Brisbane players were left in the dark over Zac Bailey’s long-awaited contract decision

Cam Rayner insists Zac Bailey had kept his thoughts to himself while deciding his AFL future and that his call to remain at the Brisbane Lions was a perfectly-timed surprise. The livewire All-Australian midfield-forward received heavy interest from rival clubs, largely the Adelaide Crows, before confirming an eight-year extension with the two-time defending premiers on Tuesday. Coincidentally, the Lions play the Crows at the Gabba in a knockout semi-final on Saturday, keen to respond from a lacklustre loss to Sydney at the weekend. “Everyone was pretty happy with ‘Bails’,” teammate Rayner said. “I’m not sure if it was something that he planned or had in the pipeline, but it probably couldn’t have come at a better time. “It’s been spoken about a lot throughout the year ... for him to kind of get that off his back, it’s perfect timing for him to come out and have a great weekend. “To be honest, the boys didn’t really have much of an idea. “I was just as surprised as everyone else, super excited that he stayed, and happy for him that he got the contract that he deserves.” Former Hawthorn and Brisbane great Luke Hodge theorised that the report of 7NEWS Melbourne’s Tom Morris that Crows coach Matthew Nicks would have been sacked if Adelaide lost their elimination final against the Western Bulldogs may have influenced Bailey’s decision. He also said the added pressure of being the highest-paid player of a club in AFL-mad Adelaide may have deterred him. Rayner dismissed the Hodge theory, but agreed his sometimes bashful teammate had been made to feel comfortable in a squad full of personalities. “I’m not really sure you can read too much into that, to be honest ... but one strength of the club is to let everyone flourish in there, no matter if you’re an outgoing person like a Motty (Darcy Wilmot) or a Kai (Lohmann), or someone who’s a little bit more softly spoken.” Speaking on The Agenda Setters on Tuesday night, Hodge — who played with Bailey for two years at the Lions — said Morris’s report helped his former club keep the dynamo goalkicker. “Whoever leaked that from Adelaide ... I reckon that’s a big reason why Zac Bailey did not go to the Adelaide Football Club,” Hodge said. “Zach has been around Brisbane (since 2018). So he’s had stability around him since he’s been there. “Two of his first three years that he played finals, they were out in straight sets. Did you hear anything about Chris Fagan getting fired or getting sacked? No. “They put more support around him. They lost the grand final. Did you hear anything about Chris Fagan? No. They had more support around him. “All of a sudden, Adelaide Football Club went from 15th to two final series in a row, and then if they lost on the weekend, that Matthew Nicks was going to be sacked. “For a bloke who’s an introvert, who doesn’t want that much attention, Zac going across to Adelaide, being a $1.5 million player, the highest paid player on the Adelaide Crows list, in a two-team town that are obsessive and passionate about football, I think that deterred his decision. “How many times have you seen a player leave it this late (in the year) and then backflip and go back to their club? “I strongly believe that what happened last week at Adelaide, whoever let that leak out should shake your head because you’ve just cost yourself Zac Bailey, who is a match winner, someone who Adelaide needs to take that next step.” Adelaide’s final offer to Bailey was around $11 million over eight years, an offer that had been seen by some as too good to refuse. “This is a massive win for the Lions,” Hodge said. “They’re not overpaying Zac, he’s stuck in that same (pay bracket) as a lot of their other senior players. “(Adelaide) threw everything they possible could at him and they did an amazing job to push it out this far for him to make a decision so late ... but very costly from whoever it was at Adelaide.” Following the Crows’ offer, the Lions did up the ante, with Bailey agreeing to an eight-year, $9m-plus deal.