Brisbane Lions

Beginnings: 1997–2000

In their first year as a combined club the Lions made the finals, finishing in eighth position after being defeated by the St Kilda Football Club in a qualifying final. The following year, however, they finished in last position, despite boasting a talented playing list.

Triple premiership success: 2001–2003

Michael Voss captained Brisbane to three successive premierships.

As the Brisbane Lions, the club won its first AFL premiership in the 2001 AFL Grand Final, defeating Essendon 15.18 (108) to 12.10 (82).^[4] Lions utility player Shaun Hart won the Norm Smith Medal as best on ground in the Grand Final.^[5]:521

In 2002, the Lions won back-to-back premierships when they defeated Collingwood 9.12 (66) to 10.15 (75) 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 had nine possessions in the first quarter) to injury and had to complete the match with a limited bench.

In 2003, the Lions would win their 3rd premiership in a row, and second in a row against the Collingwood Magpies. With a number of players under an injury cloud – and having lost to Collingwood in a qualifying final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground three 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 led by almost 80 points before relaxing when the match was well and truly won, allowing Collingwood to score the last four goals. The final score of 20.14 (134) to 12.12 (84)^[5]:860 saw the club become only the fourth in VFL/AFL history to win three consecutive premierships and the first since the creation of the AFL. 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.^[6]

The 2004 season saw Brisbane remain in the top portion of the ladder for most of the season. Reaching the finals in second position, Brisbane controversially had to travel to Melbourne to play against Geelong in the preliminary final, due to a contract between the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and the Australian Football League (AFL) that required one preliminary final to be played each year at the MCG.^[7] Port Adelaide had finished on top of the ladder and hosted the other preliminary final in Adelaide. Despite this setback, Brisbane beat Geelong and reached the AFL Grand Final for the fourth consecutive year. Their opponents, Port Adelaide, playing in their first ever grand final, were too good on the day and recorded a 40-point win.^[8]

Rebuild of the Lions' second generation: 2005–2008

The Lions in the training camp, May 2007.

The 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.

The Brisbane Lions finished runner up in the 2007 NAB Cup and then went on to create history by being the first team in the history of the AFL to have five co-captains. That year, the Lions failed to make the finals for a third successive year in 2007.

The Lions began the 2008 NAB Cup shakily, losing to Essendon by 27 points. The team struggled for the season and missed out on the finals with a 10–12 record, losing 3 games despite having at least 5 more scoring shots in each of those games. Coach Leigh Matthews resigned at the end of the season after 10 seasons and 3 premierships with the club.

Michael Voss: 2009–2013

Brendan Fevola became the first player to be traded the year after winning the Coleman Medal. He originally came from Carlton.

The Lions made a good start in the 2009 NAB Cup under new senior coach Michael Voss by registering a 9-point win over St Kilda. However this was followed by a series of losses in the pre-season to Essendon, Melbourne and Richmond. Their season ended with a 51-point loss to the Western Bulldogs.

The 2009/2010 off-season was dominated by the arrival of Brendan Fevola from Carlton, and the hype was focused on Fevola and Jonathan Brown in the sense that the Lions could capitalise on their strong 2009 season. Indeed, the Lions won their first four matches of the 2010 season to be top of the ladder after four rounds, but they would only win three more games after that to crash to a lowly finish by season's end. One of those wins however, was against eventual premiers Collingwood.

The Lions' 2010/2011 off-season was disrupted by the sacking of Fevola after just one season at the Lions, following repeated off-field indiscretions which included getting drunk in the Brisbane streets during New Year's Eve celebrations. On the field, the Lions won only four games for the year, but only one against any Victorian team, and that was North Melbourne, in Round 9. Despite their worst season since 1998, coach Michael Voss was granted a contract extension after the board recommended that Voss was the best man to take the club forward into the future. Leading into season 2012, only two players from the triple-premiership winning team of 2001–2003 remained: Simon Black and Jonathan Brown.

The 2013 season started well for Brisbane, defeating Carlton in the final of the NAB Cup, with Daniel Rich winning the Michael Tuck Medal for best on ground and Aaron Cornelius showing some good form. However, things began to decline from then, with losses to the Western Bulldogs and Adelaide. However, in the 5th QClash match against Gold Coast, the Lions won by two points, with Jonathan Brown winning the Marcus Ashcroft Medal. Injuries were beginning to take a toll, with young players Claye Beams and Jared Polec suffering severe injuries. In Round 13, Brisbane defeated second-placed Geelong, coming from 52 points down late in the third quarter to win by 5 points due to an Ash McGrath goal after the siren in his 200th match.

On 13 August 2013, coach Michael Voss was told that his contract would not be renewed.^{[9][10][11][12]}

Playing under Justin Leppitsch: 2014–2016

On 25 August 2013, former premiership player of the Lions, Justin Leppitsch, was confirmed to be the senior coach of the Lions for the next 3 seasons starting in 2014

On 18 October 2013, Brisbane Lions legend Simon Black announced his retirement.

During round 13, 2014 Lions captain Jonathan Brown was the victim of a facial injury in a clash between the Lions and the Greater Western Sydney Giants. He collided with Tomas Bugg's knee and was taken off the ground. He suffered a concussion, which caused his retirement from football. Along with the retirement of Ashley McGrath in August 2014, no active players remain from any of the club's triple-premiership winning sides.^[13]

On 29 August 2016, Leppitsch was sacked as coach of the Lions.^[14]

Chris Fagan era: 2017–present

On 4 October 2016, Chris Fagan was announced as the Lions' coach from the 2017 season onwards.^[15]

Membership base and sponsorship

Crowds and memberships for the Brisbane Lions grew dramatically during the four seasons in which they made the AFL Grand Final. Since then, with the team being less successful, attendances have declined, but have remained stable over the past three seasons. In 2009 the Lions found it so difficult to sell corporate boxes that they resorted to doing so on a game-by-game basis.^[16] 2017 memberships were the lowest the club has had since 2012.

Year	Members [17]	Change from previous season	Finishing position	Finals result/Wooden spoon?	Average home crowd [18]	Profit (loss)	Kit manufacturer	Major sponsor/s	Shorts Sponsor
1997	16,769	N/A	8th	Qualifying Finalist	19,550	Unknown	Puma	Carlton & United Breweries	Spam
1998	16,108	661	16th	Wooden spoon	16,675
1999	16,931	823	3rd	Preliminary Finalist	21,890				Devine Homes
2000	20,295	3,364	6th	Semi-finalist	27,406			AAPT	Spam
2001	18,330	1,965	2nd	Premiers	27,638	($845,000)[19]	Russell Athletic		Bio Organics Vitamins
2002	22,288	3,958	2nd	Premiers	26,895	Unknown			AAMI
2003	24,365	2,077	3rd	Premiers	31,717	$2,200,000[20]
2004	30,221	5,856	2nd	Grand Finalist	33,619	Unknown
2005	28,913	1,308	11th	N/A	33,267
2006	26,459	2,454	13th		28,630
2007	21,976	4,483	10th		28,848	$1,058,000[21]	Puma	Vodafone
2008	22,737	761	10th		28,128	($2,200,030)[22]			HBA
2009	24,873	2,136	6th	Semi-finalist	29,172	($603,207)[23]			MBF
2010	26,779	1,906	13th	N/A	29,933	($2,713,848)[24]		Bank of Queensland, Conergy
2011	22,338	4,441	15th		20,462	($1,855,926)[25]	BLK		Bupa
2012	20,762	1,576	13th		20,344	($2,513,262)[26]
2013	24,130	3,368	12th		21,083	($1,574,762)[27]		National Storage, Vero Insurance
2014	24,012	118	15th		19,743	($3,543,138)[28]			TechnologyOne
2015	25,408	1,396	17th		18,810	($681,053)[29]			Garuda Indonesia
2016	23,286	2,122	17th		17,074	($1,783,506)[30]		Camperdown Dairy International, Vero Insurance	-
2017	21,362	1,924	18th	Wooden spoon	16,455	($2,261,990)[31]	Majestic Athletic		XXXX
2018	24,867	3,505	15th	N/A	18,405			Oaks Hotels & Resorts, Vero Insurance

Statistics highlighted in bold denote the best known season for Brisbane in that category
Statistics highlighted in italic denote the worst known season for Brisbane in that category

Non-playing/coaching staff

Emblem

In 1997 the club unveiled its new merger emblem it would consist of the iconic golden Fitzroy Lion on a badge (which was the style in the AFL at the time) of Maroon and Blue. The club used this from 1997 to the end of 2001 after their first premiership. In 2002 the club would unveil a new emblem in the shape of a football with the words "Brisbane Lions" in the middle with the golden Lion placed inside the O of Lion. The club continued the use of this emblem until the 2010 season when they changed the entire emblem dropping the golden Lion and replaced it with a cartoonish style Lions head. The club also removed the golden Lion from the team guernseys and introduced the new emblem on the body of the original Lion. The change was met with much backlash as many supporters dubbed the new emblem the "Paddle Pop Lion" after the popular ice cream of the same name. In 2014 after overwhelming response from the supporters the club dropped the new emblem from their guernseys and reintroduced the classic golden Lion which they wore from 1997 until 2010. Though the club has kept the current emblem for all club related advertising and marketing.

Guernseys

The three types of guernsey are:

• Home guernsey (worn since 2015): Maroon and blue based guernsey with original Fitzroy lion, coloured gold and maroon. Vero Insurance is the sponsor on the front and Camperdown Dairy International is the sponsor on the back (home shorts worn in home games and away shorts worn in away games not played in Victoria). The Lions also wore this jumper from 1997-2009 before switching to a more 'modern' lion.
• Away guernsey (Worn since 2015): Red and blue based guernsey with original Fitzroy lion, coloured gold and red. Camperdown Dairy International is the sponsor on the front and Vero Insurance is the sponsor on the back (away shorts worn). The Lions also wore this jumper from 2008-2009 before switching to a more 'modern' lion.
• Clash guernsey (Worn since 2017): Reminiscent of the Bears’ final guernsey, this guernsey features maroon, yellow and white with original Fitzroy lion, coloured maroon and gold. Camperdown Dairy International is the sponsor on the front and Vero Insurance is the sponsor on the back (away shorts worn).

Mascot

Bernie "Gabba" Vegas

As of 2016 the lions new mascot 'Roy' was introduced. 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, designed to resemble Elvis Presley.

Song

The club's team song, "The Pride of Brisbane Town", is based on the Fitzroy club song, and is sung to the music of "La Marseillaise", the French national anthem:^[32]

We are the pride of Brisbane town,
we wear maroon, blue and gold,
we will always fight for victory,
like Fitzroy and Bears of old,
all for one, and one for all,
we will answer to the call,
go Lions, Brisbane Lions,
we'll kick the winning score,
you'll hear our mighty roar!

Collingwood

The biggest rival for the Lions is Collingwood, both of these clubs have been involved in scrappy and brutal encounters. In early 2000’s they played in many monumental games including Grand Finals. Having built up plenty of history in the relatively short existence as a merged club. Pre-merger Fitzroy was a neighbouring suburb to Collingwood, with the boundary being based on Smith Street,^[33] along with the fact that Fitzroy and Collingwood topped the VFL/AFL premiership tally during the early decades of the VFL competition. The Brisbane Bears also had a bit of history with the Magpies as Nathan Buckley famously deflected to Collingwood after one season on the Bears list, citing that he wanted to win premierships, ironically retiring at the end of the 2007 season without a premiership as a player in the AFL.^[34] The Bears also lost their final regular season match in their final season to the Magpies, costing the Bears the minor premiership that season.^[35] However the rivalry between the Lions and the Magpies has been properly ignited post-merger, starting in late 1999 when Collingwood played their last ever VFL/AFL game at their spiritual home ground, Victoria Park with the Lions emerging 42 point victors that day and consigning the Magpies to their second wooden spoon, to the dissatisfaction of the Collingwood supporters.^[36] The rivalry between the two clubs went to the next level as the clubs played off in two consecutive Grand Finals in 2002 and 2003, with the Lions emerging victors on both occasions.^[37][38] These grand final results further fueled the bitterness that Collingwood supporters and their president Eddie McGuire still have towards the Brisbane Lions to this day, despite the Lions having a poor decade on the field after their golden era. Due to many Collingwood supporters migrating up to Queensland and many Brisbane Lions supporters residing in Victoria (many of which were ex-Fitzroy supporters), along with the on-field history between the two clubs, many Lions supporters consider a Brisbane Lions v Collingwood match-up to be their derby, despite the clubs being over 1700 km apart and the fact that there are many clubs in the competition that are geographically closer to each other.

Port Adelaide

The second biggest rival of the Lions is Port Adelaide, with the Brisbane Bears and Fitzroy merging to become the Brisbane Lions in order to allow Port Adelaide to enter the AFL competition. This created some dissatisfaction between old Bears and Fitzroy supporters who have felt that they have lost their clubs. In their first season in the AFL, the Lions narrowly made the finals at the expense of Port Adelaide, with the Power narrowly missing out on percentage.^[39] However the rivalry was properly ignited during the early 2000s, as both clubs fielded strong teams during that period. In 2001 the Lions defeated the Power in the Qualifying final en route to their first of three consecutive premierships,^[40] with Port bowing out in straight sets that year. In 2002 Port defeated Brisbane by 6 points in the final regular season game to narrowly claim the minor premiership,^[41] however Brisbane would eliminate Port in the Preliminary Final that year to claim their second premiership out of their hat-trick of premierships.^[42] In 2003 Port would claim their second consecutive minor premiership, however they would go on to lose their qualifying and preliminary finals again, as the Lions would claim their hat-trick of premierships that season. However, in 2004 Port Adelaide would finally break through and win their first AFL premiership, defeating the Brisbane Lions in the Grand Final and preventing them from what would have been a historic four premierships in a row.^[43] In adding further insult to injury for Lions fans, it meant that their biggest rivals, Collingwood, would remain the only team in the VFL/AFL to win four-in-a-row. The rivalry between the two clubs has cooled down since the early 2000s, however, there are a few Lions supporters that still consider Port Adelaide to be a bigger rival than Collingwood.

Gold Coast

The introduction of the Gold Coast Suns into the competition in 2011 saw a rivalry within Queensland Football for the first time ever. The Lions and Suns play each other two times a year. The best player on the ground is awarded the Marcus Ashcroft Medal. Gold Coast won the first QClash by 8 points in Round 7, 2011.

Men's

Women's

• AFL Women's

Runners-up (2): 2017, 2018

Minor premierships (1): 2017

Individual

AFL finishing positions (1997–present)

Legend: Premiers, Wooden spoon

Current squad

Premierships

Season summaries

Current squad

Non-playing/coaching staff

Best and fairest winners

Season summaries