Brisbane have announced new deals for trio Callum Ah Chee, James Madden and Henry Smith, with each newly-signed player now locked in at the Lions with fresh contract extensions.
Ah Chee has inked a deal that will see his services tied to the Springfield-based club until the end of the 2025 season, adding two years to his current deal in the hope of extending his 108-game career well beyond this season.
45 of those games came with the Gold Coast Suns before Ah Chee moved to the Lions at the end of 2019, where he has since developed a role as a formidable utility under coach Chris Fagan.
“We believe Cal's best footy is still in front of him and despite an injury interrupted season, he has shown glimpses of why he was an early draft pick,” Brisbane football boss Danny Daly said in a club announcement.
Irishman James Madden has extended his stay at Brisbane for an extra 12 months, signing a deal until the end of 2024. Madden has played 13 games across the past three seasons with the Queensland club, two of which came earlier this year.
“Jimmy (Madden) is another player who has produced really strong VFL form which cultivated in AFL selection before he had an untimely shoulder injury," Daly added.
“What we saw from Jimmy warranted the Club to commit to him for at least another year.”
Smith is yet to feature at AFL level under Fagan, however the 206cm ruckman has seen his promising VFL form rewarded with a bumper deal that now has his services tied to the club until the end of 2026.
Intially already signed for next season, the South Australian is averaging 11.5 disposals, 2.8 marks, 2.1 clearances and 8.3 hitouts per game so far this year at the state league level.
“With Henry we always knew he (as a ruckman and key forward) would probably take more time to develop, but we have been happy with his form in the VFL and were keen to lock him away and continue to develop him as he has an exciting future," Daly said of Smith.
The triple retention announcement adds to the club's re-signing of Zac Bailey until 2026 earlier this year. Brisbane does have Kai Lohmann, Dayne Zorko, Daniel Rich and Deven Robertson, among others, still unsigned for 2024.