Brisbane Lions star Zac Bailey has revealed how torn he was when deciding his career-changing contract, saying he was "50-50" about leaving the dual reigning premiers for Adelaide.
In a major boost for the Lions following their qualifying-final shocker against Sydney, Bailey penned a bumper eight-year to remain in the Queensland capital.
Adelaide chased the restricted free agent hard, but loyalty won out for the 26-year-old dual All-Australian.
In an added subplot, the Lions will host the Crows at the Gabba on Saturday night in a sudden-death semi-final.
"Throughout the year it was 50-50," Bailey told reporters at Lions training on Thursday.
"It's now on me to make sure I keep trying to improve and take my game to another level.Â
"There's a lot of trust in me to perform, so now it's on me."
Despite being in an eight-straight finals series, Brisbane have managed to keep their core group together as they eye a three-peat.
"We've got a great bunch of lads, coaches; we've had a lot of success, and think we're such a tight group," Bailey said.
"A lot of people have taken less (money) to stay here.
"We've been able to keep a very similar group, and when you do that, you can build a team around that, and that's really important to have sustained success."
The Lions appear likely to make at least one change to the side that was thumped by the Swans, with defender Noah Answerth failing to train on Thursday.
Young defender Ty Gallop was left out for the trip to Sydney, but swapping him in for Answerth could mean the Lions are too tall down back.
Just two days after Bailey confirmed he was staying, veteran premiership teammate Dayne Zorko on Thursday inked a new contract to play on in 2027.
Turning 38 before next season starts, Zorko is forging on for a 16th campaign in the AFL.
Not debuting until he was 23 after being overlooked in four-straight drafts, the former Lions captain has the opportunity to break the club's all-time games record.
The semi-final clash with Adelaide will be Zorko's 319th AFL game.
Barring any major injuries, Zorko will break Lions legend Simon Black's record of 322 games early next year.
If the Lions reach a fourth-straight grand final, the decider will be Zorko's 321st AFL appearance.
After playing all 54 games during the 2024 and 2025 premiership campaigns, Zorko has been restricted to 14 games so far this year due to several soft-tissue injuries.
AFL/VFL games record holder Scott Pendlebury, who is moving to play with Gold Coast, and Zorko will be the only players left in the AFL born in the 1980s.
