The Brisbane Lions’ scathing assessments of Essendon players before their Saturday afternoon clash at Marvel Stadium were leaked, while a star Saint suffered a significant setback. MORE IN AFL DAILY!

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‘SELFISH’, ‘HOT HEAD’, ‘COUGH UP’: LIONS’ BRUTAL BOMBERS ASSESSMENTS

Brisbane’s whiteboard notes which contained brutal assessments of Bombers players were published online on Friday.

Channel 7’s Mitch Cleary reported that photos of the whiteboard were posted on a social media fan page.

“My kid did Auskick at the Lions’ Brighton Arena … look what I come (sic) across,” the person who shared the photos posted along with a laughing face emoji.

It is unclear who wrote the notes, but they contained Essendon’s players’ strengths and weaknesses.

For example, former Bombers skipper Zach Merrett’s strengths include “kicking, licence and pressure” but he was also deemed “selfish” in his weaknesses.

Kyle Langford was also labelled “selfish”.

Brisbane Lions’ whiteboard notes on Essendon.Source: FOX SPORTS

Other weaknesses included midfielder Sam Durham being perceived as a “hot head”, while next to captain Andrew McGrath’s name was “kicking cough up”.

Darcy Parish was said to “cough up under pressure”, while former Lion Jaxon Prior was listed as having “no right foot”.

Perhaps in even more brutal move, Ben McKay, Elijah Tsatas and Archer May all had nothing written in their strengths box.

The photos were posted in an Essendon supporters group on Facebook, but have since been deleted with the Lions aware of the images being shared.

Channel 7 confirmed the legitimacy of the photos after the Lions earlier in the week warned fans about AI-created fake content.

“We just wanted to bring to your attention a number of fake/ AI Facebook pages that are posted fake stories regarding our players,” the Lions said in a statement.

“Please stay vigilant online to misinformation — some of these stories are regarding real news events and falsely involving our playing group, and also impacting the lives of the players families.

“This is harmful and is important to stay aware of what you read. If you’re unsure about something, always feel free to reach out to us for confirmation or information.”

Dockers surge to seventh-straight win | 01:37

STAR SAINT’S CONCERNING BLOW

In just his second match back at VFL level, Max King left the field with a suspected hamstring injury on Saturday.

Playing for St Kilda’s reserves against Carlton’s reserves at Ikon Park, King left the field in the first half.

The 25-year-old, who last played at AFL level in Round 17, 2024, grabbed at his left hamstring after taking a mark on the lead.

King kicked two goals and took five marks before leaving the ground.

Max King sucks in some big ones during his VFL return for St Kilda against Gold Coast on Sunday at Moorabbin. Picture: Julian TrantinoSource: Supplied

The injury-plagued key forward was goalless and registered just four disposals in his VFL comeback last week.

But just getting through the game unscathed was a win for King and the Saints.

St Kilda coach Ross Lyon said during the week that the club was “thrilled” that their spearhead, who is contracted until 2032, was on the comeback trail.

“We’re actually thrilled that he’s out there, he’s really confident in himself and his ability to contribute,” Lyon said.

“He would’ve played (AFL) last week, to be honest, if he could pick the team.

“So that’s great, but we have got people at the moment in form.

“We’ll just keep working with Max. When it is and what it looks like, I don’t know.”