 After spending two years in the club's VFL side, Lonergan made his AFL debut in Round 9 of the 2005 AFL season.On 26 August 2006, Lonergan suffered serious internal injury to his kidney whilst playing in a Round 21 draw against Melbourne - which was also just his seventh AFL-level match.Lonergan's kidney was severely damaged when he backed into a marking contest against Melbourne's Brad Miller.