Craig Starcevich has rejected a late approach from Collingwood and committed his future to Brisbane, signing a three-year extension as the Lions’ AFLW coach.
The 59-year-old, the longest-serving coach at one club in the competition, informed Brisbane players of his decision alongside chief executive Sam Graham on Wednesday morning.
Collingwood’s interest was led by chief executive Craig Kelly, Starcevich’s former premiership-winning team-mate, as the Magpies search for a new direction after a difficult season. Sam Wright stepped down as their senior AFLW coach on Tuesday, while captain Ruby Schleicher has also departed.
Starcevich confirmed that Collingwood had contacted him about returning to Victoria to rebuild their struggling programme, but said the approach came “quite late” after he had already decided to remain in Brisbane.
“That’s something I couldn’t really give too much consideration to at all,” Starcevich said.
Craig Starcevich chooses Brisbane Lions extension
Tasmania, which is seeking its inaugural AFLW coach ahead of entering the competition in 2028, had also explored the possibility of appointing Starcevich.
He said that opportunity had required more thought because it resembled the challenge Brisbane faced when establishing its women’s programme. However, his attachment to the Lions ultimately proved decisive.
“I did [give it a lot of thought] because it was intriguing because it had some of the hallmarks of what we did 10, 11 years ago in setting up the Lions,” he said.
“But, at the end of the day, I love our club and our people too much, so it was going to be really difficult for me to move away from Brisbane.”
Brisbane have endured an unusually difficult campaign and are set to miss the finals for the first time since 2019. Starcevich attributed the team’s struggles largely to injuries, including hamstring problems for Ally Anderson, wrist issues for Jade Ellenger and Courtney Hodder’s absence because of pregnancy.
Despite the Lions’ results, Starcevich said he believed the side would have finished the season strongly if the campaign had lasted another three to six matches.
His decision to stay was also influenced by what he described as Brisbane’s strong “one-club mentality”, with the men’s and women’s programmes operating together at the club’s facility in Springfield.
“I’ll be very biased here and just say that the Brisbane Lions is the most powerful club in the AFL at the moment,” he said.
“We run strong programmes in both [men’s and women’s]. So it’s just a great place to be in terms of our sport and our industry.”
Starcevich has guided Brisbane to two premierships and seven grand finals since taking charge. He said the club’s leadership, staff and academy players had helped create an environment in which the two football programmes benefited from being together.
“You walk through the front door, and they’re all Brisbane Lions people. They’re not just Brisbane Lions AFL men’s or AFLW, it’s one big Brisbane Lions footy club,” he said.
