Brisbane Lions Players: Top 25 of All Time Ranked

Who are the greatest Brisbane Lions players of all time? From Michael Voss, Simon Black and Jonathan Brown to Lachie Neale and Will Ashcroft, The Sporting Base ranks the top 25 Brisbane Lions players across the Bears and Lions eras.

Brisbane has just completed its second three-peat. The Lions kicked the last four goals of the 2026 Grand Final to beat Fremantle 14.12 (96) to 12.17 (89) at the MCG, as AFL.com.au reported, matching the famous 2001-03 side. The week since has brought big change. Chris Fagan has stepped down after 10 seasons and three flags, Lachie Neale has joined Collingwood on a three-year deal as a free agent, and AFL.com.au has reported the club is considering an approach to Nathan Buckley as it searches for a new coach.

With one era closing and another about to begin, there is no better time to settle the debate over the club’s greatest players.

How we ranked them

This list is TSB’s opinion, weighing premierships, individual honours, longevity, peak form and impact. It covers the Brisbane Bears (1987-1996) and Brisbane Lions (1997 to now), so Fitzroy greats such as Haydn Bunton and Kevin Murray, who never played for Brisbane, are left out. Games and goals are Bears and Lions combined, to the end of 2026.

25. Tom Rockliff (2009-2017)

Brisbane games: 154 (87 goals)
Premierships: None
Key honours: Merrett-Murray Medal 2011, 2014; All-Australian 2014; captain 2015-16

A tough, prolific midfielder, Rockliff was a bright light in a lean decade. He won two club best and fairests and captained the club for two seasons before finishing his career at Port Adelaide.

24. Daniel Rich (2009-2023)

Brisbane games: 275 (116 goals)
Premierships: None
Key honours: AFL Rising Star 2009; All-Australian 2021

Pick 7 in the 2008 draft, Rich won the Rising Star in his first season and stayed for 15 years as a one-club player. His booming long kicking made him one of the game’s most damaging defenders.

23. Josh Dunkley (2023-present)

Brisbane games: 105 (19 goals)
Premierships: 2024, 2025, 2026
Key honours: Merrett-Murray Medal 2025; co-captain 2026

Dunkley’s move from the Western Bulldogs ranks among our biggest trades in AFL history. The 2025 club champion topped Brisbane’s best in the 2026 Grand Final with 21 disposals and 12 tackles, collecting his fourth premiership.

22. Zac Bailey (2018-present)

Brisbane games: 192 (220 goals)
Premierships: 2024, 2025, 2026
Key honours: All-Australian 2025, 2026

Bailey turned down Adelaide to sign an eight-year deal to the end of 2034, then kicked one of the four late goals that won the 2026 Grand Final. He is now one of the competition’s most dangerous midfield-forwards.

21. Daniel Bradshaw (1996-2009)

Brisbane games: 222 (496 goals)
Premierships: 2001, 2003
Key honours: Brisbane leading goalkicker 2005, 2006, 2008

Quiet and media-shy, Bradshaw spent years in the shadow of Alastair Lynch and Jonathan Brown, yet only Brown has kicked more goals for Brisbane. Not bad for a pick 56.

20. Hugh McCluggage (2017-present)

Brisbane games: 226 (147 goals)
Premierships: 2024, 2025, 2026
Key honours: All-Australian 2025; co-captain 2026

A constant through the club’s rise, McCluggage earned his first All-Australian blazer in 2025 and lifted the 2026 premiership cup as one of three co-captains.

19. Roger Merrett (1988-1996)

Brisbane games: 164 (285 goals)
Premierships: None
Key honours: Bears captain 1990-96; Bears leading goalkicker 1993-95

Recruited from Essendon in his prime, Merrett captained the Bears for seven seasons and took them to their first finals. He became the club’s first life member, and the club champion award, the Merrett-Murray Medal, carries his name.

18. Mal Michael (2001-2006)

Brisbane games: 140 (5 goals)
Premierships: 2001, 2002, 2003
Key honours: International Rules representative 2004

Born in Port Moresby, Michael arrived from Collingwood in 2001 and became the miserly full-back behind the three-peat, playing 97 of a possible 101 games from 2001 to 2004.

17. Shaun Hart (1990-2004)

Brisbane games: 273 (177 goals)
Premierships: 2001, 2002, 2003
Key honours: Norm Smith Medal 2001

Leigh Matthews called him the most selfless player in the AFL. The helmeted left-footer nearly lost his place on the list at the end of 1991, then won the Norm Smith Medal in the club’s first premiership.

16. Darryl White (1992-2005)

Brisbane games: 268 (165 goals)
Premierships: 2001, 2002, 2003
Key honours: Indigenous Team of the Century (full-back)

The Alice Springs product polled three Brownlow votes on debut as a makeshift ruckman in 1992 and kicked the AFL Goal of the Year two weeks later. He became a gifted utility and triple premiership player.

15. Chris Johnson (1997-2007)

Brisbane games: 205 (105 goals)
Premierships: 2001, 2002, 2003
Key honours: All-Australian 2002, 2004; co-captain 2007; Indigenous Team of the Century

One of the “Chosen Eight” who moved north from Fitzroy, Johnson turned from a small forward into a premier small defender, famous for his dashing runs out of defence. He also captained Australia in International Rules.

14. Charlie Cameron (2018-present)

Brisbane games: 208 (410 goals)
Premierships: 2024, 2025, 2026
Key honours: All-Australian 2019, 2023

Another of our biggest trades in AFL history, Cameron became only the third Lion to kick 400 goals in September 2026, after Brown and Bradshaw. He kicked four goals in the 2025 Grand Final and three in 2026.

13. Marcus Ashcroft (1989-2003)

Brisbane games: 318 (145 goals)
Premierships: 2001, 2002, 2003
Key honours: Lions Team of the Decade; Queensland Team of the Century

The first Queenslander to play 300 AFL games, Ashcroft played 170 matches in a row from 1992 to 2000. Fittingly, his 318th and final game was the 2003 premiership.

12. Will Ashcroft (2023-present)

Brisbane games: 85 (43 goals)
Premierships: 2024, 2025, 2026
Key honours: Norm Smith Medal 2024, 2025; Merrett-Murray Medal 2026

Marcus’s son, a father-son pick at No.2, won the 2024 Norm Smith Medal as the youngest winner of the AFL era, then won it again in 2025. In 2026 he had a game-high 31 disposals in the Grand Final and won his first club best and fairest. At 85 games, he has plenty of time to climb.

11. Luke Power (1998-2011)

Brisbane games: 282 (226 goals)
Premierships: 2001, 2002, 2003
Key honours: All-Australian 2004; co-captain 2007-08

A lifelong Fitzroy supporter, Power beat early homesickness to become a three-peat cornerstone. He finished in the top five of the club championship eight years in a row from 2003 to 2010.

10. Justin Leppitsch (1993-2006)

Brisbane games: 227 (194 goals)
Premierships: 2001, 2002, 2003
Key honours: Merrett-Murray Medal 1999; All-Australian 1999, 2002, 2003

Leppitsch led the Lions’ goalkicking in 1997 and 1998 before a reluctant move to defence in 1999 made his career. He won the club champion award that year and changed the centre half-back role. Now Collingwood’s list boss, he has just welcomed Neale to the Magpies.

9. Alastair Lynch (1994-2004)

Brisbane games: 186 (460 goals)
Premierships: 2001, 2002, 2003
Key honours: Lions co-captain 1997-2000; Brisbane leading goalkicker 1996, 2000-03

The powerhouse full-forward of the golden era kicked 74 goals in 2002 and 78 in 2003. Lynch is the only player to have played for Fitzroy, the Bears and the Lions.

8. Harris Andrews (2015-present)

Brisbane games: 263 (11 goals)
Premierships: 2024, 2025, 2026
Key honours: All-Australian 2019, 2020, 2025, 2026; Merrett-Murray Medal 2023; co-captain since 2023

The backbone of Brisbane’s defence for a decade, Andrews is the only player to have captained the club in all three of its latest premierships.

7. Dayne Zorko (2012-present)

Brisbane games: 321 (241 goals)
Premierships: 2024, 2025, 2026
Key honours: Merrett-Murray Medal 2015-18, 2021; All-Australian 2017, 2024; captain 2018-22

Overlooked in four straight drafts, Zorko debuted at 23 and has won a record five Merrett-Murray Medals. Reborn as a half-back, he has re-signed for 2027 and sits one game behind Simon Black’s club record of 322.

6. Nigel Lappin (1994-2008)

Brisbane games: 279 (174 goals)
Premierships: 2001, 2002, 2003
Key honours: All-Australian 2001-04; Merrett-Murray Medal 2004; AFL Hall of Fame

The understated member of the “Fab Four” midfield, Lappin was All-Australian four years running. He played the 2003 Grand Final with broken ribs and went to hospital afterwards with a punctured lung.

5. Jason Akermanis (1995-2006)

Brisbane games: 248 (307 goals)
Premierships: 2001, 2002, 2003
Key honours: Brownlow Medal 2001; All-Australian 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004; AFL Hall of Fame

Blindingly quick with a freakish goal sense, Akermanis became the Lions’ first Brownlow medallist in 2001. A year later he snapped the goal that sealed the 2002 Grand Final against Collingwood.

4. Lachie Neale (2019-2026)

Brisbane games: 186 (74 goals)
Premierships: 2024, 2025, 2026
Key honours: Brownlow Medal 2020, 2023; Merrett-Murray Medal 2019, 2020, 2022, 2024; All-Australian 2019, 2020, 2022, 2024

Neale’s arrival from Fremantle tops our 15 biggest trades in AFL history. The relentless ball-winner is the only Brisbane player to win two Brownlows, and he co-captained the 2024 and 2025 premiership sides. He leaves for Collingwood as one of the club’s finest.

3. Jonathan Brown (2000-2014)

Brisbane games: 256 (594 goals)
Premierships: 2001, 2002, 2003
Key honours: Coleman Medal 2007; Merrett-Murray Medal 2007-09; All-Australian 2007, 2009; AFL Hall of Fame

A Fitzroy father-son pick and triple premiership player at 21, Brown holds Brisbane records for career goals (594) and goals in a game (10). He captained the club for seven years and was voted the competition’s most courageous player three times.

2. Simon Black (1998-2013)

Brisbane games: 322 (171 goals)
Premierships: 2001, 2002, 2003
Key honours: Brownlow Medal 2002; Norm Smith Medal 2003; Merrett-Murray Medal 2001, 2002, 2006; AFL Hall of Fame

Black’s 2003 Grand Final remains the benchmark: 39 possessions (a Grand Final record at the time), 25 contested, nine clearances and a goal. The 2002 Brownlow medallist holds club records for games (322) and wins (174).

1. Michael Voss (1992-2006)

Brisbane games: 289 (245 goals)
Premierships: 2001, 2002, 2003 (captain)
Key honours: Brownlow Medal 1996; five club champion awards; All-Australian 1996, 1999, 2001-03 (captain 2002-03); AFL Hall of Fame

Voss debuted at 17, shared the 1996 Brownlow in the Bears’ final season, then captained the Lions for a decade and led the 2001-03 three-peat. In 2011 he became the first Brisbane player inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame. As the club notes, Leigh Matthews said there had been no more valuable person in football.

Honourable mentions

Logan Morris (2024-present): three premierships in his first three seasons, an All-Australian blazer in 2026 and the last two goals of the 2026 Grand Final.
Ryan Lester (2011-present): 256 games and three premierships.
Craig McRae (1995-2004): 195 games and three premierships.
Joe Daniher (2021-2024): 204 goals in 96 games and a 2024 premiership.

What comes next for the Lions

Brisbane is yet to name Fagan’s successor, Zorko needs two games to break Black’s record, and Bailey (2034) and Morris (2029) are locked in long term. Will the next great Lions team produce a player good enough to crack this top five? Follow the coaching search and the trade period on our AFL news hub, and get breaking AFL news on the TSB app for iPhone and Android.

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