In 731 games and more than 32 years the Brisbane AFL Club has played in eight draws. But none more dramatic than the first one 27 years ago this week.

It was Saturday night, 18 April 1992, in Round 5 of the club’s sixth season, when a 19-year-old Queenslander in just his 10^th AFL game for the Brisbane Bears kicked a goal after the final siren against West Coast at Carrara to level the scores. 

Ray Windsor was the hero in his first game of the season in what was a titanic struggle as the 1991 wooden-spooners hosted the beaten 1991 grand finalists, who would ultimately go on to the win the 1992 flag.

The Eagles, who had beaten the Bears in eight previous meetings by an average of 40 points, led narrowly at each change. It was nine points at quarter-time, five points at halftime and seven points at three-quarter time.

The home side had refused to concede, but when Dean Kemp put the Eagles a goal clear with 51 seconds to play all seemed lost until David Bain won the ball on the wing and bombed it towards centre half forward.

Windsor marked on his chest and, knowing time was short, hurried back to his mark. The siren sounded just before he kicked the ball but he was into stride.  And from about 35m on a 30-degree angle he banged it over the goal umpire’s head to tie the scores.

It was Brisbane 14-8-92 v West Coast 13-14-92 in what coach Robert Walls described as a step up the ladder towards respectability. “No-one respects the Bears but watching around the country tonight they would have said ‘Gee, those young blokes had a crack at it. We’ll take it as a win,” Walls said at the time.

Windsor, a former Mackay junior who would play 23 games for the Bears from 1990-93, modestly described it as ‘the only highlight of my short career’ and remembered it as if it was yesterday.

“(Teammate) Danny Noonan went absolutely ballistic and pretty soon everyone had jumped on me. It was the first time we hadn’t lost to West Coast so it felt like a win for us.” 

Marcus Ashcroft, in his 49^th game at 20, was judged best afield by the umpires for his 27 possessions and three goals, while David Bain collected two Brownlow Medal votes for 27 possessions and one goal. Kemp picked up the other medal vote for 31 possessions and a goal,  Noonan topped the Bears’ possession count with 28.

It was also an extra big night for 21-year-old Bears 12^th-gamer Peter Worsfold, who, in his 31-game AFL career, played for the only time against older brother John Worsfold, later a West Coast premiership captain and coach, and now in charge at Essendon.

It was also a big night for four other West Australians in the home side – David Bain, John Gastev, John Hutton and Brendon Retzlaff – as the Bears fielded what at the time, 114 games into the club’s history, was their most inexperienced side. 

They went in under coach Walls with a combined AFL experience of 714 games – and 231 of them belonged to skipper Roger Merrett. Gastev (94) was next best, and six players had played 13 games between them prior to the draw.

Now, 617 games on, the side that played the club’s historic first draw still ranks second on the all-time inexperienced team list. The only time it was bettered was three weeks later when, in Round 8 of 1992 the Bears fielded a team with a combined experience of 646 games against Sydney at the SCG, With Merrett injured, 96-gamer Gastev was the most experienced player in a side beaten by 74 points.

To put that into perspective, only 12 times has the club fielded a team with less than 1000 AFL games experience, but 205 times the aggregate has topped 2000 games and 37 times it has topped 3000 games.

The most experienced Brisbane side in history, albeit with 22 players compared to the 20 players of 1992, was 3661 in the 2004 grand final. 

This included nine 200-gamers – Alastair Lynch (306), Darryl White (258), Michael Voss (247). Nigel Lappin (241), Martin Pike (238), Chris Johnson (222), Jason Akermanis (213), Justin Leppitsch (209) and Chris Scott (200). Only Jonathan Brown (93), Robert Copeland (77), Dylan McLaren (29) and Richard Hadley (27) had played fewer than 100 games.

Port Adelaide is the only opposition side the Lions have drawn with twice. Geelong, Essendon, North Melbourne, Richmond and Sydney, like West Coast, have drawn with the club once.

In chronological order, the seven other draws have been:-

Round 10 1996 – Brisbane 15-8 (98) v Geelong 14-14 (98) at Kardinia Park

The Bears had led four goals at three-quarter time and trailed by 18 points inside the last three minutes before a heads-up play from Justin Leppitsch in the closing seconds secured a share of the premiership points. Leppitsch, in his 34^th game, knocked the ball through for a rushed behind after Clark Keating, in his fourth game, had won a critical tap from a boundary throw-in. Craig Lambert was best afield with 31 possessions. 

Round 20 1997 – Brisbane Lions 13-15 (93) v Port Adelaide 13-15 (93) – Gabba.

In a night of high drama as Port Adelaide visited the Gabba for the first time, Port’s Michael Wilson was awarded what turned out to be a critical goal seven minutes after half-time, when in fact the ball was clearly smothered off the boot by Alastair Lynch. The ball was soccered off the ground by Shayne Breuer after it had already crossed the goal line, but, after a breakdown in communication between the goal umpire and the field umpire, the all clear was signalled despite the fact that the two men in charge (dropped from the seniors the following week) were awarding different goals. In the end, it took a freak Daniel Bradshaw soccer effort from point blank range in the last minute for the Lions to snatch even a share of the points after they had trailed by 29 points at halftime. Clark Keating earned his first three Brownlow Medal votes in the ruck while Darryl White topped the voting in the club championship. 

Round 12 1998 - Brisbane Lions 18-15-123 v Port Adelaide 18-15-123 - Gabba

The Lions gave Roger Merrett an unforgettable start to his AFL coaching career when they snatched an improbable draw against Port Adelaide after Shaun Hart kicked truly from a ‘gift’ from Power youngster Stuart Dew. The Lions, in turmoil following the mid-week dismissal of coach John Northey, were 26 points down inside the last six minutes but dragged themselves off the canvas. Still all seemed lost until, with just 25sec on the clock. Hart intercepted a short kick-in from seventh-gamer Dew, later a dual premiership player at Port and Hawthorn and now Gold Coast Suns coach.  Stationed in between three Port players in the Lions’ defensive zone deep in the Northern Stand pocket at the Main Street end when Dew picked him out perfectly, Hart aimed his 35m shot at the left goal post and watched with glee as the natural took it between the posts. Hart, with two of the last four goals, earned one Brownlow Medal vote, while Darryl White picked up three.

Round 3 2003 – Brisbane Lions 16-13 (109) v North Melb 16-13 (109) – Marvel Stadium

Michael Voss kicked a long running behind as the siren sounded to deadlock a game which could easily have gone Brisbane’s way if even one of six contentious calls had been reversed.  There was a contentious mark for a goal to Roos forward Digby Morrell which had talkback radio callers after the game fuming amid claims the ball was touched not once but several times. There were two freakish goals off the ground by Roos veteran David King which could so easily have missed. Indeed, one lusty swing with the right foot from inside the centre square traveled fully 60m and was something he could try 1000 times over and never complete again. In the last quarter TV replays suggested a Simon Black soccer effort called touched should have been a goal, and a miraculous Justin Leppitsch snap over his shoulder was called 'touched off the boot' when replays suggested otherwise. Finally, the Roos' last score - a running behind to skipper Anthony Stevens from 45m - came after Lions vice-captain Chris Scott was penalised for a deliberate out of bounds despite kicking the ball 30m forward. Commentator Robert Walls described it as 'a tough call' but Voss, ever his harshest critic, wasn't concerned with things he couldn't control. Speaking with Channel 10 seconds after a conference between field umpire Scott McLaren and a goal umpire had confirmed his final point was within time, he took the draw squarely on his own shoulders. "I had a chance to be a hero and missed," said the skipper, who earned three Brownlow votes for 23 possessions and five goals.

Round 10 2007 – Brisbane 10-13 (73) v Richmond 10-13 (73) – Marvel Stadium

The Lions, 13 points up at three-quarter time, were held to just three behinds in the final stanza as Richmond kicked the last two goals of the match for a share of the points. It was a torrid introduction to League football for Lions debutant Chris Schmidt in Justin Sherman’s 50^th game as Simon Black picked up three Brownlow votes and Joel Patfull two. Josh Drummond had 30 possessions for the first time in his 24^th game.  

Round 20 2007 – Brisbane Lions 9-9 (63) v Sydney Swans 8-15 (63) - Gabba

Jonathan Brown kicked truly from just outside 50m virtually as the siren sounded to deadlock a game in which the lead changed hands six times – three times in the final quarter – after the Swans had led by 17 points at three-quarter time. Sydney were six points up when Simon Black sharked a Matthew Leuenberger ruck tap for a brilliant clearance from a boundary throw-in on centre wing, and found Luke Power with a deft handpass. Power’s clever pass hit Brown on the lead for the big forward to kick his fourth goal of the game in a year in which he won the Coleman Medal with 77. Brown received three Brownlow votes as the home side more than doubled their score in the fourth quarter, while Leuenberger picked up one vote in his seventh game.

Round 19 2009 – Brisbane 12-15 (87) v Essendon 13-9 (87) - MCG

Daniel Bradshaw marked a half-distance clearance kick from Jonathan Brown and booted a goal from the goalsquare after the final siren for the Lions, 15 points down at three quarter-time, to grab a draw and stitch up a finals berth for the first time since the 2004 grand final. Brown, with five behinds, was held goalless for the only time in a season in which he kicked a career-best 85 goals but produced the play that counted. Mitch Clark had an equal career-high 28 possessions and 31 hit-outs for three Brownlow votes.