Furious Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan has slammed the parent who leaked his team’s confidential list targeting Essendon players after it was revealed one Bombers star was sledged over his girlfriend.
Private information out of the club was posted online ahead of the Lions’ 64-point mauling of the Bombers on Saturday.
Photos that listed the strengths and weaknesses of Essendon’s players were shared in a Bomber supporter group on Facebook.
Essendon star Jaxon Prior’s only strength was listed as ‘Bronte’ – referring to his partner, Bronte Thompson.
Former Essendon captain Zach Merrett was described as ‘selfish’, while maligned defender Ben McKay had ‘low confidence’ written about him.
Footy fans lashed out online after the list was revealed to the public on Saturday.
Jaxon Prior was targeted in a secret Brisbane Lions hit list that listed his partner Bronte Thompson (pictured together) as his only strength
Pictured: The whiteboard list that was leaked in a Bombers Facebook group – leaving Lions coach Chris Fagan fuming
Fans were divided over the sledge against Prior (pictured with Thompson), with some left outraged while others saw it as the Lions making a light-hearted joke about their former star
‘Toxic, sexist and paints a pretty decent picture of the men who play for Brisbane,’ one wrote.
‘Listing Jaxon Prior’s only strength as his Partner, probably speaks of the toxic masculinity that runs through that club,’ another commented.
‘Jeez that’s ordinary … bringing partners and families into that setting is a really slippery slope and a big no no, it should never have been written down,’ added a third.
However, many other supporters believe the sledge was an in joke given Prior played for the Lions until the end of the 2024 season.
They claim the 24-year-old saw the funny side of being ribbed about ‘punching above his weight’ when he started dating her.
The Lions reached out to Prior after their victory at Marvel Stadium.
‘I spoke to Jaxon out on the field after the game, as did a lot of our players, and had a bit of a laugh and a joke together,’ Fagan said.
‘Remember that player played at our club, and players all know him, and we know his partner as well, and there was nothing bad intended at all with that comment, not at all, zero.’
Prior (pictured during Essendon’s loss to Brisbane on Saturday) spoke with Fagan and his former teammate Josh Dunkley regarding the leak
Prior (pictured with Thompson) was among many Bombers stars to be targeted on the list, with Zach Merrett described as ‘selfish’
Fagan was incensed about the leak and revealed the team has been compiling similar lists about opponents for ‘nine years’
Lions star Josh Dunkley also reached out to Prior after fulltime.
‘He’s all good, which is nice,’ Dunkley said.
‘We love “Priz” and he’s been at our footy club for a long period of time so it’s good to see him going well for the Bombers.’
Fagan vented his fury over the leaking of the list at his post-match press conference.
‘Somebody illegally took photos of information that was on a whiteboard and then decided to make a hero of themselves and put it out in the public domain,’ Fagan said.
‘I reckon it’s a little unfair when it’s your workplace and it’s what you do every day … we’ve been doing it for nine years … writing the strengths and vulnerabilities of opposition players up on a whiteboard.
‘That man was there with his children, using our facility, and he decides to do that because he’s an Essendon supporter and be a hero.
‘I think that’s really disappointing.’
Former Lions defender Jaxon Prior’s only strength was listed as ‘Bronte’, the name of his long-term partner.
‘I spoke to Jaxon out on the field after the game, as did a lot of our players, and had a bit of a laugh and a joke together,’ Fagan said.
He admitted the incident made him think twice about allowing external people to access facilities at the club at their Brighton Homes Arena headquarters.
The dual premiership coach said he learned the exercise of listing the opposition’s strengths and weaknesses from former Wallabies mentor Eddie Jones.
‘We go out of our way to bring the community into our football club and use our facilities,’ Fagan said.
‘For someone to do that, it’s really disappointing, and it makes you feel like not bringing the community in and just keeping it exclusive as an elite performance centre.
‘But we’ll keep bringing the community in, because we’re a good footy club, and that’s how we go about things.’
The usually reserved Brisbane star defender Harris Andrews was also furious about the incident when speaking after Saturday’s win.
Essendon coach Brad Scott was unfazed by the incident, saying it was an issue for the Lions to deal with.
‘Brisbane have done that (listing strengths and weaknesses) for years, so that’s nothing new,’ Scott said.
‘I wouldn’t want that coming out of our building.’
