In 127 years of combined Club history, made up from Fitzroy, the Brisbane Bears, and Brisbane Lions, only 53 players have had the honour of being named ‘Captain’.

Since the 1997 merger, there have been just eight.

Jed Adcock became the latest member of this esteemed group on Wednesday when he was elevated to the official position of Lions’ Co-Captain for 2013 as part of the Club’s new-look on-field leadership structure.

Adcock will share the role with existing Captain Jonathan Brown, who is about to embark on his seventh season at the helm.   

Although there were a number of suitable candidates considered for the ‘promotion’, the 27 year-old was clearly the most credentialed.

He has spent the past four seasons in the Lions’ Leadership Group, and has been regularly entrusted with the on-field leadership responsibilities in Brown’s absence.



But his journey towards becoming the Club’s 53rd Captain started long before he officially became Vice-Captain in 2009.

Growing up in the country Victorian town of Maryborough, Adcock was a junior athletics and basketball star before deciding to focus solely on his passion for Australian Rules.

His leadership qualities were evident from an early age, captaining North Ballarat during his final season in the TAC Cup U18 competition.

In November 2003, Adcock landed at the Lions with Pick No.33 at the AFL National Draft – just two months after the Club had celebrated an historic hat-trick of premierships.

Joining a team filled with premiership heroes meant opportunities to play senior matches were few and far between during his debut season, but he soaked up the experience of watching the Club’s fourth successive AFL Grand Final from the sidelines. 

Following the retirements of ageing stars, and with the Lions’ era of sustained dominance gradually coming to an end, Adcock became even more determined to play a key part in the team’s re-build.

In just his second season he emerged as a legitimate ‘Rising Star’, finishing third in the Merrett-Murray Medal and taking home the Lions’ Best Rookie and Most Improved Player awards at the 2005 Club Champion night. 

Despite suffering his fair share of injury hiccups along the way, Adcock’s AFL journey has since produced 141 senior matches, three top-five Best and Fairest finishes, selection in the 2007 All-Australian Preliminary Squad, and the Lions’ Most Professional Player Award (2011).

The captaincy, however, would no doubt be his proudest achievement yet.

Fittingly, the appointment comes on the eve of Adcock’s 10th AFL season, at the end of which he will likely become eligible for Lions Life Membership.

Although fans would rather not consider the inevitability that Brown’s AFL career will one day come to an end, they can now at least be safe in the knowledge that the reins will eventually be passed over to another pair of safe and capable hands.

Adcock’s tenure will also ensure that the next crop of Lions leaders – including Vice-Captains Tom Rockliff and Daniel Rich – are even more prepared to take that next step when their time comes.

COMPLETE LIST OF CLUB VFL/AFL CAPTAINS
Abrahams, Owen (1962) Fitzroy
Adams, Bill (1926) Fitzroy
Adcock, Jed (2013) Lions
Alexander, Ron (1979-80) Fitzroy
Atkinson, Jim (1924-25) Fitzroy
Black, Simon (2007-08) Lions
Boyd, Brad (1994-96) Fitzroy
Brosnan, Gerald (1903-05) Fitzroy
Brown, Jonathan (2007-13) Lions
Bunton, Haydn (1932, 1936-37) Fitzroy
Cameron, Charles (1935) Fitzroy
Cashman, Jack (1934) Fitzroy
Cleary, Bill (1897) Fitzroy
Cooper, Jack (1912) Fitzroy
Chapman, Charlie (1929) Fitzroy
Curcio, Frank (1938-41) Fitzroy
Davies, Fred (1934) Fitzroy
Gale, Alan (1958-61) Fitzroy
Hayes, John (1966) Fitzroy
Hearn, Maurie (1942) Fitzroy
Holden, George (1917-18) Fitzroy
Hughson, Fred (1943-47) Fitzroy
Jenkins, Ern (1906-07) Fitzroy
Johnson, Chris (2007) Lions
Johnson, Wally (1916, 1919) Fitzroy
Lappin, Nigel (2007-08) Lions
Lethbridge, Chris (1921-22) Fitzroy
Lynch, Alastair (1997-2000) Lions
McSpeerin, Bill (1901-02) Fitzroy
McLennan, Harold (1911) Fitzroy
Merrett, Roger (1990-96) Bears
Merrigan, Harvey (1978) Fitzroy
Mickan, Mark (1987-89) Bears
Murphy, John (1973-77) Fitzroy
Murray, Kevin (1963-64, 1967-72) Fitzroy
Niven, Colin (1930-31) Fitzroy
Osborne, Richard (1991) Fitzroy
Parratt, Percy (1914-15, 1920-21) Fitzroy
Power, Luke (2007-08) Lions
Rattray, Gordon (1923, 1928)
Rendell, Matthew (1985-87) Fitzroy
Rogerson, Ralph (1965-66) Fitzroy
Roos, Paul (1988-90, 1992-94) Fitzroy
Ruthven, Allan (1948, 1950-54) Fitzroy
Sexton, Jack (1932-33) Fitzroy
Sharp, Jim (1908-10) Fitzroy
Sloan, Alec (1898-1900) Fitzroy
Smith, Norm (1949) Fitzroy
Stephen, Bill (1955-57) Fitzroy
Voss, Michael (1997-2006) Lions
Walker, Bill (1913) Fitzroy
Wigraft, Len (1927) Fitzroy
Wilson, Garry (1981-84) Fitzroy