The Logan Morris AFL debut story is like nothing we’ve seen before. Two games in one day, a near half-marathon, a pre-match meal of Maccas and soup, borrowed and undersized boots, his first AFL goal and a win in front of the biggest QClash crowd in history. It’s one that will go down in folklore.

But things weren’t always so rosy for the first player with a Christian name ‘Logan’ to play for the entire Lions family – Brisbane and Fitzroy - in 2782 games over 124 years.

Two years ago, playing as a bottom-ager with the Western Jets in the Victorian Under-18 competition, Morris was dropped from the side. He was told he wasn’t fit enough and didn’t work hard enough.

Lions recruiting manager Steve Conole remembers it well. “It was a big wakeup call but he took it really well, went away and worked really hard, and hasn’t looked back,” Conole said.

Later that year Morris played in a Vic Metro Under-17 side against Queensland in Melbourne, kicking five goals in wet conditions to make a lasting impression on the Lions recruiting team.

And when it came to night two of the 2023 AFL National Draft on 21 November last year it was all about the 191cm utility forward.

After a staggering 29 players went in the first round on night one, the Lions had pick two on night two. They were locked in on Morris but were mindful that West Coast had pick one on night two.

When the Eagles chose Archer Reid from the Gippsland Power, who is yet to play in the AFL, the Lions pounced. And when Morris kicked five goals in the first intra-club practice match this year there was an inner sense of ‘we’ve got a good one here’.

Morris had achieved the rare feat of kicking 30 goals in consecutive seasons with the Jets, where he was coached in 2022 by Robbie Chancellor, later to work at the Giants, and in 2023 by Trent Dennis-Lane, a former Sydney and St.Kilda player.

He had another standout performance in the 2023 Australia Under 18 championships, taking 11 marks and kicking four goals for Vic Metro against Western Australia, and kicked two goals on debut at senior level for VFL grand finalists Werribee, to become the Lions’ third draftee from the Jets behind Michael Rischitelli (2003) and Cam Rayner (2017).

But nothing Morris did prior to last Sunday will ever match the sequence of events that followed after he travelled from his home in Annerley, where he boards with fellow first-year players Luke Lloyd and Reece Torrent at the home of long-time Lions doctor Paul McConnell, to play against Gold Coast in the VFL at Brighton Homes Arena.

If he kept a diary, it would read as follows:

12.05pm – Had 14 possessions and a goal in the Lions VFL 75-point loss, covering 13km.

4pm – On his way to the Gabba to watch the AFL game he stopped at McDonalds for a BBQ Angus meal with a frappe and six nuggets.

5.20pm – Arriving at the Gabba, he had a cup of soup and bread, prepared as always by ‘Doc McConnell’, his ever-popular landlord who has been with the club since Leigh Matthews’ arrival in 1999.

7pm – Ten minutes before the first bounce in QClash #26 all sorts of panic breaks out after Brandon Starcevich gives his calf a good twinge in the warm-up. He’s ruled out immediately, and against his expectations Morris is preferred to fellow emergencies Jarryd Lyons and Darcy Fort as the replacement. Harrp Sharp, the original sub, went into the side, and Morris became the new sub. Welfare chief Andrew Crowell made a quick call upstairs to Chris and Allison Morris, who fortuitously had flown to Brisbane for the weekend. They had a surprise coming, he told them.

7.05pm – After VFL coach Ben Hudson was sent on a frantic mission to ‘Find Logan’ he located him down in the Lions rooms. But there’s an immediate problem. Not thinking he’d need them, he’d left his boots at Springfield. So he borrows a pair from Will Ashcroft. It was a squeeze – he’s a size 13 and they were a size 12 – but he had no choice.

7.10pm – As the ball is bounced in the main game Morris is downstairs warming up with Hudson and Fort, and after five minutes he joins the team on the interchange bench. It was only ever intended to be a stop gap measure – the club told him he might get a run in the last quarter but he fully expected not to play.

7.20pm – No sooner had Morris taken his seat Lincoln McCarthy went down. It was quickly confirmed he was done for the night and Morris was into the game.

The rest, as they say, is history. Noah Answerth was ruled out with concussion, and Darcy Gardiner went down with a knee.

But Morris missed a golden opportunity to add another chapter to his already remarkable story. He had a 30m shot from straight in front to kick a goal with his first kick. But he sliced it right. He finished with a 1-3 from five possessions and five score involvements in an eye-catching debut, running a further 9km in 57% game time to make for 22km on the day. 

But if only Morris had slotted that first kick. Only seven Brisbane players have kicked a goal with their first kick – Chris O’Sullivan (1989), Des Headland (1999), Mitch Clark (2006), Joel Patful (2006), Clay Beams (2011), Patrick Karnezis (2011) and Liam Dawson (2015). Karnezis in fact kicked two goals with his first two kicks.

Fitzroy players in the same group have been Fred Anderson (1951), Denis Hughson (1965), Peter Weightman (1969), Laurie Serafini (1977), Rino Pretto (1978), Jamie Shaw (1987), Michael Dunstan (1983) and Jeff Bruce (1995). Dunstan and Bruce kicked goals with their first two kicks, while Hughson and Pretto played only one game and were not credited with another kick.

But hidden in all this detail is another forgotten story …. Chris O’Sullivan, brother of inaugural Brisbane Bears football boss Shane O’Sullivan, also played two games in one day 35 years ago.

It was 18 June 1989 at Carrara three weeks after he’d made his AFL debut alongside Marcus Ashcroft, kicking his first goal after receiving a pass from his fellow debutant.

O’Sullivan recounted the story. “I was having a blinder (in the Reserves) and all of a sudden I was dragged,” he said. “I got to the bench and I just starting to give ‘Sellers’ (Reserves coach Mark Maclure) this almighty spray when he said ‘steady on mate, you’re in the big show’.

He received a late call-up after Dale Dickson was injured in the warm-up so he went inside for a shower before starting on the bench in the seniors against Fitzroy. It wasn’t a good day. Brad Hardie kicked seven goals but the Bears were beaten by 14 points – O’Sullivan’s second loss of the day.

Lions football boss Danny Dale has confirmed, assuming Morris plays against the Crows at Adelaide Oval on Sunday afternoon the club would look to do the traditional first-game thing in Adelaide this week, with a formal presentation of his #13 jumper. His parents will be flown to Adelaide.

Jumper #13 has been worn previously by 10 players in Brisbane history – Bernie Harris (49 games), Craig Potter (13), Heath Shephard (4), Brad Pearce (2), Brett Voss (13), Martin Pike (106), Chris Schmidt (2), Trent West (16), Jarrod Berry (37) and Tom Berry (20). Kevin Wright, a midfielder of the 1950s, wore #13 most often for Fitzroy – 140 games.

QClash #26, which pulled a record QClash crowd of 30,285, up more than 3000 on the previous best of QClash #6 in 2013, was the first time the Lions have played two AFL debutants together since Hugh McCluggage and Jarrod Berry debuted in Round 3 2017.

There were some telling statistics – notably 148-60 marks (after it was 88-28 at halftime) and 238-174 uncontested possessions – but none more than the Lions’ interchange total of 47. They didn’t use a third of the available interchanges because they didn’t have players to interchange.

Oscar McInerney played 98% game time, Harris Andrews, Joe Daniher, McCluggage 96%,, Eric Hipwood and Kai Lohmann 95%, Ryan Lester 93%, Lachie Neale, Charlie Cameron, Josh Dunkley and Dayne Zorko 92%.

It was a first-class execution of a game plan tweaked on the run by coach Chris Fagan to slow the game down as four players from the original side, for which the Lions had planned for 10 days, were out of business early in the second quarter.

Little wonder an emotional Fagan rated the Lions’ 34-point win the ‘most amazing and courageous win’ he’d ever seen and said: “I’m just so proud of them. They were out on their feet. It’ll go down in our club as one of our greatest ever wins.”

It was Zorko’s 24^th QClash, a record, and his 258^th game overall – and arguably his best. Statistically, at least, it was very special.

The 35-year-old was credited with a career best 40 possessions and a club record 35 kicks – up one from the numbers that were originally listed at the end of the game.

It was the 34^th game of 40 or more possessions by 16 different players in the combined Brisbane/Fitzroy history since statistics were introduced in 1965. And at 35 he became the oldest member of this group – by almost seven years.

Zorko, winner of the Marcus Ashcroft Medal, was 35 years 86 days old on Sunday. The next youngest 40-possession game was Lachie Neale’s 41 possessions against Essendon at Marvel Stadium in 2022, when he was 28 years 306 days.

Luke Power and Dayne Beams had 40-plus for Brisbane at 28, Paul Roos was Fitzroy’s oldest at 27 years 326 in 1981. Completing the membership of the 40-plus club, with the highest age if applicable, is Tom Rockliff, Garry Wilson, Simon Atkins, Mathew Armstrong, Michael McLean (26), John Murphy, David Bain (25), Pearce Hanley (24), Graeme Allan (24), Jason Baldwin (23) and Brendan McCormack (21).

The incomparable Wilson has been the youngest player to have 40 possessions in a game for the club, doing so at 20 years 361 days in his 66^th game against North Melbourne at Waverley in 1974.

Zorko had 35 kicks – another club record. He bettered the previous best of 31 from Chris Waterson in 1988 and Tom Rockliff in 2014. Fitzroy’s best was John Murphy’s 28 in 1972, and the all-time AFL record for most kicks in a game is Bob Skilton’s 44 kicks and two handballs for South Melbourne in 1967.