Brisbane Lions Elite Kick bands AFL Football Club originated in the year 1996, after the first ever merger in the history of Australian Football League, between Queensland’s Brisbane Bears and Victoria’s foundation club, the Fitzroy Lions. It has been one of the most successful clubs in the Australian Football League from 2000-2009 making it to the finals four times and clinching the premiership title thrice in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
Until 2000, Brisbane Lions faced a tough time, in order to make it to the top of the ladder, in the following years. They finished in the eighth position in the first year following the merger. In the next year, they finished last in the tally coached by John Northey. In the off-season of the same year, the club hired Leigh Matthews. Who had steered Collingwood to its first Premiership in 1990. Under Matthews’ guidance the Brisbane Lions fortune turned brightest ever. He brought some of the players to play for the club so that, Brisbane Lions by the end of 2000 steadily climbed up the Premiership ladder to finish 4th in the tally, resolutely aiming at winning the premiership next year.
The Brisbane Lions Football Club won its first AFL Grand Final in 2001 by defeating Essendon. The team’s utility player Shaun Hart was awarded the Norm Smith Medal. The win bonded the Fitzroy fan base in the post merger era in the cities of Brisbane and Melbourne. Continuing their winning streak the club won a successive the next year by defeating Collingwood in the 2002 AFL Final. This was the closest Grand final in 15 years, in which an underpowered Brisbane Lions following an early ouster of both ruckman Beau McDonald and Martin Pike gave a tough competition to Collingwood.
The match was also decisive in laying down changed voting procedures for the subsequent Grand Finals. Brisbane Lion midfielder Simon Black also won the Brownlow Medal for the best and fairest player of the 2002 season. To help the club overcome its financial troubles, former Brisbane lawyer. Michael Bowers was appointed the Chief Executive officer in the year 2002. The year 2003 marked another high in the Brisbane Lion’s Football Club history. It became the first grand finalist in the Australian Football Leagues’ history after three of its players became Brownlow Mediallists.
