BRISBANE ruckman Oscar McInerney has been substituted out of Thursday night's elimination final inside the opening minutes due to concussion.
The 28-year-old was involved in a collision with Richmond midfielder Jack Ross and had to be helped off the ground in the arms of trainers after a nasty clash of heads.
A little more than 90 seconds of game time had expired at the time of the collision, and he was taken from the field a short time later.
On a night when the Victorian should have been celebrating his 100th AFL game after being plucked out of the VFL as a 22-year-old, McInerney will now enter concussion protocols, meaning he needs Brisbane to progress to a preliminary final if he is to play again in 2022.
Callum Ah Chee, who started the game as the medi-sub, was quickly activated and made an instant impact, picking up four disposals by quarter time, including three shots on goal (1.2).
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Chris Fagan will now need to turn to key forwards Joe Daniher and Dan McStay to ruck against Tigers co-captain Toby Nankervis for the remainder of the game.
The Lions have previously used ruckman Darcy Fort as a medi-sub three times this season, including most recently against Richmond in round 20, but he wasn't selected tonight.
Fort played in Brisbane's loss to Southport in a VFL qualifying final last weekend and is set to face Carlton in Moreton Bay on Saturday.
If Brisbane progresses past Richmond tonight, Fort may be pulled out of that match to keep him fresh for a semi-final next weekend.
