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Australian rules football club
the soccer team formerly known as Brisbane Lions

The Brisbane Lions are a professional Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that compete in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The Lions came into existence in 1996 when the AFL expansion club the Brisbane Bears, established in 1987, absorbed the AFL operations of one of the league's foundation clubs, Fitzroy, established in Melbourne, Victoria in 1883. Its colours of maroon, blue, and gold were drawn from both Fitzroy and the Bears. The club plays its home matches at the Gabba in Brisbane, and its headquarters and training facilities are located at Springfield Central Stadium. The Lions are one of the most successful AFL clubs of the 2000s, appearing in four consecutive grand finals from 2001 to 2004, a period in which they won three premierships (2001, 2002, 2003). They also finished runners up in 2023. The Lions were a foundation team in the AFL Women's competition in 2017, and have featured in five grand finals in that time, winning the premiership in 2021 and again in 2023 also finishing runners up on the other occasions. They also field a reserves men's team in the Victorian Football League, and operate an under 18s academy which contests Division 2 of the men's and women's underage national championships and the Talent League.

The Melbourne based Fitzroy Football Club was formed 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 then went on to be one of the eight break away clubs who formed the Victorian Football League in 1897. They continued 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 while 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 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. Fitzroy entered one of the least successful periods any VFL/AFL club has had. The club finished in the bottom three 11 times in the 1960s and 1970s, including three wooden spoons in four years between 1963 and 1966. The club won only a single game between 1963 and 1964 – known as the Miracle Match when it defeated eventual premiers Geelong in Round 10, 1963 – but its 1964 season was winless, and as of 2023 stands as the only winless season by any club since 1950. 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 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. 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. 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 its early days, the club was uncompetitive on the field and struggled to shake the derisive tags which included "The Carrara 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 finished 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.

Fitzroy's directors had agreed in principle to merge with the eventual 1996 premiers, North Melbourne, as the "North Fitzroy Kangaroos". However, that proposal was rejected 15–1 by the club presidents, 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 AFL operations with Brisbane. The club became the Brisbane Bears Fitzroy Football Club (trading as Brisbane Lions), remained at the Gabba, and were coached by Bears coach John Northey. However, the club's identity, logo, song, and guernsey were based on those of Fitzroy, three Fitzroy representatives served on the board, and the Lions kept an office in Melbourne. None of the Fitzroy representatives, former Fitzroy champion Laurie Serafini, David Lucas and Ken Levy, chosen to serve on Brisbane's board, were Fitzroy directors at that time. Eight Fitzroy players were allowed to be recruited to the Brisbane Lions outside of the normal draft or trade system. They were Brad Boyd, Chris Johnson, Jarrod Molloy, John Barker, Nick Carter, Simon Hawking, Scott Bamford and Shane Clayton. Fitzroy played its last VFL/AFL game on 1 September 1996 against Fremantle at Subiaco Oval, and the Bears' last match was a preliminary final on Saturday 21 September 1996 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground against North Melbourne. The Brisbane Lions were officially launched on 1 November 1996, joining the national competition in 1997.

In 1997, the Lions narrowly made the finals, finishing eighth. They ended up with the same win–loss record as fellow 1997 newcomers Port Adelaide, who missed out due to having an inferior percentage. Their first two games were against the eventual grand finalists of that year, Adelaide and St Kilda. They went down 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 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 finished last 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. 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 half time score in VFL/AFL history. Brisbane won their first finals as a merged entity against Carlton and the Western Bulldogs before losing to the eventual premiers, the Kangaroos, in a 1999 preliminary final. The Lions played finals again in 2000 but bowed out in the second week after losing an away game to Carlton by 82 points. In this period the club drafted and recruited key players who went on to be pillars of the Lions triple premiership years. Victorian Luke Power, Fitzroy father son selection Jonathan Brown, and exciting WA product Simon Black came via the draft, and Brad Scott, Mal Michael, and ex Fitzroy B&F winner Martin Pike were recruited from Hawthorn, Collingwood, and North Melbourne respectively.

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 lost 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. Some believed that the St Kilda game, rather than the 2004 Grand Final, had signaled the end of Brisbane's triple premiership dynasty. 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 runners up to Carlton in the 2007 NAB Cup Grand Final. The Lions failed 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. 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 finished the season. They also recorded 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 only won 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. 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. 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 became known as the Miracle on Grass. On 13 August 2013, coach Michael Voss was told his contract would not be renewed. On 18 October 2013, Brisbane Lions Hall of Famer Simon Black announced his retirement.

On 25 August 2013, a former premiership player for the Lions, Justin Leppitsch, was confirmed as 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. On 29 August 2016, Leppitsch was sacked as coach of the Lions after multiple disappointing seasons.

On 4 October 2016, Hawthorn football manager Chris Fagan was announced as Brisbane's senior coach from the 2017 season onwards. 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, but multiple close losses showed signs of a young team about to breakout into finals contention. The Lions had a dramatically improved 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 repeated their form displayed in 2019 the following year, once again finishing second 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 games 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 ladder 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 for Brisbane, their impressive finals run came to an end against the Cats, suffering a 71 point defeat in the First Preliminary Final that ended their 2022 season. Brisbane reinforced their squad with multiple star signings in the off season, such as star midfielder Josh Dunkley, tall forward Jack Gunston and father son draftee Will Ashcroft, to make them one of the competition's flag favourites for the 2023 AFL season. Additionally, Fagan also penned a two year contract extension to keep him at the club until 2025, with Lachie Neale and Harris Andrews also taking over as co captains from long serving Lions veteran Dayne Zorko, who stepped down before the commencement of the 2023 season. Brisbane finished the 2023 Home & Away season in second position, finishing in the Top 2 for the third time under Fagan after previously doing so in 2019 and 2020, and finishing in the Top 4 for the fourth time after also doing so in 2021. They faced Port Adelaide in the Second Qualifying Final on the 9th of September at the Gabba, beating the Power by 48 points and going straight through to a home preliminary final, their third under Fagan, where they faced Carlton on the 23rd of September for a place in the 2023 AFL Grand Final. After conceding the first five goals, The Lions fought back, prevailing by 16 points over the Blues to progress to the AFL Grand Final for the first time since 2004. This meant that they faced Collingwood, exactly 20 years on since they faced the Magpies in the 2003 Grand Final and completed the historic three peat. The Lions fell short of the premiership in 2023, losing to the Magpies in an extremely close Grand Final with a final score of 12.18. (90) to 13.8. (86).

The Fitzroy Football Club came out of administration in 1998. For a brief time, it experimented in partnerships with other semi professional and amateur clubs before incorporating the Fitzroy Reds in 2009 to play in the Victorian Amateur Football Association. Fitzroy largely resumed its original VFL/AFL identity playing in the VAFA through its continued use of its 1975–1996 VFL/AFL jumper, its club song, and its 1884–1966 home ground at the Brunswick Street Oval. The goal was to not only maintain a strong presence in Melbourne for Victorian based Fitzroy/Brisbane Lions supporters, but to also provide for the Fitzroy supporters who chose not to support Brisbane in the AFL. This was all done with the full support of the Brisbane Lions. Fitzroy Football Club improved its relationship with the Brisbane Lions in the ten years from 1999 to 2009. In that time Brisbane have used the letters BBFFC printed below the back of the neck of the club's guernseys from 2002 onwards, in line with Brisbane's official name. Fitzroy played the curtain raiser at the MCG when the Brisbane Lions met the Collingwood Magpies in the AFL Heritage Round of 2003. Brisbane also now wears a version of Fitzroy's AFL guernsey with red instead of maroon in most matches played in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia with the exception of away games played in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, consistent with Fitzroy's most recent colours. Relationships between Fitzroy and Brisbane however were strained in late 2009, when Brisbane announced that it was adopting a new logo for season 2010 and beyond, which Fitzroy Football Club believed contravened Section 7.2 c) of the Deed of Arrangement between Fitzroy and Brisbane. The new logo, a lion's head facing forward, replaced the former Fitzroy logo of a passant lion with a football. Mockingly referred to as 'The Paddlepop Lion', the new logo on the club jumper proved deeply unpopular amongst Lions fans who demanded it be changed back to the traditional Fitzroy passant Lion. On 22 December 2009, Fitzroy lodged a Statement of Claim with the Supreme Court of Victoria, seeking an order that the Brisbane Lions be restrained from using as its logo, the new logo or any other logo other than 'the Fitzroy lion logo', in line with Brisbane's legal obligations as specified in the Deed of Arrangement, including their obligation to use the Fitzroy logo in perpetuity. On 15 July 2010, the two clubs reached a settlement, agreeing that the Fitzroy logo symbolically represents the historic deal between Brisbane and Fitzroy, and represents the Brisbane Lions in the AFL. Fitzroy agreed to a compromise whereby Brisbane would use both the old and new logos alongside each other in an official capacity for the next 14 years on all official club stationary and club publications, as well as the Lions' official website for the shorter period of seven years. After immense pressure from both Lions and Fitzroy fans, Brisbane returned to using the old logo on its playing guernseys from 2015, but the new logo will remain for corporate purposes. The Brisbane Lions have since renewed and maintained strong ties with the Fitzroy Football Club in the VAFA and the Fitzroy junior football club. The Brisbane Lions sponsor a male and female Fitzroy player each year, conduct coaching workshops for Fitzroy, frequently invite the Fitzroy juniors to form a guard of honour for Victorian games, and have had many Fitzroy past players and representatives as elected board members.

In 1997, the club unveiled its new 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 2000. In 2001, the club unveiled 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, and the last of the club logos to have the AFL logo on it & this emblem was used until 2009, 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. For shorts, maroon home shorts are worn in home games including the away match against the Swans at the SCG, while the white shorts are worn with the guernsey in the AFL Grand Final, only if the Lions were to played as the away team. 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. White away shorts are worn when this guernsey is used and played predominantly in matches except against the Suns, Giants and the Swans. Clash Guernsey (worn since 2023): This predominantly gold guernsey features a maroon Fitzroy lion on a gold background (reminiscent of the Bears' first guernsey), with a maroon yoke and golden cuffs, only to be worn if playing against both the Suns and the Giants. The same shorts as the Away Guernsey are worn.

The Lions' Mascot Manor representative and club mascot was Bernie "Gabba" Vegas until 2015 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.

The club's team song, "The Pride of Brisbane Town", is based on the Fitzroy Football Club song written by ex Fitzroy player Bill Stephen, and is sung to the music of "La Marseillaise", the French national anthem.

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 over the years, this has included the University of Queensland campus, Leyshon Park in Yeronga, Giffin Park in Coorparoo, Moreton Bay Central Sports Complex in Burpengary and elsewhere, meaning the club lacked a dedicated and permanent home year round. 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), an 8,000 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. The Lions moved into the facility in October 2022.

Pre 1996, Fitzroy and Collingwood were fierce local rivals for over 100 years, sharing a suburban boundary down Smith Street, Melbourne, meeting in the 1905 and 1922 grand finals (both won by Fitzroy), and both clubs topping the premiership tally in the early days of the VFL. The bad blood between The Bears and Collingwood began in 1993 after top draft pick Nathan Buckley walked out on them and went to the Magpies after playing only a single season in Brisbane. Buckley was adamant that the move was the right career direction, with the belief he had more chance of winning a premiership elsewhere. However the rivalry between the Lions and the Magpies was properly ignited 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. The two clubs clashed once again in the 2023 Grand Final, 20 years on from their 2003 contest, with the Magpies emerging as the victors this time.

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. 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. 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".

YearCompetitionOpponentScoreVenue 2001 QAFL Southport Sharks 13.20 (98) – 13.8 (86) Giffin Park 2012 NEAFL Queanbeyan Tigers 22.12 (144) – 11.9 (75) Manuka Oval 2013 NEAFL Sydney Swans 12.9 (81) – 10.13 (73) Graham Road Oval 2017 NEAFL Sydney Swans 12.13 (85) – 10.22 (82) Sydney Cricket Ground 2019 NEAFL Southport Sharks 20.15 (135) – 8.11 (59) Fankhauser Reserve

In May 2016, the club launched a bid to enter a team in the inaugural AFL Women's season in 2017. The Brisbane Lions were granted a licence on 15 June 2016, becoming one of eight teams to compete in the league's first season. Tayla Harris and Sabrina Frederick Traub were the club's first signings, unveiled along with the league's other 14 marquee players on 27 July 2016. A further 23 senior players and two rookie players were added to the club's inaugural list in the league's drafting and signing period. Emma Zielke captained the team for their inaugural season. Former Collingwood and Brisbane Bears player and AFL Queensland coach Craig Starcevich was appointed the team's inaugural head coach in June 2016. The rest of the coaching team was announced on 8 November 2016 as David Lake as the midfield coach, Daniel Merrett as the backline coach and Brent Staker as the forward coach. Car company Hyundai, along with Epic Pharmacy, sponsored the team in 2017. The Lions have been a successful team in the AFLW, reaching the finals in six of the first seven seasons. They narrowly lost grand finals in 2017, 2018, and 2022 (S7), and only missed out on finals in 2019. Due to a shortened 2020 season, the Lions played a Qualifying Final against Carlton before the season was prematurely ended due to COVID border restrictions. No premiership was awarded in 2020. In 2021 the team finally broke through to win their first premiership by defeating arch rival Adelaide in the grand final. In 2023 the Lions took out their second premiership by defeating North Melbourne at IKON Park by 17 points. Captain Breanna Koenen was adjudged best afield for her performance in the grand final. The team plays their home games at Springfield Central Stadium in Ipswich.

The Brisbane Lions Academy consists of the club's junior development signings. It was formed in 2010 as one of four Northern AFL Academies including the Gold Coast Suns Academy, Sydney Swans Academy and GWS Giants Academy. 28 staff (including 3 full time) manage 220 selected underage players from age 12 up. The men's and women's U16 and U18 teams have contested Division 2 of the men's and women's underage championships since 2017. The Under 16 women's was crowned inaugural champions in 2023. The Lions Academy also joined the Talent League in 2019.

Past academy members include the Brisbane Lions senior men's AFL players Harris Andrews, Ben Keays, Eric Hipwood, Keidean Coleman, Jack Payne, Jaspa Fletcher and Matthew Hammelmann. It also includes players who went on to other clubs : Mabior Chol, Noah Cumberland, Wylie Buzza, Samson Ryan and Will Martyn. Academy members who went on to excel in other sports include Kalyn Ponga and Corey Horsburgh. Notable female academy players include Brisbane Lions senior AFLW players Mikayla Pauga, Sophie Conway, Belle Dawes, Gabby Collingwood, Nat Grider, Tahlia Hickie, Jade Ellenger, Lily Postlethwaite, Luka Yoshida Martin and Charlotte Mullins. Players who went on to other clubs include: Jesse Wardlaw, Zimmorlei Farquharson and Jacqui Yorston.