Brisbane (3)

BRISBANE - Part Three: 1997 to 2008 (The Lions Era)

From the start, it was evident that the marriage of convenience which had spawned the Brisbane Lions was a lop sided affair, heavily weighted in favour of the former Bears. Not only would the new club continue to be based in Brisbane, but the vast majority of its players, together with eight members of its eleven strong committee and coach John Northey, would have Bears backgrounds.

In December 1999 the AFL effectively confirmed the Bears status as senior partners in the merger when it clarified what until then had been a confusing situation regarding player records and statistics:

Players and coaches involved with both the Bears and the Lions will have their records classified as one set for Brisbane. In other words, Marcus Ashcroft has played 222 premiership matches for Brisbane (Bears and Lions) while Alastair Lynch has played 204 matches comprising 120 for Fitzroy and 84 for Brisbane (Bears and Lions). And it means those such as John Northey and Adrian Fletcher will be recorded as being involved at four clubs, not five. This position will also apply to match records (highest scores, lowest scores, club v club records etc)..... (See footnote 17)

As time went on, however, the Lions themselves, for perfectly understandable reasons, and with the eager endorsement of the Melbourne media, sought to dilute this view. In 2001, for example, the word 'Brisbane' was unceremoniously erased from the club's name when it played in Victoria; it was known simply as 'Lions' in an unambiguous - and, from a marketing perspective, highly shrewd - affirmation of its Fitzroy heritage. This had a pronounced and beneficial effect on the club's Victorian membership figures, and meant that, when playing in Melbourne, the team was assured of a respectable following. Inevitably, however, some took what was essentially a marketing ploy much too literally: during the 2001 AFL grand final, certain members of the TV commentary team persistently and blithely peddled the delusion that what they were witnessing was a Fitzroy premiership. As far as they were concerned, in football terms Brisbane might as well have been on the moon. (In this connection it is perhaps worth pointing out that, when Brisbane finally broke through for its debut premiership in 2001, victory was achieved with a nucleus of players (12 in all) who had begun their VFL/AFL careers with the Bears, while Chris Johnson was the only member of the flag-winning team to have crossed over from Fitzroy as part of the merger deal.)

In truth, the eventual success of the Brisbane Lions was a triumph for the broader game in general, and for Queensland football in particular. As Brisbane's most watched football club, the Lions have gone some way towards giving the national game the sort of profile it deserves in Queensland's capital.

In 1997, however, there was still considerable work to be done and, after the exuberance and promise of the Bears' 1996 season, there would be disappointments and apparent backward steps aplenty before the much talked about 'potential' of the new ensemble was fulfilled.

With Alastair Lynch replacing the now retired Roger Merrett as captain, the Lions, wearing maroon, gold and blue, endured an injury-ridden and inconsistent 1997 season which saw them just fall over the line into the finals after drawing 1 and losing 3 of their final 4 games. The draw, significantly, came against Port Adelaide, the club which Brisbane ultimately displaced from the finals on percentage.

It was a brief finals campaign this time around, however, as eventual grand finalists St Kilda cruised to victory in the 4th qualifying final by 46 points, 20.15 (135) to 13.11 (89), bringing to an end a frustrating season of apparent under-achievement.

Inaugural Brisbane Lions captain, Alastair Lynch.

In the club best and fairest award, won by ruckman Matthew Clarke, it was interesting to note that none of the club's Fitzroy recruits finished in the top ten positions.

If 1997 had been about unfulfilled potential, 1998 was simply a calamity from start to finish. Touted as genuine premiership contenders before the season started, the club lost its first 5 games before lurching from crisis to crisis, and ending up with a totally unexpected wooden spoon. Coach John Northey was sacked midway through the year and replaced by favourite son Roger Merrett, but after overseeing just 1 win in the club's final 8 matches of the year Merrett too was unceremoniously dumped.

'Lethal Leigh'

A much publicised off field drama involving Alastair Lynch and chairman Noel Gordon reinforced the notion - if it needed reinforcing - that this was a season to forget.

The man called in to rescue the Lions in 1999 was former Hawthorn champion Leigh Matthews who, as a coach, had steered Collingwood to the 1990 premiership. Since leaving the Magpies at the end of the 1995 season he had worked in the media, and coached both the Victorian state of origin side (highly successfully) and Australia's 1998 'combined rules' team in Ireland (less so). His impact at Brisbane would be immediate and emphatic.

Tony Shaw, who won the Norm Smith Medal in Collingwood's 1990 premiership win, offered a cogent and candid appraisal of the Matthews approach to coaching:

.......two major things emerged from the way Leigh coaches. He points out things in the smallest areas which can mean the difference between winning and losing. Things like diet, rest and especially alcohol intake, can make that five per cent difference between winning and losing.

The other point is that decisions have to be made - and not everyone will agree with them - but Leigh has the courage of his convictions. (See footnote 18)

In the intervening nine or so years between the above comments being made and Matthews taking over the coaching reins at Brisbane his style had inevitably evolved, but these two factors remained central. The Lions in 1999 were fitter and better prepared than ever before, while some of Matthews' decisions at first appeared almost outlandish or illogical, only to end up, in most cases, looking inspired. A prime case in point was his decision to move both Jason Akermanis and Justin Leppitsch from the forward lines, where they had spent almost their entire careers up until then, into defence; the result was that both players played the best football of their careers, earning AFL All Australian selection, and tying with one another for the club's fairest and best award.

Under Matthews, Brisbane also played with a newfound aggression, frequently laced with overt, systematically applied intimidation techniques, and it was arguably this above anything else that made the side significantly and consistently more successful away from home than it had ever been before. Not that the Lions were a team of thugs - far from it: running players like Michael Voss, Shaun Hart, Nigel Lappin, Simon Black and Marcus Ashcroft gave the Lions one of the most effective and attractive midfield units in the game. Moreover, some of the set plays which Matthews developed in order to disorientate the opposition verged on the ingenious.

The Lions under Matthews were unrecognisable from the ramshackle outfit which had spluttered to the previous season's wooden spoon. The team opened the 1999 season with a 23.14 (152) to 10.3 (63) annihilation of St Kilda at the Gabba, and thereafter seldom broke step in a rousing, sustained march to the finals. Some of the performances en route were outstanding, including a league record 21 goal 1st half haul against Fremantle at the Gabba, hefty wins against both the Power and the Crows at Football Park, and a comfortable win over Collingwood at Victoria Park on the emotional occasion of the Magpies' last game at the ground.

Brisbane's 2002 Brownlow Medallist, Simon Black.

With a percentage of 144.9% - the best by any club in the League since 1992 - the Lions had every reason to feel confident over their finals prospects, and substantial wins over Carlton (73 points) in the qualifying final and the Western Bulldogs (53 points) in a semi final, both at the Gabba, only served to enhance this confidence. In the end, however, the Kangaroos at the MCG in a preliminary final proved just one hurdle too many; clearly Matthews still needed an ingredient or two to complete the recipe.

In actual fact, it soon emerged that perhaps more than a couple of ingredients were needed, with the situation being complicated by the retirement during the 2000 season of a number of key players, notably Richard Champion, Craig Lambert and - surprisingly prematurely - Adam Heuskes. With number one ruckman Clark Keating absent all season long with a serious knee injury, and others like Brad Scott, Matthew Kennedy, Steve Lawrence and Simon Black missing numerous games, the Lions lacked the potency and fluency of the previous year, managing just 12 wins to qualify for the finals in 6th place. A 15.20 (110) to 10.16 (76) elimination final defeat of the Western Bulldogs raised hopes, but the following week Brisbane was execrable in losing to Carlton by 82 points in Melbourne.

Hard running former Norwood, Fitzroy and Kangaroos defender, Martin Pike.

Realising that the Lions' biggest weakness was a lack of depth in defence, Matthews made two important recruiting coups during the close season when he brought Mal Michael (Collingwood) and Martin Pike (Kangaroos) to the Gabba. Both were highly accomplished backmen, while Pike also brought invaluable experience, having been a member of the Kangaroos' 1999 premiership side.

Brisbane in 2001 was close to the finished article, winning its final 13 home and away matches for the year to qualify for the finals in 2nd place, behind leaders Essendon only on percentage. Its form in the finals was, if anything, even better: it comfortably overcame Port Adelaide in a low scoring war of attrition in the 2nd qualifying final by 32 points, and then blew Richmond away with merciless ease by 68 points to qualify for a first ever grand final. Both matches took place at the Gabba but, with 8 wins out of 11 away from home, home ground advantage was no longer perceived as being a major crux of the Lions' success.

Reigning premiers Essendon provided the grand final opposition, and the pundits were generally split over who they thought might prevail. Both sides had enormous strength in the middle of the ground, with Brisbane having "won 15 matches in succession by utilising a free-flowing game of controlling the midfield through a dominant pack of runners, including 2001 Brownlow Medallist Jason Akermanis, captain Michael Voss and fellow AFL All Australians Simon Black and Nigel Lappin" (see footnote 19). Essendon meanwhile had its own troop of highly talented, tautly cohesive on ballers, such as James Hird, Blake Caracella, Chris Heffernan and Jason Johnson. If the Bombers were to win, these players needed to "control the middle by making every contest accountable; they must stop the Lions from getting a run on" (see footnote 20).

This proved to be an uncannily prescient assessment. For most of the first half the Essendon midfielders contained and occasionally broke clear of their highly vaunted opponents, and as the half time siren loomed the Bombers led by 20 points. Then, a split second before the siren, Simon Black found Alastair Lynch 40 metres from goal, and the veteran forward made no mistake. It was - or so said many of the Brisbane players after the game - a crucial goal, for "they felt a 14 point lead was manageable - and, importantly, they had enormous confidence that they were a fitter and stronger side than Essendon. They were convinced of being able to out run the reigning premiers" (see footnote 21).

And so it proved. In energy sapping, torrid conditions, reminiscent of those which often prevailed in the Lions' home state, the 2nd half saw Brisbane, with Voss, eventual Norm Smith Medallist Hart and Lappin irrepressible, running the Bombers into the ground. The finals scores were Brisbane 15.18 (108) to Essendon 12.10 (82), a margin of only 26 points, but in truth the game had been won well before the end by a team playing with a style and conviction that must have sent tremors down the spines of all fifteen of the other AFL clubs' coaches.

In retrospect, Brisbane's march to successive flags in 2002 seems to have been almost a formality. In actual fact, there were occasional moments of uncertainty, such as the loss to Melbourne at the Gabba in round 14 (in what was officially a 'home' game for the Demons), and the defeats by both the Adelaide teams in finals like atmospheres at Football Park, but overall there was an air of persuasive inevitability about the 2002 Lions - until, that is, Saturday 28 September, and grand final day.

Strong marking key forward, Jonathan Brown.

Whereas in 2001 the grand final clash between Brisbane and Essendon was expected to be a closely fought affair, with either side more or less equally capable of taking the honours, twelve months later it was widely believed - away from Victoria Park at any rate - that the Lions' surprise grand final opponents, Collingwood, were merely there for the ride. Man for man, Brisbane was supposed to be immeasurably superior to the Magpies.

Tearaway forward pocket-cum-rover, Luke Power.

Unlike in 2001, on this occasion the notoriously fickle Melbourne weather did not come to Brisbane's aid, with heavy rain creating a slippery playing surface and greasy ball more to Collingwood's liking. Right from the opening bounce it was evident that the Lions were not in for an easy afternoon. The Magpies chased, hassled, impeded and stifled, applying the same kind of naked aggression to the Lions as the Lions had used so successfully for most of the Matthews era. Anthony Rocca's goal for Collingwood at the 26 minute mark proved to be the only major of the lowest scoring grand final 1st quarter for seventy-five years.

Brisbane's opening goal arrived five minutes into the 2nd term, and although this precipitated something of a Lions surge, the intense pressure being applied by Collingwood induced an atypical profligacy in front of goal. Brisbane added 4.8 in the quarter to the Magpies' 3 straight, to lead at the long change by just 8 points.

Many observers expected Brisbane's allegedly superior fitness to tell in the 2nd half, but this was far from the case as Collingwood kept up the pressure throughout, actually outscoring the Lions (4.6 to 4.2) during a 3rd term in which they often appeared to be the stronger side.

The last quarter was a desperate, titanic arm wrestle, with Collingwood hitting the front 11 minutes in by means of a glorious checkside goal from Fraser. With heavy rain now falling goals were going to be at a premium, but it was at this point that the Lions finally lifted their game to the sort of heights their supporters had come to expect. Three minutes after Fraser's goal, Alastair Lynch netted full points from a controversial free kick, and Brisbane was back in front. Then, with Michael Voss in irrepressible, inspirational form, the Lions kept coming, albeit in the face of considerable pressure from the desperate Magpies.

After 24 minutes Jason Akermanis, who had been under something of a cloud with injury all day, snapped a superlative 6 pointer over his head and the Lions finally had some breathing space. The final minutes saw Brisbane retaining possession and slowing the play down to run out bruised, exhausted, but overall deserving winners by 9 points, 10.15 (75) to 9.12 (66). It had been the most absorbing and closely fought grand final since 1989, and it confirmed the Brisbane Lions as one of the truly great teams of the modern era.

Displaying trademark exuberance, Jason Akermanis celebrates a Brisbane win. (Click to enlarge.)

That evaluation was brought into serious doubt at times during the following season, with a mixture of injuries to key players and poor form yielding the worst series of results since the wooden spoon year of 1998. However, as all champion teams do, the Lions came good when it really counted. After narrowly procuring the double chance, the side overcame the hiccup of a 15 point qualifying final loss to Collingwood to switch almost miraculously into top gear. Over the next three weeks Brisbane produced football on a par with anything in its, or indeed any other club's, history, scoring seemingly effortless wins over Adelaide (by 42 points), Sydney (44 points) and, on the final Saturday in September, Collingwood by a 50 point margin that, frankly, was flattering to the losers. The Lions' midfield brigade of Akermanis, Voss, Black and co. were simply indefatigable, as were key position players like Leppitsch and Lynch. The suggestion that Brisbane was now the greatest club side in Australian football history was becoming increasingly difficult to refute.

In 2004, the Lions had the opportunity to cast any lingering doubts as to their unsurpassed greatness aside as they lined up in their fourth consecutive grand final, this time against Port Adelaide. However, despite performing gallantly, particularly during a second term that saw them surge back into contention after seemingly being outplayed, they ended up 40 points in arrears, and the dream, at least for the time being, was over, as mediocre performances in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 only served to emphasise.

At the end of the 2008 season senior coach Leigh Matthews announced his resignation with his place in the hot seat going to club great Michael Voss.

With Queensland now the fastest growing Australian state in terms of population its importance to the health and well being of Australian football is considerable. The Brisbane Football Club, as prime flag wavers for Queensland footy, have already established a prominent niche for themselves in what remains essentially a rugby stronghold. The club's continued success can only be good for the game, not only in their home state, but generally. Indications are that, while such success is by no means inevitable, in the case of the Brisbane Lions more than almost any other AFL club, there is a strong likelihood of it recurring on a regular basis during the foreseeable future.

Where now?

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Footnotes

17. From AFL 2000: The Official Statistical History of the AFL by Michael Lovett (ed.), page 4. Return to Main Text

18. A Shaw Thing by Tony Shaw with Daryl Timms, page 64. Return to Main Text

19. Anthony Spargo in 'AFL Record: Grand Final 2001 Edition', 29/9/01, page 51. Return to Main Text

20. Ibid, page 51. Return to Main Text

21. The Official AFL Yearbook 2001 by Michael Gleeson, page 367. Return to Main Text