Brisbane Lions

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Brisbane Lions

Full name	Brisbane Lions Australian Football Club
Nickname	The Lions
Strip	Maroon and blue guernsey with gold lion, maroon shorts, maroon socks
Founded	1996
Sport	Australian rules football
League	Australian Football League
Ground	The Gabba
Club song	The Pride of Brisbane Town
President/Chair	Tony Kelly
Coach	Leigh Matthews
Captain	Michael Voss

The Brisbane Lions Australian Football Club (the trading name for the Brisbane Bears-Fitzroy Football Club) are an Australian Football League club based in Brisbane, Queensland.

Although the Lions are the only AFL club based in the state, the Kangaroos have announced that from 2007 they will play a number of home games at Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast.[link]

The club was formed from the post-1996 merger of the Brisbane Bears and Fitzroy, and is known as the Lions. The side plays its home games at the Brisbane Cricket Ground (also known as the Gabba) and in 2006 the average home ground attendance (as at July 16) for the Lions is 25,549. [link]

The merged club won its first league premiership in 2001, and Lion Jason Akermanis won the league's highest individual honour, the Brownlow Medal. In 2002, the Lions repeated as premiers, and Lion Simon Black won the Brownlow. In 2003, the Lions became the first Grand Final participant in AFL history to have three Brownlow Medallists in its lineup, the third being 1996 winner Michael Voss. The club went on to win the 2003 premiership, and become the first in the AFL to win three consecutive Premierships since Melbourne in 1957, but fell just short in its quest for a fourth consecutive flag, losing to Port Adelaide in the 2004 Grand Final.

The Lions had an inconsistent season in 2005, but fell away badly towards the end, losing many games by very large margins and finishing a disappointing eleventh and out of the finals for only the second time in the club's history. Injuries and the retirements of premiership players such as Marcus Ashcroft, Alastair Lynch, Martin Pike, Shaun Hart and Craig McRae had taken its toll and the club was forced to play many young players earlier than they would otherwise have done. The club is now in a rebuilding phase, spearheaded by some of the younger stars of the triple-premiership era such as Black, Jonathan Brown and Luke Power.

As results continued to be inconsistent in 2006, memberships and crowd attendances have declined for the Lions. Brisbane chief executive Michael Bowers has said that although core support for the team has remained strong, general sports fans are watching other codes. "In Brisbane, unlike Melbourne, people have to make the decision: Do I go to the Broncos? Do I go to see the Reds? Do I go to the Lions? They're the numbers dropping off." [link]

Membership Base

Individual Awards

See Merrett-Murray Medal

• Jason Akermanis - 2001
• Simon Black - 2002

• Michael Voss - 2002 (with Luke Darcy), 2003

• Shaun Hart - 2001
• Simon Black - 2003

• Jonathan Brown - 2002

• Jason Akermanis - 2002

• Jason Akermanis - 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004
• Chris Johnson - 2002, 2004
• Nigel Lappin - 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
• Simon Black - 2001, 2002, 2004
• Justin Leppitsch - 1999, 2002, 2003
• Michael Voss - 1999, 2001, 2003 (captain)
• Luke Power - 2004

Club Facts

Premierships

• 2001
• 2002
• 2003

• 1998

Coaches

• John Northey - 1997-1998
• Roger Merrett - 1998
• Leigh Matthews - 1999-current

Captains

• Michael Voss (co-captain: 1997-2000; captain: 2000-2006)
• Alastair Lynch (co-captain: 1997-2000)

Biggest Home Crowds

• 37,224 - 2005: Brisbane vs Collingwood (Gabba)
• 36,647 - 2004: Brisbane vs Collingwood (Gabba)
• 36,197 - 2003: Brisbane vs Essendon (Gabba)
• 36,149 - 2001: Brisbane vs Essendon (Gabba)
• 36,077 - 2005: Brisbane vs Essendon (Gabba)

Current squad

Chris L. Johnson

Anthony Corrie

Colm Begley

Other notable players

• Marcus Ashcroft
• Richard Champion
• Matthew Kennedy
• Craig McRae
• Martin Pike
• Darryl White
• Alastair Lynch
• Justin Leppitsch

Club Jumpers

The main jumper is maroon, blue and gold. Used in the majority of games.

The clash jumper has similar colours but has a lion design. It is usually used in games against Essendon and Melbourne, and other select games.

These are the current 2006 jumper designs. The club's current major sponsors are AAPT and Russell Athletic

• The clash jumper is used against teams (often Essendon or Melbourne) with similar designs/colour to the club's home jumper.

See also

• Australian rules football in Queensland
• Merrett-Murray Medal
• List of prominent Brisbane Lions supporters

Source

• ["Arrested Development"], The Sunday Mail', July 15, 2006. Retrieved July 15, 2006.
• ["Canberra fans get a free kick in the guts after AFL drops the ball"], The Canberra Times, July 14, 2006. Retrieved July 16, 2006

External links

• [Official Website of the Brisbane Lions Football Club]
• [The Brisbane Lions - an Overview] - Official AFL website of the Brisbane Lions Football Club]
• [myAFL.com Brisbane Lions Forum]
• [Lionised (unofficial site)]
• [Full Points Footy History of the Brisbane Football Club]

Clubs in the Australian Football League

Adelaide Crows | Brisbane Lions | Carlton | Collingwood | Essendon | Fremantle | Geelong | Hawthorn Kangaroos | Melbourne | Port Adelaide | Richmond | St Kilda | Sydney Swans | West Coast Eagles | Western Bulldogs Former clubs: Brisbane Bears | Fitzroy | University

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