James Polkinghorne Biography

Former Lion James Polkinghorne signs with Essendon as one of the Bombers' top up players following the bans of several of the clubs' active players by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

After being delisted by the Lions, James Polkinghorne says his best football is still ahead of him.

"I've still got that burning motivation and drive to fulfill my potential and achieve what I want to achieve," Polkinghorne said.

"You'd think at 25, although my year this year hasn't been great with injuries, your body is coming into its prime.

"I've had the experience and been around the industry for a while to know what's going on."

Andrew Raines, James Polkinghorne, Jordan Lisle and Patrick Wearden have all been delisted, along with rookies Nick Hayes, Sam Michael and Isaac Conway are cut from Brisbane's list ahead of the upcoming AFL trade and free agency period.

James Polkinghorne and Matt Maguire sign new deals to remain at the Lions for season 2014.

"It's probably no secret that James spent some time over the off-season weighing up his AFL future, but after speaking with new senior coach Justin Leppitsch, he decided to remain in Brisbane," general manager of football operations Dean Warren said.

"The club sees him as being a valuable player who is about to enter the prime of his career.

"Matt, on the other hand, is about to reach the twilight of his career, but his performances over the past few years have shown that he can still match it with some of the best forwards in the competition."

James Polkinghorne kicks a match-winning torpedo against the Eagles says his decision was based on instinct.

"I just saw the goals and went for it, it was a bit of an instinct thing," he said.

"It was lucky it came off. I shank a few so maybe it was my time to hit one sweet. It seemed to get the sweet spot and it stayed straight. I was a bit shocked as well."

Entering his fifth season, Brisbane Lion James Polkinghorne is ready to deliver on the promise he has shown glimpses of.

"I definitely think at 50 games you have to take the next step and it comes with a bit of maturity as well," he said.

"Playing 50 senior games you have a good feel for it after that, so there's a bit of ownership on myself to step up not only with my game but more importantly for the team."