THE BRISBANE Lions have secured young key forward Josh Schache for a further two seasons, blindsiding Melbourne rivals who had started to circle the talented No.2 draft pick.

Schache, who was out of contract at the end of this season, has signed on until the end of 2019, declaring he wanted to repay the faith the club had put in him as a teenager. 

"Having been at the Lions for a couple of years and seeing where we are headed, I’m really excited about our future," Schache told the club's website.

"I enjoy living in Brisbane and playing footy with a committed and hard working group."

Schache was widely tipped to seek a new football home at the end of this season, with Richmond among his suitors.

After 16 games in his debut season he started this year in the NEAFL and was dropped again in round nine after just eight possessions and three marks against Hawthorn.

The 19-year-old returned home to Victoria late last month when granted a short period of leave after the club recognised he had become fatigued in the first half of the season.

Football manager David Noble said Schache had an exciting long-term future at the club and could now focus on his form with contract talks behind him.

Noble said the club had always been confident it would re-sign the in-demand youngster, despite rival interest.

"We're extremely pleased to retain a player of Josh's talent," Noble said.

"At only 19 he has shown his ability to play at AFL level and his future is exciting.  

"We were always confident Josh would stay, as he has a part to play in our future as we continue to grow united as a club.

"Josh can now focus on his development as both a player and a person within our club systems."

Josh Schache has signed a new two-year deal with the Lions. Picture: AFL Photos

Lions coach Chris Fagan wasn't as confident as Noble, conceding he thought there was a chance Schache might move on.

"I was always hopeful that he'd stay, but you never never know until they come out with those words, so it's very pleasing," Fagan said.

"You've got to make your club a good enough place for them where they think they're learning and improving every day, and want to stay and build mateship, and to look after them off the field.

"We're doing as good a job as we can in that and as good a job as any club in the AFL."

Schache's manager David Trotter from McDonald Sports told AFL.com.au he had been in frequent contact over the past four months with Noble and Lions' list manager Dom Ambrogio. 

"The plan was always to make a decision at the midpoint of the year," Trotter said.

Trotter said external speculation had added intrigue to the process, but Schache been able to discuss all the issues during his two-week break and made a considered decision.

"He's pretty excited. The couple of weeks off has refreshed him a bit, and now getting this out of the road he can just focus on being a 19-year-old key forward and worry about his footy, not being an out of contract 19-year-old key forward," Trotter said.

Fagan said Schache would play in the NEAFL again this weekend.

"His form wasn't up to scratch two or three weeks go and he hasn’t played for a couple of weeks," Fagan said.

"If he can string some good games together he'll make his way back into the AFL team."

The Lions last month extended first-round pick Jarrod Berry's contract for a further two seasons until the end of 2020, while defender Tom Cutler was secured until the end of 2019. 

"We want to become relevant again, and the fact that Josh and a number of our emerging players have already re-signed shows they are buying into our club and want to be part of our future," Noble said.