Popular Lions midfielder Daniel Rich has vowed to stay away from the hairdressers in 2012 and keep his trademark blonde locks long throughout the season, despite receiving some playful ribbing from his team-mates.

The 21 year-old left-footer’s hair length has proven a hot topic during the pre-season, and even prompted one Lions fan to raise the subject via the Club’s official Twitter page.

Rich, who was recently filmed on LIONS TV responding to the Twitter questions from fans, gave a wry smile when the matter of his ‘mane’ came up.

Why are you growing your hair and when are you going to cut it?

“That’s a pretty good question, and I honestly don’t know the answer to it,” Rich said.

“There’s no one reason why I’m growing my hair. But I’m going to keep it long, I think, for this year and we’ll see how it goes.”

“Maybe I could be the next Dermott Brereton in terms of the gold locks,” he laughed.

“I’ve copped a bit of flack from the boys and I should probably give it a trim before the start of the season.”