The Brisbane Lions will carry the insignia of the 7th Brigade into this Sunday’s clash with the West Coast Eagles at the Gabba – and they are hoping to repeat the Club’s Anzac break-through victory last year.
Wearing an Anzac commemorative Guernsey in Round 6 last season, the Lions gave Justin Leppitsch his first AFL win as a Senior Coach by upsetting St Kilda in Christchurch.
On Sunday, the Lions will again proudly don the 7th’s insignia on their chests – the only AFL team to wear a specific Brigade’s logo as well as the Australia Army’s “Rising Sun”.
Lions Vice-Captains Daniel Rich and Dayne Zorko yesterday joined Jed Adcock, Sam Mayes and Dan McStay at the Gabba to be presented with the special Guernsey by members of the 7th – “Brisbane’s Brigade’ based at Enoggera.
Major Rod Davis, 2nd Combat Engineer Regiment, 7th Brigade, said: “To see our 7th Brigade logo – which means a lot to soldiers both past and present, represented by these footy player who many of us admire – is a great honour.
“We consider we have a unique affiliation with the Brisbane Lions being the only AFL Club to hold a particular affiliation with a specific Brigade.
“And we hope that the Lions can draw this weekend on the qualities born in Anzac of courage, mateship, endurance and sacrifice, and are able to have a good result this weekend.”
Rich said the Lions players felt privileged to be able to wear the special Anzac guernsey.
“To us, you guys are the heroes, you guys put your bodies on the line in a different way to us and we are just extremely honoured to wear this jumper and the great history that it stands for,” said Rich.
“You can just imagine how tough it was for those guys, so it makes what we do seem easy.
“Hearing the Last Post before you head out and get stuck into it, sends a few tingles down your spine to be honest. The 100-year of Anzac commemoration is just something extra on top of that.
“This time last year was our first win and it gave us a bit of a kick-start, so hopefully the same thing happens this year.”
This year’s Anzac guernsey has been designed to not only pay tribute to our armed personnel, but also to help raise funds for “Wounded Heroes” – a volunteer charity providing significant support to servicemen and women and their families.
A portion of all proceeds from the purchase of the limited edition guernseys from the Lions Shop and online at www.lionsshop.com.au will go towards Wounded Heroes.
Also, match-worn guernseys will be available via our online auction site from the first bounce at 1:10pm (AEST) on Sunday 26 April and will run for seven days until 1:10pm (AEST) on Sunday 3 May, with a portion of the proceeds again being donated to Wounded Heroes.
