Daniel Rich would not remorse taking one for a Brisbane Lions group he says has by no means been higher positioned to win an AFL flag since he arrived 15 years in the past.
The Brisbane mainstay will not play on subsequent season, Rich hopeful of seeing a while within the VFL facet’s semi-final towards Williamstown on Sunday after overcoming a hamstring damage.
It was that setback in a fifteenth AFL season on the similar membership that lastly prompted the 33-year-old to name time on his taking part in days.
Rich started the yr within the AFL facet, taking part in seven of the primary 13 rounds earlier than he and fellow veteran Jack Gunston had been positioned in a coaching block after a loss to Hawthorn.
The transfer was described as a mutual determination with coach Chris Fagan, Rich adamant it was the fitting one even when it successfully ended his AFL taking part in days.
Rich may nonetheless sneak again into the Lions’ prime facet if accidents strike but when that does not occur he will not “let the last six months define” him.
“It was definitely the right decision; at the end of that four-week block I felt great,” the 275-game veteran informed media on Tuesday, a day after breaking news of his retirement to teammates.
“It’s easy to say ‘what if’, but that’s life. We all have those moments and I’m pretty content where things are at.
“I do know I’ve bought to be on the market coaching repeatedly and could not try this.
“It all just adds up; sometimes you have to make those hard decisions that are best for yourself and the team.”
Dashing defenders Darcy Wilmot, Keidean Coleman and Conor McKenna have flourished in Rich’s absence, the veteran admitting that space of the bottom was now a transparent power of the facet.
“It was a matter of time that I’d hand over the baton; not the way I would have liked it to happen but that’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes,” he stated.
The West Australian has endured the highs and lows since arriving on the Gabba as an thrilling midfielder in 2009 and thinks their fifth successive finals look represents their finest shot but at a title.
“I definitely think so; it’s a pretty talented team and we’ve learnt alot over the last four years with those finals experiences,” he stated.
Co-captain Lachie Neale stated Rich was “too humble for his own good”.
“An absolute legend; he’s sort of the glue, a superstar behind closed doors,” Neale stated.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
