Lions want meeting with Aish in AFL

Brisbane CEO Greg Swann says the club will meet on Monday with James Aish and his manager Liam Pickering.

James Aish of Brisbane.

Brisbane CEO Greg Swann says the club will meet with James Aish to discuss his future. (AAP)

Brisbane have flagged a meeting with James Aish and his manager Liam Pickering amid frenzied speculation about the midfielder's AFL future.

The saga has taken another twist over the weekend, with Pickering strongly denying media reports that Carlton officials have spoken to Aish.

Aish remains out of the Lions side in his second AFL year and is also out of contract at the end of the season.

"We don't know - we asked," Lions chief executive Greg Swann told Channel Nine's The Footy Show.

"Liam said no, James himself said no, every other journalist in Australia (says) yes.

"So we just take it on face value that they didn't.

"We're accepting of what they (Aish and Pickering) said."

When pressed, Swann said the club wanted to speak again to the pair about the matter.

"We have a meeting tomorrow with Pickers and James," he said.

"Everybody else is telling us a different story, but at this stage we can only go on what they've said to us.

"That's probably the issue - just to clarify what happened.

"We have no reason to believe they're not telling us the truth, but everyone else is trying to tell a different story."

Swann stressed that the Lions were keen to keep Aish, who has been dropped twice this season.

"Of course we want him - he was fourth in the Rising Star last year, he's an early draft pick and obviously we can't afford to keep losing early draft picks," Swann said.

"It's a form-related issue ... it's as simple as that.

"People are trying to infer we've dropped him because he hasn't signed his contract."

Pickering has criticised Brisbane for how they are handling the situation with Aish, saying on Saturday it is "laughable" the pressure they are putting on the player.

Meanwhile, Swann also backed Justin Leppitsch in the wake of this week's controversy involving the Lions coach.

The Lions are the only team yet to win this season and it emerged that Leppitsch grabbed player Zac O'Brien by the throat last weekend at halftime of a NEAFL match.

Leppitsch later publicly apologised.

"He's doing a great job," Swann said.

"We're going through a tough trot, but he's certainly the bloke to get us out of it, no question."

Asked if Leppitsch is the Lions' long-term coach, Swann said "absolutely".


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Source: AAP


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