Anthony Corrie is a name familiar to Lions fans, playing 53 games for Brisbane from 2004 to 2008, but it is his work off the field that is leaving a lasting legacy around the Club.

Corrie’s role at the Lions is Indigenous Player Welfare Manager and he has played a major role behind the scenes of Sir Doug Nicholls Round and many other initiatives since he took the job in early 2022.

The 2023 Lions Indigenous guernsey is the last of the three-peat era which Corrie has heavily involved in since arriving back at the club.

“Being an ex-player at the Lions I didn’t have the opportunity to wear an indigenous jumper or play in an indigenous round,” Corrie said.

“It gives you a sense of pride to be able to do something like this to celebrate the great players that have come before us and who set the foundations in and around our culture and being role models.”

One of those initiatives was Indigenous community engagements including a trip out to Murgon and Cherbourg with several of the Club’s indigenous and non-indigenous players.

“We went out to the Murgon high school and did some clinics out there with the players,” Corrie said.

“Then we were able to go out to the Ration Shed in Cherbourg.

“Cherbourg was one of the biggest missions in Southeast Queensland and the boys were able to go out and listen to the stories of Uncle Arnold Murray he is an elder out there and was in Cherbourg when it was a mission and spoke to us about what it was like.

“It was good to have Rhys (Mathieson) and Tom (Fullarton) out there because they now want to get involved, they understand what their role is in educating others of the indigenous significance in the community.”

Growing up in Darwin and being drafted by the Lions in 2002 with pick 44, Corrie had many indigenous role models growing up which led him down the football path.

“In Darwin, the Brisbane Lions were the Brisbane Bears at the time and had a really strong connection with the Darwin community with the likes of Matty Ahmat, Fabian Francis, Adam Kerinaiua, Russell Jeffrey, Darryl White, and then Magic Mclean,” Corrie explained.

“But as a footy club we’ve had a really strong connection to the Northern Territory and we’ve had a lot of Darwin or NT players come through there.”

Corrie understands the important role the club plays in indigenous education and the impact that it has on the community, especially in Sir Doug Nicholls Round.

“I’m excited. It is one of those things where, it [the guernsey] does look awesome but the club also gets behind it, the community is supporting it as well and we go on this journey to not only educate ourselves on our shared history but educate others too,” Corrie said.

“Going through school we never really learnt about pre-settlement and what has happened and that is part of our history.

“As we’ve mentioned in the past it is ensuring that we are educating our younger generation and that we are moving forward as a nation and that will come along the way.”

Corrie’s day-to-day role involves ensuring the players and specifically the indigenous players are setting themselves up for life after footy.

This was a lesson Corrie himself took from his playing days and knows how critical it can be to have life established outside of football.

“When I got injured in 2006 it hit home that I needed to get an education outside of footy,” Corrie said.

“That is part of my role here at the footy club to look after our indigenous players and non-indigenous players, provide options in terms of employment outside of footy and not just employment either getting them some education or training that is outside the AFL system.”

In terms of his relationship with the indigenous players, Corrie has worked hard to build a strong rapport.

“We have got six indigenous boys and three girls here at the moment and we were talking about it the other day that we have a really strong group which has really helped not only on the field but off the field as well,’ Corrie said.

“We have our jokes and at lunch people look around and there’s a table with seven black fellas sitting there having lunch together but we want others to come over sit and have a laugh, there’s always banter.

“The coffees, I try my best not to shout them, these boys are on a bit more money than me but if it is helping them with their wellbeing or off field stuff, I am more than happy to give them a hand with that.”