Brisbane Lions

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For the soccer club that played in the NSL from 1977–1988, see Brisbane Lions SC

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
First season	1997
Ground	The Gabba
Club song	The Pride of Brisbane Town
President/Chair	Tony Kelly
Coach	Leigh Matthews
Captain	Jonathan Brown Simon Black Luke Power Nigel Lappin Chris Johnson
2006	13th of 16

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. They are the most successful AFL team this century, having won three consecutive Grand Finals, and appeared in a fourth.

The Lions are the only AFL club permanently based in Queensland.

Contents 1 Club history 1.1 Background to the merger 1.2 Post Merger 1.3 2001 - First premiership 1.4 2002 - Back-to-back premierships 1.5 2003 - Three peat 1.6 2004 1.7 2005 1.8 2006 1.9 2007 2 Team of the Decade 3 Corporate 3.1 Membership base 3.2 Sponsors 3.2.1 Guernsey Manufacturers 3.2.2 Major Sponsors 4 2001 Grand Final 5 2002 Grand Final 6 2003 Grand Final 7 2004 Grand Final 8 2006 Season 9 Individual awards 9.1 Best and Fairest 9.2 Brownlow Medal winners 9.3 Leigh Matthews Trophy winners 9.4 Norm Smith medal winners 9.5 Mark of the Year winners 9.6 Goal of the Year winners 9.7 All-Australian players 9.8 National team representatives (since 1999) 9.9 Jim Stynes Medalists (best player national team) 10 Club facts 10.1 Premierships 10.2 Grand Finalists/Runners Up 10.3 Pre-Season Grand Finalists 10.4 Wooden Spoon 10.5 Coaches 10.6 Captains 10.7 Biggest home crowds 11 Current squad 11.1 Rookies 12 Notable past players 13 Club jumpers 14 Club Mascot 15 See also 16 Sources 17 External links

[edit] Club history

The club was formed from the post-1996 merger of the Brisbane Bears and Fitzroy, and is known as the Brisbane Lions. The side plays its home games at the Brisbane Cricket Ground (also known as the Gabba).

[edit] Background to the merger

Further information: Fitzroy Football Club

Further information: Brisbane Bears

Fitzroy was formed on 26 September 1883 at the Brunswick Hotel and was a founding member of the VFL. They wore blue shorts and their jersey and socks were maroon. Brunswick Street Oval in Fitzroy became the club’s home ground.

Formed on 6 October 1986, the Brisbane Bears were a young club and during the club’s short ten year history the Bears were unable to win any Premierships. With Peter Knights as the club’s first coach, the Bears home ground became Carrara at the Gold Coast and being the first Queensland club in the VFL, this code was only just beginning. But in 1993 the Bears moved permanently to Brisbane, The Gabba.

On 4 July 1996 the Australian Football League (AFL) approved the first ever club merger in Victorian Football League (VFL) and AFL history, between the Fitzroy Lions and the Brisbane Bears.

The combination of the two clubs led to the creation of a great team. The Bears had unluckily lost the Preliminary final to the Kangaroos in 1996, and although Fitzroy had finished as wooden spooner during its last two seasons, the club did contain a number of promising young players. On 4 July 1996 it was decided that the Brisbane Lions would be created. The Brisbane Lions were officially launched on 1 November 1996, joining the national competition in 1997.

[edit] Post Merger

In their first year as the Brisbane Lions they made the finals but despite a talented playing list, the club finished last the following year, resulting in the sacking of coach John Northey with eight rounds of the season remaining. Over the summer, the club replaced Northey with Leigh Matthews, who in 1990 delivered Collingwood its only premiership since 1958.

Matthews, voted the player of the century in 2000, played his entire career with Hawthorn during the club's most successful period and brought many of the Hawthorn disciplines to the Lions game. Within a season he lead them from the bottom of the ladder to 4th, losing to the eventual premiers the Kangaroos in the preliminary final, before placing 5th in 2000.

[edit] 2001 - First premiership

The club won its first AFL premiership by defeating Essendon 15.18 (108) to 12.10 (82) in the 2001 AFL Grand Final. Lions utility player Shaun Hart won the Norm Smith Medal as best on ground in the Grand Final. On the morning after winning the flag, the club took the premiership cup to the Brunswick Street Oval in Fitzroy, the original home of the Fitzroy Football Club. It was an important way of connecting with Melbourne-based Lions fans, many of whom had previously supported Fitzroy, and of winning over disaffected Fitzroy fans who had not started supporting the Brisbane Lions post-merger by honouring the history of the club. The Premiership Cup then made its historic first trip to Brisbane, a traditionally rugby league focused city.

In the same year, Brisbane Lion (and former Bear) midfielder Jason Akermanis won the league's highest individual honour, the Brownlow Medal.

[edit] 2002 - Back-to-back premierships

In 2002, the Lions won back-to-back premierships when they defeated Collingwood 10.15.75 to 9.12.66 in the 2002 AFL Grand Final in cold and wet conditions at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Early in the contest the Lions lost both ruckman Beau McDonald and utility player Martin Pike (who had already amassed 9 possessions in the first quarter) to injury and had to complete the match with a limited bench. Despite not scoring a goal in the first quarter, the undermanned Lions overcame a spirited Collingwood in the closest Grand Final in 15 years. Controversy surrounded the awarding of the Norm Smith medal for best player in the Grand Final to Collingwood captain Nathan Buckley. The voting panel cast its votes 20 minutes before the conclusion of the match. However, Lions captain Michael Voss was dominant in the final quarter to lead his team to victory and many speculated that, had voting taken place at the final siren, Voss may have won the awar over Buckley. The voting procedure was changed for subsequent Grand Finals.

In the same year, Brisbane Lion midfielder Simon Black won the Brownlow Medal for best and fairest player of the 2002 season.

In 2002, former Brisbane lawyer, Michael Bowers became Chief Executive Officer, as part of as move to turnaround the Club's problematic finances.

[edit] 2003 - Three peat

In 2003, the Brisbane 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.

With a number of players under an injury cloud, and having lost to Collingwood in an semi-final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground two weeks previously, the Lions went into the game as underdogs. However, they sealed their place in history as an AFL dynasty by thrashing the Magpies in cool but sunny conditions. At one stage in the final quarter the lions lead by almost 80 points before relaxing when the match was well and truly won and allowing Collingwood to score the last 4 goals. The final score of 20.14.134 to 12.12.84, saw the club become only the third in AFL history to win three consecutive Premierships and the first to do so since Melbourne in 1957. Given the equalisation measures of the modern AFL (such as the draft and the salary cap), it is possible that the feat will never be repeated. Simon Black claimed the Norm Smith Medal with a dominant 39 possession match, the most possessions ever gathered by a player in a Grand Final.

[edit] 2004

In 2004, the Lions fell just short in its quest for a fourth consecutive flag, losing to Port Adelaide in the 2004 AFL Grand Final. At the twenty minute mark of the third quarter, the Lions led, but were over-run by a fresher Port Adelaide which had two additional days to prepare for the match as a result of playing their preliminary final on a Friday night.

Despite requests for fair treatment, the Lions were forced to play its preliminary final against Geelong in Melbourne on the following evening, despite the club having fairly earned the right to stage a home final. This resulted in Brisbane travelling home to prepare for the grand final on the Sunday morning while their grand final opponents Port Adelaide were into their second recovery day. It became a telling factor during the final 30 minutes of the premiership decider.

During this four year period, the Brisbane Lions became the most dominant team of the modern era. Many purists have argued that in the time of salary cap and a player draft specifically designed to assist the weaker clubs, not to mention the travel demands of modern football, the performance of the Brisbane Lions during this period is unequalled by any club in history including the great Collingwood side to claim four consecutive flags in the late 1920s.

[edit] 2005

The Lions had an inconsistent season in 2005, and fell away badly towards the end, losing many games by very large margins. They finished a disappointing eleventh - out of the finals for only the second time in the club's history. When able to field its strongest lineup, the Lions produced some strong performance reminiscent of its triple premiership days however, injuries to Justin Leppitsch, Jonathan Brown, Nigel Lappin, 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 played more first year players than any other side in the competition.

[edit] 2006

Lions began the 2006 season optimistically, but injuries again plagued the club, whose players recorded an AFL record total of 200 matches lost to injury for the season.

Justin Leppitsch was forced to retire through injury and with season ending injuries to prominent players Nigel Lappin, Chris Scott, Ashley McGrath, Richard Hadley, Anthony Corrie and key ruckman Jamie Charman, coach Leigh Matthews was forced to debut an unprecedented number of youngsters and rookies and due to this, the club experienced inconsistent results. While many of the new youngsters displayed great promise, and continued to attack the ball and tackle opponents in typical Brisbane Lions spirit, it became evident during the final few matches that the young Lions were clearly into rebuilding mode. With AFL Rising Star nominations to Michael Rischitelli, Cheynee Stiller and Matthew Moody and the emergence of rookie Jason Roe among others, the future looks promising, but the realists also know that the rebuilding phase will take a few years.

Despite the young team losing more home games than ever before, and reducing the Gabba's status as a fortress that intimidated opposition teams, the Lions still produced average crowds the equal of the Rugby League premiership winning Brisbane Broncos.

Justin Leppitsch and Brad Scott announced their retirements during the season. A controversial feud between the club and Jason Akermanis divided supporters of the club and received massive publicity, resulting in Akermanis being stood down for the last seven matches of the season by his senior playing peer group who felt that his loyalty to the club and playing group was compromised.

After the 2006 home and away season it was revealed that major sponsor AAPT would not be renewing their sponsorship. It was announced shortly after that Vodafone had signed a sponsorship deal with the club worth 5.4 million dollars over three years.

The Brisbane Lions team of the decade fullback Mal Michael announced his retirement from football on Thursday 5 October due to lack of motivation and desire to pursue other non-football related activities. He was one of the premier fullbacks in the AFL and was very unlucky not to receive an All-Australian honour, despite being one of the most consistent players in the AFL over many years. He represented his country in International Rules Football against Ireland in 2004, playing as a Goal-keeper, was a pivotal figure at the Brisbane Lions and played a significant role in each of the grand finals contested as, along with Justin Leppitsch and Chris Johnson he led the defence in limiting the output of the opposition's best forwards.

Inspirational Skipper Michael Voss also announced his retirement from football on Friday 6 October due to the stress placed on his body from years of football and a chronic knee injury. He was the co-captain of the team from 1997 to 2000 with Alistair Lynch before leading the side for the remainder of his career, including the historic three straight premierships. In his final season of football, Voss still played 21 out of a possible 22 games, missing one game through knee soreness which turned out to be the same knee which led to his retirement.

At the completion of the 2006 season Chris Johnson remains as the last ever representative of the Fitzroy Football Club to be playing senior AFL football.

[edit] 2007

The Brisbane Lions finished runner up in the NAB pre-seaon cup and then went on to create history by being the first team in the history of the AFL to have 5 co-captains.

[edit] Team of the Decade

The first AAPT Brisbane Lions Team of the Decade was unveiled at the club’s gala 10 year anniversary black tie ball before 800 people at the Brisbane Convention Centre on Thursday, 22 June 2006.

Backs: Chris Johnson, Mal Michael, Darryl White

Half-Backs: Marcus Ashcroft, Justin Leppitsch, Chris Scott

Centres: Nigel Lappin, Michael Voss (c), Brad Scott

Half-Forwards: Jason Akermanis, Jonathan Brown, Craig McRae

Forwards: Luke Power, Alastair Lynch, Daniel Bradshaw

Rucks: Clark Keating, Simon Black, Jamie Lynn

Interchange: Martin Pike, Tim Notting, Jamie Charman, Richard Champion

Coach: Leigh Matthews

[edit] Corporate

[edit] Membership base

Year	Members	Finishing position¹	Average crowd
1997	16,679	8th	19,550
1998	16,108	16th	16,675
1999	16,931	4th	21,936
2000	20,295	5th	27,406
2001	18,330	1st	27,313
2002	22,288	1st	26,904
2003	25,578	1st	31,462
2004	30,941	2nd	33,574
2005	30,027	11th	33,101
2006	26,459	13th	28,448

¹following finals matches

[edit] Sponsors

[edit] Guernsey Manufacturers

Manufacturer	Years
Puma AG	1996-2000
Russell Athletic	2001-2006
Puma AG	2007-Onwards

[edit] Major Sponsors

Sponsor	Years
Carlton & United Breweries	1996-2000 (As Co-Sponsor with Coca-Cola)
AAPT	2001-2006
Vodafone	2007-Onwards

[edit] 2001 Grand Final

Main article: 2001 AFL Finals Series

2001 Carlton & United Breweries AFL Grand Final	G	B	Total
Brisbane Lions	15	18	108
Essendon	12	10	82
Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground	Crowd: 91,482

[edit] 2002 Grand Final

Main article: 2002 AFL Finals Series

2002 Carlton & United Breweries AFL Grand Final	G	B	Total
Brisbane Lions	10	15	75
Collingwood	9	12	66
Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground	Crowd: 91,817

[edit] 2003 Grand Final

Main article: 2003 AFL Finals Series

2003 Carlton & United Breweries AFL Grand Final	G	B	Total
Brisbane Lions	20	14	134
Collingwood	12	12	84
Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground	Crowd: 79,451

[edit] 2004 Grand Final

Main article: 2004 AFL Finals Series

2004 Toyota AFL Grand Final	G	B	Total
Port Adelaide	17	11	113
Brisbane Lions	10	13	73
Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground	Crowd: 77,671

[edit] 2006 Season

Rnd	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
Opp	Gee	Ess	StK	Ric	WCE	Syd	Haw	PA	Fre	Col	Ade	WB	Car	Mel	Kan	Haw	Ess	Gee	Ric	WCE	Syd	StK
Venue	SS	G	TD	G	S	G	C	AS	G	MCG	G	G	G	G	TD	G	TD	G	TD	G	TS	G
Result	L	W	L	L	L	L	W	W	W	L	L	L	W	L	W	W	L	L	L	L	L	L
Margin	77	18	37	14	59	32	40	69	68	26	15	42	15	8	1	10	37	17	82	62	57	51

[edit] Individual awards

[edit] Best and Fairest

Merrett-Murray Medal

Year	Player(s)
2006	Simon Black
2005	Jason Akermanis
2004	Nigel Lappin
2003	Michael Voss
2002	Simon Black
2001	Simon Black & Michael Voss
2000	Michael Voss
1999	Jason Akermanis & Justin Leppitsch
1998	Chris Scott
1997	Matthew Clarke

[edit] Brownlow Medal winners

• Jason Akermanis - 2001
• Simon Black - 2002

[edit] Leigh Matthews Trophy winners

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

[edit] Norm Smith medal winners

• Shaun Hart - 2001
• Simon Black - 2003

[edit] Mark of the Year winners

• Jonathan Brown - 2002

[edit] Goal of the Year winners

• Jarrod Molloy - 1999 Jason Akermanis - 2002

[edit] All-Australian players

• 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, 2002 (captain), 2003 (captain)
• Luke Power - 2004

[edit] National team representatives (since 1999)

• Craig McRae - 1999
• Jarrod Molloy - 1999
• Marcus Ashcroft - 1999
• Jason Akermanis - 1999, 2000
• Justin Leppitsch - 1999, 2000
• Simon Black - 2001
• Nigel Lappin - 2001
• Darryl White - 2001
• Chris Scott - 2001
• Brad Scott - 2002
• Luke Power - 2000, 2003
• Mal Michael - 2004
• Chris Johnson - 2002, 2003, 2005
• Michael Voss - 2006
• Justin Sherman - 2006

[edit] Jim Stynes Medalists (best player national team)

• Jason Akermanis - 1999

[edit] Club facts

[edit] Premierships

• 2001
• 2002
• 2003

[edit] Grand Finalists/Runners Up

• 2004

[edit] Pre-Season Grand Finalists

• 2001
• 2007

[edit] Wooden Spoon

• 1998

[edit] Coaches

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

[edit] Captains

• Michael Voss (co-captain: 1997–2000; captain: 2000–2006)
• Alastair Lynch (co-captain: 1997–2000)
• Simon Black (co-captain: 2007-)
• Jonathan Brown (co-captain: 2007-)
• Chris L. Johnson (co-captain: 2007-)
• Nigel Lappin (co-captain: 2007-)
• Luke Power (co-captain: 2007-)

[edit] Biggest home crowds

Rank	Crowd	Round/Season	Result	Opponent	Brisbane Lions	Opposition	Margin	Venue	Day/Night/Twilight
1	37,224	15/2005	Win	Collingwood	19.19 (133)	7.13 (55)	+78	The Gabba	Night
2	37,032	PF/2001	Win	Richmond	20.16 (136)	10.8 (68)	+68	The Gabba	Night
3	36,803	4/2003	Win	Collingwood	14.11 (95)	11.15 (81)	+14	The Gabba	Night
4	36,467	3/2004	Win	Collingwood	21.11 (137)	12.5 (77)	+60	The Gabba	Night
5	36,197	1/2003	Win	Essendon	14.20 (104)	8.13 (61)	+43	The Gabba	Night
6	36,149	10/2001	Win	Essendon	15.12 (102)	10.14 (74)	+28	The Gabba	Night
7	36,077	17/2005	Win	Essendon	17.12 (114)	14.17 (101)	+13	The Gabba	Night

[edit] Current squad

As of 24 December 2006:

No.	Name	Debut	Games with this club	Total Games	Avg. Games per year	Goals	Avg. Goals per year	Previous Clubs
1	Mitchell Clark	2006	6	6	6	3	3	East Fremantle (WA)
2	Chris Johnson	1994	193	252	19.38	160	12.31	Jacana/Northern U18/Fitzroy (VIC)
4	Ben Fixter	2000	19	46	6.57	10	1.43	Wagga/NSW-ACT U18/Sydney (NSW)
5	Scott Harding	2006	14	14	14	2	2	Mt Gravatt (QLD)
6	Luke Power	1998	176	176	19.56	176	19.56	Balwyn/Oakleigh (VIC)
7	Jed Adcock	2004	32	32	10.67	7	2.33	Maryborough/North Ballarat (VIC)
8	Tim Notting	1998	156	156	17.33	111	12.33	Navarre/Ballarat U18 (VIC)
9	Ashley McGrath	2001	83	83	13.83	74	12.33	South Fremantle (WA)
10	Matthew Moody	2005	25	25	12.50	14	7	South Fremantle (WA)
11	Justin Sherman	2005	41	41	20.50	30	15	Clarence/Tasmania U18 (TAS)
12	James Hawksley	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	Peel Thunder (WA)
13	Chris Schmidt	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	West Adelaide (SA)
14	Richard Hadley	2001	27	27	4.50	7	1.17	East Fremantle (WA)
15	Matt Tyler	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	North Ballarat (VIC)
16	Jonathan Brown	2000	117	117	16.71	191	27.29	South Warrnambool/Geelong Falcons (VIC)
17	Jared Brennan	2003	38	38	9.50	23	5.75	Southern Districts (NT)
18	Anthony Corrie	2004	31	31	10.33	27	9	Nightcliff (NT)
19	Jamie Charman	2001	88	88	14.67	34	5.67	Northern Eagles (QLD)
20	Simon Black	1998	191	191	21.22	124	13.78	East Fremantle (WA)
21	Daniel Merrett	2005	24	24	12	16	8	Southport Sharks (QLD)
22	Chris Scott	1994	213	213	16.38	79	6.08	East Camberwell/Eastern U18 (VIC)
23	Matthew Leuenberger	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	East Perth (WA)
24	Joel Patfull	2006	15	15	15	3	3	Norwood/Port Adelaide Rookies (SA)
25	Wayde Mills	2006	4	4	4	0	0	Southport Sharks (QLD)
26	Joel Macdonald	2004	32	32	10.67	4	1.33	Mt Gravatt (QLD)
27	Pat Garner	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	Western Magpies (QLD)
28	Troy Selwood	2005	33	33	16.50	5	2.50	Sandhurst/Bendigo (VIC)
29	Jason Roe	2006	15	15	15	3	3	Nightcliff/Cairns City/Collingwood (rookie)/North Adelaide (NT)
30	Robert Copeland	2001	109	109	18.17	20	3.33	Northern Eagles (QLD)
31	Cameron Wood	2005	8	8	4	0	0	West Adelaide (SA)
32	Cheynee Stiller	2006	13	13	13	4	4	Northern Eagles (QLD)
33	Rhan Hooper	2006	11	11	11	9	9	Ipswich/Mt Gravatt (QLD)
34	Albert Proud	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	Mt Gravatt (QLD)
35	Michael Rischitelli	2004	22	22	7.33	12	4	Keilor/Western U18 (VIC)
36	Daniel Bradshaw	1996	181	181	16.45	363	33	Woodonga (VIC)
37	Sam Sheldon	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	Oakleigh (VIC)
38	Haydyn Kiel	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	Southport (QLD)
39	Josh Drummond	2005	21	21	10.50	12	6	Northern Eagles (QLD)
40	William Hamill	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	Mt Gravatt (QLD)
41	Scott Clouston	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	Morningside (QLD)
42	Marcus Allan	2006	1	1	1	0	0	Northern Eagles (QLD)
43	Beau McDonald	1998	83	83	9.22	19	2.11	Swan Districts (WA)
44	Nigel Lappin	1994	257	257	19.77	170	13.08	Chiltern (VIC)
45	Daniel Dzufer	TBD	O	0	0	0	0	Suncoast Lions (QLD)
46	Colm Begley	2006	2	2	2	0	0	Laois (IRE)
47	Joel Tippett	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	Southport (QLD)

[edit] Rookies

No.	Name	Debut	Games with this club	Total Games	Avg. Games per year	Goals	Avg. Goals per year	Previous Clubs
18	Anthony Corrie	2004	31	31	10.33	27	9	Nightcliff (NT)/Brisbane
38	Haydyn Kiel	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	Southport (QLD)
40	William Hamill	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	Mt Gravatt (QLD)
41	Scott Clouston	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	Morningside (QLD)
45	Daniel Dzufer	TBD	O	0	0	0	0	Suncoast Lions (QLD)
46	Colm Begley	2006	2	2	2	0	0	Laois (IRE)
47	Joel Tippett	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	Southport (QLD)

[edit] Notable past players

Last No. worn	Name	Games with this club	Total Games	Goals	Notes
10	Marcus Ashcroft	318	318	318	retired after the 2003 AFL season after the Brisbane Lions' 3rd successive premiership
12	Jason Akermanis	248	248	307	traded to Western Bulldogs for the 2007 AFL season
1	Richard Champion	TBD	TBD	TBD	retired after the 2000 season
1	Blake Caracella	33	187	218	traded to the Lions for 2003-2004 seasons by Essendon for Damian Cupido, drafted by Collingwood for the start of the 2005 season, but retired after the 2006 season due to a back-related problem
1	Des Headland	52	129	128	traded to the Fremantle Dockers for the start of 2003
27	Clark Keating	139	139	83	delisted after 2006 after his career was shattered by injuries, he has since retired from Australian Football.
41	Matthew Kennedy	TBD	TBD	TBD	retired before the 2001 AFL Grand Final
23	Justin Leppitsch	227	227	194	forced to retire after a back-related injury in 2006
11	Alastair Lynch	186	306	633	one of the club's leading goalscorers, retired after the 2004 Grand Final.
4	Craig McRae	195	195	232	retired after the 2004 season and is now an assistant coach with the Richmond Tigers
15	Mal Michael	140	201	28	retired after the 2006 season after he lost his passion to play AFL, Brisbane Lions furious[citation needed] that he is coming out of retirement to play for Essendon only months after retiring.
13	Martin Pike	106	247	126	retired late in 2005 after being placed on the long-term injury list with a groin complaint
33	Darryl White	268	268	165	retired at the end of 2005
3	Michael Voss	289	289	245	called it quits after 2006 because of a knee injury
5	Bradley Scott	146	168	45	retired after the 2006 AFL season and has taken up an assistant coaching position with the Collingwood Magpies

[edit] Club jumpers

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

Clash The clash jumper is a totally new design for 2007. It is usually used in games against Essendon and Melbourne, and other select games.

These are the jumper designs used in the 2007 season. The club's current major sponsor is now Vodafone.

• The clash jumper is used against teams (often Essendon or Melbourne) with similar designs/colour to the club's home jumper.
• The player who currently wears the number 22 jumper is Chris Scott.

http://www.footyjumpers.com/

[edit] Club Mascot

The Lion's Mascot Manor representative and club mascot is Bernie Gabba Vegas, a caricature of a lion dressed in Brisbane Lions jumper, sunglasses, wide lapels and flares.

[edit] See also

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

[edit] Sources

• "Arrested Development", The Sunday Mail', 15 July 2006. Retrieved 15 July 2006.
• "Canberra fans get a free kick in the guts after AFL drops the ball", The Canberra Times, 14 July 2006. Retrieved 16 July 2006
• "Crows No. 1", Australian Football League website, retrieved 20 July 2006.

[edit] 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
• Brisbane Lions United (Known as BL United) (Brisbane Lions Forum)
• Full Points Footy History of the Brisbane Football Club
• Aussie Rules in Brisbane from OurBrisbane.com

Clubs in the Australian Football League

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

Australian rules football in Queensland
Governing Body	AFL Queensland
Professional Clubs	Brisbane Lions (AFL)
Metropolitan Leagues	AFLQ State League | AFLQ State Association
Regional Leagues	Bundaberg-Wide Bay | Cairns | Capricornia | Darling Downs | Mackay | Mt Isa | Townsville
Junior Leagues	Brisbane | Gold Coast | Cairns | Sunshine Coast | Darling Downs | Independent Schools
Women's Leagues	AFL Queensland Women's | Cairns | Townsville | Youth Girls Competition
Masters Leagues	Masters Australian Football Queensland
Principal Venues	Brisbane Cricket Ground | Cazaly's Stadium