Beams: I’m not moving

Lions dismiss claims club switch is on horizon

BRISBANE and Dayne Beams are categoric he will be at the Lions next year despite reports linking him to a move to Essendon or Collingwood.

Beams told the Lions the suggestion was totally ridiculous.

Lions chief executive Greg Swann also took the unprecedented step this week of talking to the Bombers, to Beams and to Beams’ manager, Paul Connors, to expose the truth.

Beams, 29, has two years to run on a contract which is estimated to be close to $900,000 a year.

“I actually rang Beamsy just for the record and asked him are you settled and he said he wasn’t going anywhere,” Swann said.

“How can I say this nicely … he strongly refuted it.

“That’s all I wanted to know … it’s rubbish.’’

The Beams-out-of-Brisbane report first aired on Monday on Channel 7 and was again reported on social media.

“It was raised twice,” Swann said.

“The first time we didn’t bother with it and the next time it had a bit more detail about Essendon, so I thought I’d round this up and tie it in a nice little bow.”

Swann also spoke to Essendon list manager Adrian Dodoro. “He said, ‘Mate, are you serious, we haven’t spoken to him’.”

Swann then spoke to Connors. “I asked him if any club had rung him about Beams and he said ‘nobody’.”

Swann then called Beams. “He said, ‘It’s rubbish and as a matter of fact I’ll ring Paul to tell him to tell the media bloke to pull his head in’.”

The Lions boss said he was bemused more than angry about the reports, but also took aim at the rampant speculation about player movement.

“It always comes in the bye weekend when there’s not a lot to talk about,” Swann said. “You can set your clock by it.”

Beams, who recently gave up the Lions captaincy to help deal with mental health issues, had been in sparkling form before being clamped by Essendon at the Gabba last Sunday.

Swann said Beams was recovering well.

“He’s going all right, his wife is due Monday week I think, so yeah he’s going all right,” Swann said.