Sometimes hidden in the mass of facts and figures that is the AFL there is a little piece of statistical gold. And so it is with Darcy Wilmot as he prepares to complete a first 50 games in the AFL like no other player.
The 20-year-old defender is the only one of 351 Brisbane players all-time to debut in a final and will become the fifth player in club history to play 50 consecutive games from debut in the monster clash with the GWS Giants at the Gabba on Saturday.
Wilmot will be the eighth-youngest 50-gamer, will reach this mark having played an equal club record six finals, and, with 34 wins and a draw in 49 games, will have a win ratio better than all except five others.
But a long haul through the AFL records reveals a never-before recognised statistic about the 20-year-old defender from Yarrambat, a small town 24km north-east of the Melbourne CBD that was a gold mining centre in the late 19th century and is now a farming community.
Wilmot is one of only two players among now 13,169 players in AFL history since 1897 whose first three games were finals.
The only other player to start in this manner is St Kilda’s 1966 premiership player Travis Payze, who trumped Wilmot when he went loss-win-win in the year of the Saints’ only premiership.
Payze, who went on to play 127 games, debuted in a semi-final loss to Collingwood by 10 points before a 42-point preliminary final win over Essendon and the famous one-point grand final win over Collingwood.
His first three games drew crowds of 95,614 in the SF, 93,453 in the PF and 102,055 in the GF.
And while the aggregate attendance of 174,852 for Wilmot in the 2022 elimination final at the Gabba and the semi-final and preliminary final at the MCG pales in comparison there is another oddity which makes his journey unique.
He will be the first Brisbane 50-gamer suspended by the AFL even before his AFL debut.
Drafted from the Northern Knights with pick #16 in the 2021 AFL Draft ahead of Kai Lohmann (#20) and James Tunstill (pick #41), Wilmot copped a one-match suspension for a dangerous tackle on Adelaide’s Ned McHenry in a practice match that saw him miss the first round of his first season in the AFL.
He would not have been in the Round 1 side anyway, but it did spoil an otherwise unblemished ‘attendance’ record in his time at the club.
Remarkably, Wilmot has not missed a week of football since then, playing every game in the VFL thereafter, sitting out only when the Reserves had a bye, until he was catapulted into the AFL side for the 2022 elimination final against Richmond at the Gabba.
Ironically, too, Wilmot’s AFL debut came indirectly due to the first career suspension of teammates Cam Rayner and Noah Answerth and a sad omission for Jarryd Lyons.
Rayner and Answerth copped a week each for incidents in the Lions’ 58-point Round 23 loss to Melbourne at the Gabba, which dropped them from fourth to sixth heading into the finals.
With memories of his side’s straight sets exit from the 2021 finals, coach Chris Fagan turned to Wilmot while welcoming Callum AhChee back from concussion and recalling Deven Robertson for his first AFL game since Round 15.
He also made the bold decision to leave out Lyons after he’d played 89 consecutive games since joining the club in 2019.
Lyons’ run was the sixth-longest in club history behind Marcus Ashcroft’s extraordinary 170-game streak from 1992-2000, which now ranks 11th in the AFL all-time, and Charlie Cameron’s ‘live’ run of 138 games, which is equal 24th in AFL history. Others to play 100 consecutive games for Brisbane have been Jack Redden (112), Simon Black (107) and Nigel Lappin (103).
Wilmot is one of just 33 AFL players all-time to debut in a final, including two Fitzroy players.
Charles Chapman, a 104-gamer from 1924-31, played his only two finals in his first two games in 1924, when the top four sides played a round-robin finals series. Essendon and Richmond each won two of three games but the Bombers, with a percentage of 142.7, were declared premiers over the Tigers, whose percentage was 115.6.
It was also the first year of the Brownlow Medal, named in honor of Geelong administrator Charles Brownlow, who died on 23 January 1924. One vote was awarded per game, with Geelong’s Edward Greeves polling seven votes in 14 games to win. Fitzroy’s Jack Moriarty, who topped the League goal-kicking, polled three votes to finish equal fifth.
And Graham Osborne, who played 37 games with Fitzroy from 1984-89, had his only taste of finals football on debut in the ’84 elimination final playing alongside younger brother Richard.
Among 351 Brisbane players all-time, 123 have played 50 games. Of them, 41 debuted in opposition colors. But who heads each statistical category?
Nigel Lappin, who wore Wilmot’s #44 jumper 279 times to rank fourth all-time in the AFL in jumper #44 behind only Geelong’s Corey Enright (332), Essendon/Carlton ruckman Justin Madden (332) and ex-Fitzroy favorite Richard Osborne (283), is the club’s youngest 50-gamer.
Robert Copeland, who opened his 143-game career with a five-point loss before 20 consecutive wins, including the 2001 grand final, had most wins in his first 50 games at 39. He also shares with Wilmot, Keidean Coleman and Jack Payne the record of six finals in his first 50.
And which Brisbane debutant kicked most goals in his first 50 games?
Jonathan Brown, the club’s all-time leading goal-kicker, is a ‘trap’. It’s not him. He was slow starter, kicking 49 goals in his first 50 games to rank equal 10th.
The leader is 2nd on the club’s all-time goal-kicking list – Daniel Bradshaw at 102.
Eric Hipwood is one of two Brisbane debutants to kick 77 goals in his first 50 games. The other is a three-time All-Australian defender.
Who? Often forgotten is the fact that Justin Leppitsch was the Lions leading goal-kicker in1997-98 after he was second behind Alastair Lynch in 1996. He kicked 45-50-26 goals in 1996-97-98, and after his 50th game in Round 1997 he had 77 goals. Like Hipwood.
The No.1 possession-winner? It’s one of 12 players who had 12 or less wins in their first game 50 games and would happily have traded a load of possessions for wins.
Tom Rockliff was 4th on the Lions possession list in 2010 behind Michael Rischitelli, Luke Power and Simon Black, 2nd to Black in 2011 and 2nd to Jack Redden in 2012, and at his 50th game in Round 10 2012 he had a club-high 1256. But he’d won only 12 games.
Fourth on the list is an Irishman who won the Ron Barassi Medal as the best player in the International Rules Under 17 series in 2005, was drafted as a Lions rookie in 2007, played12 games from 2008-10, but by his 50th game in Round 17 2012 he’d had 971 possessions.
Most Brownlow Medal votes in 50 games? The three Brisbane players who won the medal after debuting with the club, Michael Voss (1996), Jason Akermanis (2001) and Simon Black (2002), had 10, five and 13 votes respectively at 50 games. Black shared top spot with Rockliff at 13, from Daniel Bradshaw (11) and Voss (10).
BRISBANE STATS LEADERS AT 50 GAMES
YOUNGEST 50-GAMERS
Nigel Lappin – 20 years 15 days
Michael Voss – 20 years 30 days
Chris Scott – 20 years 85 days
Justin Sherman – 20 years 127 days
Jason Akermanis – 20 years 159 days
Harris Andrews – 20 years 203 days
Marcus Ashcroft – 20 years 214 days
Darcy Wilmot – 20 years 223 days
Jack Redden – 20 years 241 days
Cam Rayner – 20 years 251 days
Jonathan Brown – 20 years 271 days
Daniel Rich – 20 years 318 days
Eric Hipwood – 20 years 332 days
Alex Witherden – 20 years 341 days
MOST WINS AT 50 GAMES (min 30)
39 - Robert Copeland
38 - Jonathan Brown, Des Headland
36 - Jamie Charman (*),Noah Answerth
34 - Darcy Wilmot (*), Ash McGrath (*), Tim Notting, Keidean Coleman, Brandon Starcevich
32 - Beau McDonald 32-18, Jack Payne
31 - Jason Akermanis (*), Aaron Shattock (*)
30 – Simon Black
(*) denotes one draw.
MOST FINALS AT 50 GAMES (min 4)
6 - Robert Copeland, Keidean Coleman, Jack Payne, Darcy Wilmot
5 - Simon Black, Jonathan Brown, Jamie Charman, Tim Notting
4 - Justin Leppitsch, Danny Dickfos, Tristan Lynch, Craig McRae, Luke Power, Ben Robbins,
Beau McDonald, Ash McGrath, Zac Bailey, Brandon Starcevich
MOST POSSESSIONS AT 50 GAMES (min 800)
1256 – Tom Rockliff
1136 – Dayne Zorko
980 – Simon Black
971 – Pearce Hanley
951 – Jack Redden
927 – Hugh McCluggage
924 – Lewis Taylor
923 – Daniel Rich
910 – Michael Voss
878 – Marcus Ashcroft
858 – Jarrod Berry
831 – Rhyce Mathieson
824 – Ryan Lester
805 – Luke Power
MOST GOALS AT 50 GAMES (min 40)
102 – Daniel Bradshaw
77 – Justin Leppitsch, Eric Hipwood
74 – Luke Power
67 – Craig McRae
64 – Josh Green
57 – Jason Akermanis
57 – Todd Banfield
52 – Dayne Zorko
49 – Jonathan Brown, Des Headland
45 – Anthony Corrie
42 – Darryl White, Rohan Bewick
41 – Tim Notting, Cam Rayner
MOST BROWNLOW VOTES AT 50 GAMES (min 6)
13 – Simon Black, Tom Rockliff
11 – Daniel Bradshaw
10 – Michael Voss
9 – Nigel Lappin
8 – Darryl White, Tim Notting, Eric Hipwood
6 – Marcus Ashcroft, Steven Lawrence, Luke Power
