It is a very special moment for an AFL club to unfurl a premiership flag. And on Thursday night, 6 March next year the Brisbane Lions will do it for a fourth time against Geelong at the Gabba.
The 2025 Opening Round clash with the Cats will see the eyes of the football world focus solely on Brisbane, just as they did in 1987, when the then Brisbane Bears played their first game against North Melbourne at the MCG, and in 2005, when the Lions played the very first game of the season against St. Kilda at the Gabba.
Curiously, when in 2002 the Lions unfurled their first flag won when they beat Essendon in the 2001 grand final, they had to wait until Round 2.
After beating Sydney by 23 points at the SCG in Round 1 they put on a monster ceremony for the flag unfurling ahead of a 102-point Gabba win over Hawthorn on a Sunday afternoon.
Fittingly, it was Leigh Matthews’ 300th AFL game as a coach against the club where he was such a dominating player, and Michael Voss, having led the Lions to their first flag, was best afield.
The Lions led by three points at quarter-time but kicked 10-17 to 4-6 from that point on and won 21-22 (148) to 6-10 (46). Voss, with 26 possessions and three goals, took the votes from Simon Black (28 possessions and three goals) and Martin Pike (17 possessions, one goal).
Alastair Lynch and Daniel Bradshaw kicked five goals as coach Matthews fielded 20 of the 22 players from the first premiership side. Jamie Charman and Ash McGrath replaced Luke Power, who had injured his knee the week before, and the unavailable Clark Keating.
There was no wait to unfurl the 2002 flag. It was done on a Saturday night at the Gabba in Round 1 2003, when the Lions hosted Essendon. They led 4-7 to 1-5 at quarter-time and won 14-20 (104) to 8-13 (61).
Again, it was a special moment for the Matthews/Voss combination. Matthews’ coached the Lions for the 100th time as Voss, in his 199th AFL game, was again best afield with 26 possessions and two goals.
Nigel Lappin’s 27 possessions earned him two Brownlow Medal votes and Brad Scott’s 18 touches and a fine shut-down job on James Hird earned him one vote as Bradshaw kicked four goals.
This time there were four changes to the side that had won the 2002 grand final. Bradshaw, who had missed selection in the ’02 finals, Charman, Dylan McLaren and off-season recruit Blake Caracella, picked up from Essendon, replaced Des Headland, who had joined Fremantle, and the injured trio of Keating, Craig McRae and Beau McDonald.
The 2004 unfurling of the 2003 flag again fell on a Saturday night at the Gabba in Round 1, as the Lions hosted the Swans. And for much of the night it looked like the visitors would spoil the party.
The Swans led by 19 points at halftime, and after the Lions kicked 3-6 to 0-3 in the third term to take a one-point lead to the last change, Sydney hit the front three times in the final term.
But each time Brisbane responded, through Martin Pike, Craig McRae and, fittingly, new boy Caracella, who kicked what proved to be the winner six minutes from fulltime.
Black was rated the Lions best, collecting two medal votes for a team-high 27 possessions and a goal, while the other medal votes went to Sydney’s Paul Williams (3) and Adam Goodes (1).
It was the first time in 16 years Brisbane had started the season without Marcus Ashcroft on the playing list. He’d retired after a key role in the premiership hat-trick.
The injured Alastair Lynch and a suspended Jonathan Brown also missed the 2004 season season-opener, with Tim Notting, Brad Scott and eighth-gamer Jared Brennan the inclusions.
So what will the Lions team look like for the 2025 unfurling of the 2024 flag?
Already we know there will be one change, with Joe Daniher having retired, and it could be a very special occasion in the Ashcroft family, with Will and soon-to-be newcomer Levi every chance to play together for the first time at AFL level.
The 2025 Opening Round clash will be the second time Brisbane have opened a season against Geelong. They did so at Kardinia Park in 2006, when they lost by 77 points on April Fool’s Day.
The Lions will have a bye in Round 3 and Round 16.
In other features of a 2025 Lions fixture in which the dates and times for the last eight games in Rounds 17-24 are still to be confirmed, there are:-
- Three Thursday night games at the Gabba against Geelong (Opening Round), Collingwood on Easter (Round 6) and Essendon (Round 12).
- A Sunday night Gabba QClash with the Suns on 4 May - the Labour Day long weekend.
- Two Friday night away games against Adelaide in Round 13 and Geelong in Round 15.
- Hawthorn will visit the Gabba for the first time since 2019 to close out the home-and-away season in Round 24.
The six double-up games for the Lions will be against 2024 grand final opponents Sydney, preliminary finalists Geelong and semi-finalists Hawthorn, plus 2023 premiers Collingwood, local rivals Gold Coast and the Western Bulldogs.
The travel schedule has six games in Victoria (including one in Geelong), two in Adelaide (including Gather Round against the Dogs at Norwood Oval), one each in Sydney, Hobart and Perth, and a trip down the highway to Carrara.
They’ll play three times at the MCG against Richmond, Hawthorn and Collingwood, twice at Marvel Stadium against StKilda and Carlton, plus Sydney at the SCG, Adelaide at Adelaide Oval, North Melbourne in Hobart and Fremantle at Perth Stadium.
Only once will they face back-to-back travel – to Melbourne and Adelaide in Rounds 4-5 to play Richmond and the Dogs (in Gather Round).
There are two five-day breaks already scheduled - they lead into the big Thursday night Gabba games against Collingwood and Essendon.
The eight games from Rounds 17-24 for which days and times are still to be announced are against Port Adelaide (Gabba), Carlton (Marvel), Bulldogs (Gabba), Gold Coast (Carrara), Collingwood (MCG), Sydney (Gabba), Fremantle (Perth) and Hawthorn (Gabba).
There are 10 different time-slots on the Lions fixture but essentially for the 15 games which are set there are six night games, three early afternoon games, and six late afternoon games.
The only extended period between Gabba games is from Round 2 to Round 6, when there is a bye, an MCG game and a Gather Round visit to AdelaIde.
The games in Victoria are evenly spread in Rounds 4-7-11-15-18-21.
The Lions 2025 fixture is:-
Rd – Opposition – Venue - Day/Date -Time
0 – Geelong – Gabba - Thurs 6 March – 6.50pm
1 – Sydney – SCG – Sat 15 March - 3.15pm
2 – West Coast – Gabba – Sun 23 March – 12.10pm
3 – BYE
4 – Richmond – MCG – Sat 5 April - 3.15pm
5 – W/Bulldogs – Norwood Oval – Sat 12 April – 4.15pm
6 – Collingwood – Gabba – Thurs 17 April – 7.30pm
7 – St.Kilda – Marvel – Sat 26 April – 1.20pm
8 – Gold Coast – Gabba – Sun 4 May – 7.20pm
9 – North Melb – Hobart – Sun 11 May – 4.40pm
10 – Melbourne – Gabba – Sun 18 May – 3.20pm
11 – Hawthorn – MCG - Sat 24 May – 4.15pm
12 – Essendon – Gabba – Thurs 29 May – 7.30pm
13 – Adelaide – Adelaide Oval – Fri 6 June – 7.40pm
14 – GWS – Gabba – Sat 14 June – 1.20pm
15 – Geelong – Kardinia Pk – Fri 20 June – 7.40pm
16 – BYE
17 – Port Adelaide – Gabba – TBC
18 – Carlton – Marvel – TBC
19 – W/Bulldogs – Gabba – TBC
20 – Gold Coast – Carrara – TBC
21 – Collingwood – MCG – TBC
22 – Sydney – Gabba – TBC
23 – Fremantle – Perth Stadium – TBC
24 – Hawthorn – Gabba - TBC
