Brisbane Lions - Definition and Overview

The Brisbane Lions Australian Football Club (the trading name for the Brisbane Bears-Fitzroy Football Club) are an Australian Football League club, formed from the post-1996 merger of the Brisbane Bears and Fitzroy, the Lions. The side plays its home games at the Brisbane Cricket Ground, also known as the Gabba.

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 honouree Michael Voss. The club went on to become the first in the VFL/AFL to win three consecutive Premierships since 1957.

Premierships

As Fitzroy Football Club:

• 1898
• 1899
• 1904
• 1905
• 1913
• 1916
• 1922
• 1944

As Brisbane Bears:

• none

As Brisbane Lions:

• 2001
• 2002
• 2003

Brownlow Medallists

• Michael Voss - 1996 (co-winner)
• Jason Akermanis - 2001
• Simon Black - 2002

Norm Smith Medallists

• Shaun Hart - 2001
• Simon Black - 2003

Coaches

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

Other Notable Players

• Marcus Ashcroft
• Richard Champion
• Matthew Kennedy
• Nigel Lappin
• Alastair Lynch
• Craig McRae
• Martin Pike
• Darryl White

External Links

• Official Website of the Brisbane Lions Football Club (http://www.lions.com.au/)
• Lionised (unofficial site) (http://www.lionised.com)