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Sport Nation
Live sport on SN this weekendThe veteran Lion Cornes believes needs a spell in the VFL
Jaiden Sciberras • August 15th, 2025 4:30 pm
Friday night’s contest between Fremantle and Brisbane could be one of the biggest top eight shifters in recent years.
Fourth versus fifth, the winner will leap into a double chance place with just one game to play, while the loser faces the incredibly real fate of potentially missing the eight altogether.
In Round 24, Fremantle faces the Western Bulldogs, while Brisbane faces the Hawks – two sides that desperately need to win to lock up a place in the top eight.
The result between the two top four hopefuls is absolutely crucial in shaping the September bracket, and off the back of a disappointing two-point loss to Sydney, Chris Fagan and the Lions have opted into three omissions.
Henry Smith, Deven Robertson and Will McLachlan have all been dropped from the senior side, making way for Ryan Lester, Brandon Starcevich and Sam Day, while the injured Tom Doedee also exits the side for debutant Luke Beecken.
That being said, Kane Cornes has made note of a selection call that the Lions refused to make, placing both Fagan and Brisbane’s veteran small forward in the gun following a poor stretch of form.
“Chris Fagan is my guy, he is my man, but he is in the gun,” Cornes told SEN Fireball.
“Once again, he’s been very loyal at the selection table. I can’t question him, because he’s got the results in the past, and he’s gone with Charlie Cameron again.
“I think that everything suggests that Charlie needs a spell in the VFL. He had a negative rating by Champion Data on the weekend; he is outside the top 300 players in the game.
“A few times this year, he’s been in the negatives, he’s been goalless nine times, but Fages has gone with him again.
“So, there needs to be something from Charlie Cameron. Half Charlie, half Fages – half and half, they are both in the gun.”
The game between the Dockers and Lions is set for an 8:35pm AEST start at Optus Stadium.
