Brisbane forward Josh Schache may have played his last game for the Lions if comments by his coach Chris Fagan are anything to go by.
The 19-year-old's future continues to be a topic of conversation, as he is out-of-contract at season's end.
Schache went back to Victoria last week after taking leave from the club to spend some time with his family, as he ponders his decision on whether he leaves the Lions and returns to his home state.
Fagan said if Schache does decide his future lies in Victoria, it'll be difficult to justify his selection in Brisbane's side for the remainder of the season.
"It's an interesting one about the continuation to play. If a guy decides he's going to leave your footy club and he's not going to help you into the future, and you're not in the finals race, you probably have to think twice about investing games into him, as opposed to another young player who's going to stay," Fagan told Fox Footy.
The key forward has struggled to make an impact this season, kicking just six goals from his six games.
Fagan still believes Schache will remain at Brisbane beyond this season, after the club drafted him in 2015 because he wanted to play for the Lions, and play for the same club his father played 29 games for.
"I'm very hopeful that he'll stay. I think Brisbane's looked after him incredibly well. I'm not in Josh's mind and body, and he might be incredibly homesick. That's something that's very difficult to stop, if that's what's happening," Fagan said.
"I know that we've done everything as a club to help him and I know he knows that. We'll just see how it goes but I've still got a strong level of optimism that he'll stay with us."
