Brisbane has brought back Noah Answerth and Jarrod Berry for Saturday’s lions game against Fremantle, a timely lift for a side that has been leaning too heavily on its stars. Answerth had played just three games in 2026 before returning, while Berry had managed six, and neither had featured in the past month.
The recalls matter now because Brisbane’s recent uneven stretch has been shaped as much by who has been missing as by who has been available. The club is still talked about as stacked with talent, but the gaps left by its role players have shown up in places that usually hold the side together — defence, support running and the small defensive jobs that do not make headlines until they are gone.
Answerth’s return carries extra weight after back-to-back concussions pushed him out for an extended period, and the timing is sharper after Brandon Starcevich headed home to Western Australia at the end of last season to join the Eagles via free agency. Starcevich had been a set-and-forget defender for Chris Fagan, while Answerth’s defence-first mindset has become more valuable as the backline has leaned on the creativity of Dayne Zorko, Keidean Coleman, Darcy Wilmot and Jaspa Fletcher.
Brisbane has already been made to pay when those support pieces are absent. Last week Toby Greene kicked five goals against the Lions, the week before Shaun Mannagh also kicked five, and the week before that Will Hayward had three. Callum Ah Chee, another important balancing piece in the premiership run, was often used to nullify the opposition’s most dangerous half-back and was sent to Ollie Dempsey on a wing in the premiership triumph.
Berry gives Brisbane another body through the middle and another layer of pressure around the contest, but the bigger question is whether the pair can help steady a side still dealing with injuries, team defence and inconsistent form. For now, the Lions’ next test is clear: Fremantle on Saturday, where the recalls will be judged not by reputation but by whether Brisbane can look like itself again.
