,"date":"2025-09-29T15:43:30","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T15:43:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/177861\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T15:43:30","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T15:43:30","slug":"a-flag-worth-every-bit-of-pain-josh-dunkley-to-undergo-two-big-surgeries-after-grand-final-heroics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/177861\/","title":{"rendered":"A flag \u2018worth every bit of pain\u2019; Josh Dunkley to undergo two big surgeries after grand final heroics"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Brisbane star Josh Dunkley considered the multiple surgeries he will require in the off-season, it was put to him in the Lions rooms after Saturday\u2019s premiership triumph <\/a>that he was harder to kill off than a cockroach.<\/p>\n

Now a dual-premiership midfielder with Brisbane after winning a flag with the Western Bulldogs in 2016, Dunkley has proven hardier than the despised insect, a player capable of excelling on footy\u2019s biggest stage despite carrying significant injuries.<\/p>\n

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While the selection focus centred on whether Brownlow Medallist Lachie Neale would be able to perform in the grand final \u2014 and boy, what a performance his was \u2014 less considered was the fact that Dunkley was carrying an injury himself.<\/p>\n

After the Lions defeat of Collingwood last Saturday, Dunkley left Melbourne wearing a moon boot to protect an ankle that will require surgery, he revealed amid the bedlam in the Brisbane rooms on Saturday night.<\/p>\n

Despite carrying a Grade 3 syndesmosis injury into the grand final, the Lion was able to gather 16 disposals and lay five tackles in a brave performance. But this Brisbane campaign has been built on self-belief and he was confident he could deliver.<\/p>\n

\u201cFages brought that up a couple of weeks ago, and it has lived on, and I am sure it is going to be brought up again when we have a meeting soon,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

But that surgery can wait, not just because of the celebrations that will continue to the Brunswick St Oval in Fitzroy on Sunday and then at Brighton Homes Arena in Springfield later in the evening.<\/p>\n

Before the ankle is operated on, the 28-year-old will undergo another on the left shoulder that has troubled him for a while, with that to be carried out on Tuesday. <\/p>\n

Just so anyone reading this is aware, Dunkley was at pains to insist the injuries were not a big deal and that the focus should be on the broader Brisbane effort, which was brilliant as they defeated Geelong by 47 points. <\/p>\n

There will be barrels of ink spilt on his champion team and his teammates, so it does no disservice to touch on the bravery of the hardened midfielder either. Dunkley was always willing to pay the price stemming from playing in the decider.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got ten weeks not to get better in the off-season and I\u2019ll do anything for this club, because they have given me this opportunity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201c(It didn\u2019t) feel great. Not great at all. I might be sitting down later but it is worth every bit of pain that I went through.\u201d<\/p>\n

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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – SEPTEMBER 27: Cam Rayner of the Lions and Josh Dunkley of the Lions celebrate with fans after winning the AFL Grand Final match between Geelong Cats and Brisbane Lions at Melbourne Cricket Ground on September 27, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer\/AFL Photos\/via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n

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Dunkley, who has had a significant impact with the Lions since moving north, said he underwent a scan last Sunday and was advised by the medical staff that while he would require surgery, they would be able to make sure he played the grand final.<\/p>\n

\u201c(The doctor) said to me, \u2018You are not going to miss. We will get you up for it,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to get another couple of surgeries now, but that is part of being an AFL player. You put up with the adversity, but I don\u2019t want this to be about me. I want this to be about the group. The group has overcome adversity all year, and for younger guys to come in and play their role is so special, so special.\u201d<\/p>\n

In terms of the severity of the ankle injury, he said it was \u201cup there\u201d. The shoulder he is having surgery on requires a reconstruction.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing beats the shoulders, to be honest, but the ankle, playing with this was pretty painful,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can do them both at the same time. It will be the shoulder first and then the ankle after that, because I can walk a little bit. I am sure it will be pretty sore tomorrow, but I\u2019ll be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – SEPTEMBER 27: Josh Dunkley of the Lions poses for a photo with family and friends during the AFL Grand Final match between the Geelong Cats and the Brisbane Lions at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on September 27, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Russell Freeman\/AFL Photos via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Brisbane star Josh Dunkley considered the multiple surgeries he will require in the off-season, it was put…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":177862,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,2095,1813,64,63,55,639,115041,3567,115039,11288,9286,12098,25875,92635,115040,2041,2067,115042,85,29114,4441,2614],"class_list":["post-177861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-america","tag-ankle-injury","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-brave-performance","tag-courtney-walsh","tag-dual-premiership-midfielder","tag-grand-final","tag-illinois","tag-josh-dunkley","tag-lachie-neale","tag-moon-boot","tag-multiple-surgeries","tag-north-america","tag-northern-america","tag-sore-tomorrow","tag-sports","tag-springfield","tag-syndesmosis-injury","tag-united-states-of-america"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177861\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/177862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}