Brisbane Lions

Haydn Bunton Sr. won three Brownlow Medals and two club best and fairest medals in his time at Fitzroy.

The history of the Brisbane Lions traces back to the formation of the Melbourne based Fitzroy Football Club on 26 September 1883 at The Brunswick Hotel. The Victorian Football Association (VFA) made changes to their rules, allowing Fitzroy to join as the seventh club in 1884, playing in the maroon and blue colours of the local Normanby Junior Football Club.

They quickly became one of the most successful clubs, consistently in the top four, and drawing large crowds to their home at the Brunswick Street Oval in Edinburgh Gardens. This success was capped off by Fitzroy winning the VFA premiership in 1895.

Fitzroy would then go onto be one of the eight break away clubs who formed the Victorian Football League in 1897. They would continue their VFA form and be a powerhouse in the early days of the new VFL , winning a total of eight premierships, of which seven (1898, 1899, 1904, 1905, 1913, 1916 and 1922) were won whilst they were nicknamed the Maroons and one (1944) as the Gorillas. The club also boasted 6 Brownlow Medal winners who were Haydn Bunton Sr., Wilfred Smallhorn, Dinny Ryan, Allan Ruthven, Kevin Murray, and Bernie Quinlan.

The club to changed its nickname to the Lions in 1957, but when Fitzroy was evicted from its home ground of Brunswick St Oval in 1965, this began a sustained period of poor on-field performance and financial losses. Despite a revival in the '80s, when the Lions made the finals four times under the coaching of Robert Walls and David Parkin, and the playing group of 1981 Brownlow Medallist Bernie Quinlan, Ron Alexander, Garry Wilson, Gary Pert and Paul Roos, the club's financial situation was perilous.

The famous Fitzroy passant Lion which was chosen to be the emblem of the Brisbane Lions.

The VFL's plans to move or merge struggling Fitzroy to Brisbane pre-dated the Brisbane Bears, and negotiations between the league and the club began in 1986 with the playing group voting for a move to Brisbane.[6] However, Fitzroy resisted the move despite significant incentives and in response, the VFL made the decision to cut any further financial assistance to the club, which contributed to its ultimate demise. By the start of the 1996 season, they were almost at the end of their financial tether. With no home ground, back to back wooden spoons, and their future under a cloud, Fitzroy began to consider options for survival.

The Brisbane Bears were born in 1987 and initially played home matches at Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast. In it's early days, the club was uncompetitive on the field and struggled to shake the derisive tags which included "The Cararra Koalas" (in reference to the Gold Coast home and the somewhat tame marsupial) and "The Bad News Bears".

After the collapse of the business empire belonging to Bears deputy chairman Christopher Skase and the resignation of chairman Paul Cronin, the club was taken over by the AFL and re-sold to Gold Coast hospitality businessman Reuben Pelerman. Off-field, Pelerman was losing millions of dollars annually on the club and at one point in 1991 told Bears coach Robert Walls that he was closing it down. The Bears would go onto finish last in 1990 and 1991.

To survive, The Bears experimented with playing matches at the Gabba in Brisbane in 1991, moving all home matches to the venue ahead of the 1993 season. As part of the club's move to the Gabba, Pelerman agreed to release the Bears from private ownership and revert to a traditional club structure in which the club's members were able to elect the board. Membership and attendances instantly tripled now that the club was finally playing in their home city of Brisbane.

The Bears only qualified for the finals series in 1995 and 1996, and the closest the club came to a Grand Final was in 1996, its last year in the competition, when it lost to North Melbourne by 38 points in the preliminary final.

On extremely shaky financial ground, the Bears struggled to generate many revenue opportunities in their short and turbulent ten year existence. Despite improving it's on field fortunes, and drafting exciting young players on such as Michael Voss, Justin Leppitsch, Jason Akermanis, Darryl White, and Nigel Lappin, the clubs existence was still at threat due to severe financial problems, and since 1990 The Bears had been actively exploring merger options with Fitzroy.

Fitzroy's directors had agreed in principle to merge with the 1996 premiers, North Melbourne, as the "North-Fitzroy Kangaroos". However, that proposal was rejected 15–1 by the AFL Commission, reportedly out of concern that an all-Victorian merge would be too powerful. Instead, Fitzroy was placed into administration, and its administrator accepted an offer to merge its football operations with Brisbane.

The merged team would be based in Brisbane, and Bears coach John Northey would become coach of the merged club. However, it adopted an identity, logo, song, and guernsey based on those of Fitzroy, would take eight Fitzroy players in the draft, three Fitzroy representatives would serve on the board (including former Fitzroy champion Laurie Serafini), and the Lions would keep an office in Melbourne.

The eight Fitzroy players who would join the Brisbane Lions were Brad Boyd, Chris Johnson, Jarrod Molloy, John Barker, Nick Carter, Simon Hawking, Scott Bamford and Shane Clayton.

The Brisbane Lions were officially launched on 1 November 1996, joining the national competition in 1997.

In their debut year as a combined club the Lions narrowly made the finals, finishing in eighth position. They ended up with the same win–loss record as fellow 1997 newcomers the Port Adelaide Power, who missed out due to having an inferior percentage.[7] Their first two games were against the eventual grand finalists of that year, Adelaide and St Kilda. They went down away to Adelaide by 36 points, before recording an emphatic 97 point thrashing of St Kilda in round 2. The Lions met St Kilda again in a cut-throat away qualifying final, going down by 46 points after leading the Saints at half-time. The Brisbane Lions in 1997 remain the only new team in VFL/AFL history to have made the finals in their first season.

Despite a talented playing list, the disruption of the merger and injuries to key players Michael Voss and Brad Boyd took their toll. The Lions would go onto finish in last position at the end of the 1998 season. Accordingly, Northey was sacked as coach with eight rounds remaining in the season. During the off-season the club hired Leigh Matthews, who in 1990 had delivered Collingwood its first premiership since 1958.

Matthews, who was voted "Player of the Century" in 2000, played his entire career with Hawthorn and brought many of the Hawthorn disciplines to the Lions. Importantly he forced the Lions to embrace and acknowledge their Fitzroy heritage with murals and records being erected at the Gabba, and past players names being placed on lockers.[8] Within a year the Lions rose from the bottom of the ladder to fourth. The 1999 season included a round 20 Gabba match where the Lions led Fremantle by 113 points at half-time, after having kicked 21 goals. Their half-time score of 21.5 (131) still remains the highest in VFL/AFL history.[9] Brisbane would win their first finals as a merged entity against Carlton and the Western Bulldogs before losing to the eventual premiers, the Kangaroos, in the 1999 preliminary final. The Lions played finals again in 2000, but bowed out in the second week after losing away to Carlton by 82 points.

In this time period the club drafted and recruited key players who would go onto be pillars of the Lions triple premiership years. Victorian Luke Power, Fitzroy father-son selection Jonathan Brown, and exciting WA product Simon Black would come via the draft, and Brad Scott, Mal Michael, and ex-Fitzroy B&F winner Martin Pike would be recruited from Hawthorn, Collingwood, and North Melbourne respectively.

Michael Voss captained Brisbane to three successive premierships

The Lions began 2001 by making the final of the Ansett Australia Cup, their first pre-season grand final. They went down by 85 points away to Port Adelaide,[10] who they had also been scheduled to play in round 1 at the same venue. After an inconsistent start to the 2001 season, the Lions took on the reigning premiers Essendon in round 10. Brisbane finished as 28-point victors and head coach Leigh Matthews famously used the Predator quote, "if it bleeds, we can kill it", to inspire his team for the game.[11] The Lions would then win 16 games straight, finishing the year undefeated, and booking their place in the 2001 AFL Grand Final to play Essendon.

Going in as underdogs, Brisbane started the game well, scoring the first goal of the match from a free kick awarded to Alastair Lynch for holding against Dustin Fletcher. Essendon fought back late in the first quarter then took control of the game in the second term. The Lions poor kicking for goal almost put them out of the game in the second quarter as Essendon blew their lead out to 20 points late in the term.

However, The Lions managed to overrun Essendon in the third term kicking six goals to one and turning a 14-point deficit into a 16-point lead. Brisbane's pace in the midfield and the tiring legs of most of the Essendon players played a pivotal role in them taking full control of the game in the second half. The Lions won their first premiership as a merged club comfortably, with a final score of 15.18 (108) to 12.10 (82).

The win was topped off with Lions utility player Shaun Hart winning the Norm Smith Medal as best on ground in the Grand Final.[12]^: 521

In 2002, the Lions won a club record 17 games, spending most of the season firmly entrenched in the top two with Port Adelaide. They narrowly missed out on the minor premiership following a final round defeat to the Power in Adelaide.[13] In the finals, the Lions claimed easy home victories over the two Adelaide-based teams on their way to a second consecutive Grand Final. They faced Collingwood, who had surprised many that year after having missed the finals the previous seven seasons. Brisbane ended up defeating the Magpies 9.12 (66) to 10.15 (75) 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 to injury and had to complete the match with a limited bench.

In 2003, the Lions became the first team in the national era to win 3 consecutive premierships. 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)[12]^: 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.[14]

Fitzroy and the Brisbane Lions spiritual home of Brunswick Street Oval

During their premiership years, the club took the premiership cups to Brunswick Street Oval, Fitzroy each morning after the grand final. Honouring the clubs history at their traditional home ground was not only an important way of connecting with Melbourne-based former Fitzroy fans who'd supported the Brisbane Lions from the beginning, but it was a key step in winning over the disaffected Fitzroy fans who had not started supporting the Brisbane Lions post-merger.[15][16]

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.[17] Port Adelaide had finished on top of the ladder and hosted the other preliminary final in Adelaide. Former player Jason Akermanis has since claimed that coach Leigh Matthews was furious over the preliminary final location decision.[18] 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 grand final, were too good on the day and recorded a 40-point win in what was the first ever all non-Victorian grand final.[19] The grand final is partly remembered for a wild punch-up between Port Adelaide's Darryl Wakelin and Alastair Lynch, who was playing in his final ever game, and therefore immune from being suspended.[20]

Training, May 2007

The Lions endured a slow start to the 2005 season, before having a form reversal towards the end of the year, which included ten goal thrashings of top four contenders Geelong and Melbourne. Going into round 20, they were half-a-game clear inside the top eight, and had one of the strongest percentages in the league. However, they would lose their final three games and miss the finals, with their season culminating in a record breaking 139 point loss to St Kilda at the Telstra Dome. It remains the club's heaviest defeat, in addition to being the largest victory in the over 100-year history of St Kilda.[21] Some believed that the St Kilda game, rather than the 2004 Grand Final, had signaled the end of Brisbane's triple premiership dynasty.[22]

The Lions began the 2006 season optimistically, but injuries plagued the club as they again missed the finals, with Brisbane's players recording an AFL record total of 200 matches lost to injury for the season.

The Brisbane Lions 2007 season started with them finishing runner up to Carlton in the 2007 NAB Cup Grand Final. The Lions would fail to make the finals for a third successive year, again showing promising glimpses at stages, with a shock away win against reigning premiers the West Coast Eagles, and a 93-point hiding of finalists Collingwood at the MCG.[23] They made history in 2007 by becoming the first club in the history of the AFL to have five co-captains.

The team struggled during the 2008 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. Following the season, Coach Leigh Matthews resigned after 10 seasons and 3 premierships with the club. The Lions appointed former player and Captain Michael Voss as the coach ahead of 2009.

After only winning 2 games from the first 5 played in 2009, the club won 9 of the next 12 to sit in 6th on the Ladder, where they would finish the season. They would also record a strong victory over eventual premiers Geelong during this timeframe by 43 points. The club beat Carlton in their Elimination Final, coming from 30 points behind in the final quarter to win by 7 points, before losing to the Western Bulldogs in a Semi Final.

The 2009/2010 off-season was dominated by the arrival of Brendan Fevola from Carlton, with a belief in the club that Fevola could help them capitalise and improve upon 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 finish 13th by the end of the season.

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 and finished 15th overall. The 2011 season saw the debut of another Queensland-based team, the Gold Coast Suns. The Suns, who were coming off a 139-point loss to Essendon the previous week, upset the Lions by 8 points in their first encounter.[24] 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. However, the club began its 2013 season with back-to-back losses to the Western Bulldogs and Adelaide. Injuries took a toll on the team, with young players Claye Beams and Jared Polec suffering severe injuries.[25][26] 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, in what would become known as the Miracle on Grass.[27]

On 13 August 2013, coach Michael Voss was told that his contract would not be renewed.[28][29][30][31]

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

On 25 August 2013, former premiership player for the Lions, Justin Leppitsch, was confirmed to be the senior coach of the Lions for the next three seasons.

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, and subsequently retired from football. His retirement, alongside the retirement of Ash McGrath, meant there were no players from the triple-premiership era remaining at the club.[32]

On 29 August 2016, Leppitsch was sacked as coach of the Lions after multiple disappointing seasons.[33]

On 4 October 2016, Hawthorn football manager Chris Fagan was announced as Brisbane's senior coach from the 2017 season onwards.[34]

The Lions claimed the 2017 wooden spoon, despite winning 5 games for the season, 2 more than the previous season. Their percentage of 74.3 was the worst in the league, behind Fremantle with a percentage of 74.4. The 2018 season was very similar, recording 5 wins to finish in 15th place.

The Lions had a magnificent 2019 season, making the finals for the first time since 2009 and finishing second on the AFL ladder with 16 wins, behind minor premiers Geelong on percentage. However, Brisbane were bundled out of the finals in straight sets at the Gabba, losing to eventual premiers Richmond by 47 points in their qualifying final and then to eventual runners-up Greater Western Sydney by three points in their semi-final due to a late Brent Daniels goal. The Lions became the first team since Geelong in 1997 to finish second on the ladder and not progress to a preliminary final.

Brisbane Lions flag flying over Fitzroy Town Hall on Napier Street in Fitzroy, Victoria before the 2021 finals series

Brisbane repeated their form displayed in 2019 the following year, once again finishing in second position on percentage at the conclusion of the Home and Away season. They won 14 games in a shortened 17-game season. During their qualifying final, they defeated Richmond for the first time since 2009 and qualified for a preliminary final berth, but went on to be beaten by a more experienced Geelong side in that match.

After an inconsistent start to the 2021 season the Lions hit form, winning seven straight to sit in the top four for most of the year. However losses to Melbourne, Richmond, Hawthorn and St Kilda, meant the Lions sat in fifth as of the final round.

With the double chance on the line, the Lions regained fourth spot in the dying seconds of their final home and away game against West Coast. A behind kicked by Lincoln McCarthy put them ahead of the fourth placed Bulldogs by a single point of goal percentage, and a goal after the siren from Charlie Cameron then sealed the result for the Lions, who finished in the top four for the third year running under Chris Fagan. However, the Lions bowed out in straight sets for the second time in three years after suffering losses to eventual premiers Melbourne and eventual runners-up Western Bulldogs in the finals, with the latter winning by a single point due to a contentious free kick paid to the Bulldogs in the final seconds of the game.

Brisbane reached the finals once again in 2022, but this time missed the top four. With a win-loss record of fifteen wins and seven losses, the Lions finished sixth and hosted seventh-placed Richmond at The Gabba in an Elimination Final. After a close game which had 17 lead changes, the Lions prevailed, defeating the Tigers by a margin of two points in a 106-104 victory thanks to a late Joe Daniher goal. The Lions then played the Melbourne Demons in the Semi-Final, and upset the reigning premiers against all odds, bundling them out in straight sets with a score of 92-79 to progress to their second Preliminary Final under Fagan, taking on Geelong once again in a rematch of the 2020 Preliminary Final.

Unfortunately, the Lions impressive finals run came to an end against the Cats, suffering a 71-point defeat in the Preliminary Final and ending their 2022 season.

In 1997, the club unveiled its new merger emblem, consisting of the golden Fitzroy Lion on a badge of Maroon and Blue. The club used this emblem from 1997 until the end of 2001. In 2002, the club would unveil a new emblem in the shape of a football, emblazoned with the words "Brisbane Lions" and with the Fitzroy Lion located within the o of Lions. This emblem was used until 2010, when the emblem was again changed, this time in favour of a forward-facing Lion head.

Home Guernsey (worn 1997-2009 and since 2015): Predominantly maroon guernsey with a blue yoke featuring a golden Fitzroy Lion, with a gold collar and cuffs. XL Express is the current sponsor on the front whilst Ned's is the current sponsor on the back. For shorts, maroon home shorts are worn in home games and white away shorts are worn in away games not played in Victoria.

Away Guernsey (worn 2008-2009 and since 2015): Predominantly red guernsey with a blue yoke featuring a golden Fitzroy lion, with a blue collar and cuffs, and based on Fitzroy's final colours in the AFL. Ned's is the current sponsor on the front and XL Express is the current sponsor on the back. White away shorts are worn when this guernsey is used.

Clash Guernsey (worn since 2020): This predominantly white guernsey features a golden Fitzroy lion on a maroon v (the v reminiscent of the Bears’ final guernsey), with a maroon collar and cuffs. Ned's is the sponsor on the front and XL Express is the sponsor on the back. The same shorts as the Away Guernsey are worn.

The Lion's Mascot Manor representative and club mascot was Bernie "Gabba" Vegas until 2016 when Roy the Lion (named Roy after the nickname for Fitzroy fans) replaced him as mascot. In 2021 the club unveiled their Lioness mascot Auroara.[56]

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.[57]

Lyrics

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

The Gabba in Brisbane

Between 1997 and 2022, the club trained out of the Gabba during the football season. The club's administrative and indoor training facilities were also located in the stadium. Due to the cricket season in the summer which is during the off-season for the Lions, the club was required to train at alternative locations, such as Giffin Park in Coorparoo, Burpengary and elsewhere. In 2020 the club announced that it would move its training and administrative facilities into Springfield Central Stadium (known for ground-sponsorship purposes as Brighton Homes Arena), a 10,000-capacity high-class facility in Ipswich that enables the club to base itself in the single location and play reserve-grade and AFLW matches at the one location.[58][59][60] The Lions moved into the facility in October 2022.[61]

The angst between supporters of Collingwood and Brisbane had been caused by plenty of history between the two clubs. Fitzroy and Collingwood are neighbouring inner northern Melbourne suburbs with a suburban boundary separating them down the middle of Smith Street. This meant they shared a fierce local rivalry pre-merger, but the rivalry between the Lions and the Magpies was properly ignited post-merger in late 1999 when Collingwood played their last ever AFL game at their spiritual home ground, Victoria Park. The Lions emerged 42 point victors that day and consigned the Magpies to their second wooden spoon in their VFL/AFL history. The rivalry between the two clubs peaked in the early 2000s, as the clubs played off in two consecutive Grand Finals in 2002 and 2003, with the Lions emerging victors on both occasions.[62]

The Brisbane Lions have a rivalry with fellow Queensland AFL team the Gold Coast Suns. The two teams contest the QClash twice each season. The first QClash was held in 2011, with the game establishing the highest pay TV audience ever for an AFL game, with a total of 354,745 viewers watching the game.[63]

The medal for the player adjudged best on ground is known as the Marcus Ashcroft Medal. It is named after former footballer Marcus Ashcroft, who played junior football on the Gold Coast for Southport and 318 VFL/AFL games for the Brisbane Bears/Lions between 1989 and 2003. He later joined Gold Coast's coaching staff and was the first Queenslander to play 300 VFL/AFL games.[64] Lion Dayne Beams has won the medal three times, the most by any player.

The trophy awarded to the winner of the game is currently known as the "QClash Trophy". The trophy is a "traditional style" looking silver cup with a wooden base and a plaque. The plaque's inscription reads from left to right, "Brisbane Lions AFC", "QCLASH", "Gold Coast Suns FC".[65]

The necessity of a merger between two AFL clubs in 1996 was to enable The Port Adelaide Football Club to enter the AFL in 1997. The result of this merger produced The Brisbane Lions, and fans of parent clubs Fitzroy and the Brisbane Bears were disappointed at losing their clubs as standalone entities due to Port's entry into the league. A rivalry quickly developed between the newly merged club and Port.

In their early days, the two clubs could not be separated and had multiple close encounters, with a draw in two of their first three meetings.[7] In the early 2000s, the rivalry reached its peak as the two clubs would be the most dominant of the era, consistently finishing at the top of the ladder.[66] Between 2001 and 2004, the clubs met each other in the 2001 Ansett Australia Cup Grand Final, a 2001 qualifying final, a 2002 preliminary final and the 2004 Grand Final. Other notable encounters from this period include a round 22 match in 2002 to determine the minor premiership that year,[13] which Port Adelaide won by a single goal, and a round 17 match in 2003 with 7 lead changes in the final quarter, which Port Adelaide won by a point.

In June 2006, to recognise ten years since the creation of the Brisbane Lions, a Team of the Decade was announced.[67]

• Biggest winning margin: 141 points – 29.15 (189) vs. Adelaide 6.12 (48), The Gabba, 24 July 2004
• Biggest losing margin: 139 points – 7.5 (47) vs. St Kilda 28.18 (186), Telstra Dome, 27 August 2005
• Highest score: 29.15 (189) vs. Adelaide, The Gabba, 24 July 2004
• Lowest score: 2.5 (17) vs. Richmond, MCG, 14 April 2018
• Highest score conceded: 28.18 (186) vs. St Kilda, Telstra Dome, 27 August 2005
• Lowest score conceded: 3.10 (28) vs. Essendon, Metricon Stadium, 31 July 2020
• Highest aggregate score: 293 points – Brisbane Lions 25.21 (171) vs. Fremantle 19.8 (122), The Gabba, 29 April 2001
• Lowest aggregate score: 76 points – Brisbane Lions 6.6 (42) vs. Collingwood 5.4 (34), The Gabba, 4 September 2020
• Most goals in a match: Jonathan Brown, ten goals vs. Carlton, The Gabba, 22 July 2007

Legend: Premiers, Wooden spoon

For the 2022 season, in the event an AFL club has less than 28 players available due to Covid, each club can select from a list of 20 state league players who can be called up to AFL level.[73]

Brisbane have selected VFL players from Coburg, Port Melbourne and Brisbane Lions' VFL team

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

^ Denotes the ladder was split into two conferences. Figure refers to the club's overall finishing position in the home-and-away season.
^a Daniel Merrett was coach for round 3, and Starcevich was coach for all other matches.