There’s always something special about the first game of an AFL season. A bit of an extra buzz.
Hope and enthusiasm is high, and there’s an exciting feeling of freshness around the club as the players await Round 1 selection.
As much as some outsiders may say “it’s just another game” most players will argue otherwise. Like Daniel Merrett and Daniel Rich at the Brisbane Lions.
On Sunday, when the Lions open the 2016 AFL season against the West Coast Eagles in Perth, Merrett will pay his 11th consecutive Round 1 match.
Having been drafted in 2002 and taken until 2005 to break into the senior side, the powerhouse fullback hasn’t missed a Round 1 match since 2006.
Rich, drafted in 2008, has a perfect record. He has played in Round 1 in every years he’s been at the club and will chalk up season-opener No.8 on Sunday.
Merrett’s 12th Round 1 match will take him to a level bettered only by seven players in Brisbane Football Club history.
Marcus Ashcroft, Simon Black, Shaun Hart, Nigel Lappin, Michael Voss and Darryl White each played 13 season-openers, while Justin Leppitsch played 12.
Merrett will draw level with Jonathan Brown and Luke Power, who also opened the season 11 times, and pulls one ahead of Jed Adcock, Daniel Bradshaw and Ash McGrath, who each played 10 first round matches for the club.
Jason Akermanis, Chris Johnson and Chris Scott each played nine, and Richard Champion, Scott McIvor, Roger Merrett, Joel Patfull and Brad Scott played eight.
It is a sign of inexperience of the Lions playing list that next best among current players behind Merrett and Rich is captain Tom Rockliff (5), followed by Claye Beams, Rohan Bewick, Pearce Hanley and Ryan Lester (4), and Josh Green and Dayne Zorko (3).
No less than 37 different players have represented the club in Round 1 in the last three years, and only Adcock, Green, Merrett, Jack Redden, Rich, Rockliff and Zorko have played in all three.
Thirty different players have played in Round 1 in 2014-15, with eight changes last year to the side that opened the 2014 season.
There will be at least six changes this week to the Round 1 side of 12 months ago, with six players no longer at the club or already ruled out through injury - Adcock (Western Bulldogs), James Aish (Collingwood), Dayne Beams (inj, Justin Clarke (inj), Matthew Leuenberger (Essendon) and Redden (West Coast).
Off-season recruits Ryan Bastinac, Tom Bell and Josh Walker, plus Josh Schache, already confirmed for his AFL debut, will certainly play their first Round 1 match for the Lions.
Bastinac played in Round 1 in 2010-12-13-14-15 during his six years and 121 games at North Melbourne, and Bell played in Round 1 in 2014-15 during his four years and 51 games at Carlton.
Walker didn’t play in Round 1 during his 33 games and five years at Geelong.
Bastinac will become the ninth player to wear jumper No.4 for the Lions behind Geoff Raines (59 games), John Gastev (94), Craig McRae (195), Tom Logan (4), Ben Fixter (27), Travis Johnstone (49), Jared Polec (16) and James Aish (32).
Bell will be the sixth player to wear No.7 behind Frank Dunell (15), Scott McIvor (101), Jarrod Molloy (51), Jason Gram (2) and Adcock (206).
And Walker will be the ninth player in No.14 behind Craig Evans (2), Martin Leslie (11), Richard Umbers (4), Shane Hamilton (47), Danny Dickfos (65), Richard Hadley (41), Lachie Henderson (15) and Brent Staker (50).
This will be just the second time in 30 years in the competition that Brisbane have opened the season in Perth. In 2008 they lost to West Coast there by 16 points.
Having lost to Western Bulldogs, Hawthorn and Collingwood in the season opener over the last three years, the Lions will be chasing their first Round 1 win since 2012, when they beat Melbourne at the MCG by 41 points.
In 29 season-openers overall the combined Bears/Lions have a 13-16 win/loss record.
Their biggest Round 1 win was by 89 points against St.Kilda in Leigh Matthews’ first game as coach. Darryl White kicked five goals and Brad Boyd collected the three Brownlow Medal votes. The Lions score of 23-14 (152) was also the club’s highest Round 1 score.
The Lions also beat Footscray by 87 points at the Gabba in Round 1 1996 which coincidentally was John Northey’s first game as coach. Shaun Hart kicked a career-best five goals, and Michael Voss collected three Brownlow Medal votes for 33 possessions and two goals.
The club’s biggest Round 1 loss was by 77 points to Geelong in Geelong in 2006, when Mitch Clark, now at Geelong, made his debut. The Lions score of 5-8 (38) that day was also the club’s lowest Round 1 score.
NOTE: IN CASE YOU NEED TO TINKER WITH ANYTHING BECAUSE YOU USE THIS AFTER THE SIDE HAS BEEN NAMED, THE FOLLOWING OTHER CURRENT PLAYERS IN LINE FOR SELECTION HAVE PLAYED ROUND 1 GAMES FOR THE LIONS … ANYONE ELSE (APART FROM THOSE LISTED ABOVE) IF SELECTED WOULD BE FIRST-TIMERS … Martin, Mayes, Paperone, Taylor (2), Christensen, Close, Harwood, McGrath, McStay, West (1)
The Round 1 side last year was Adcock, Aish, C Beams, D Beams, Bewick, Christensen, J Clarke, Green, Lester, Leuenberger, Martin, Mayes, McGrath, McStay, Merrett,Paparone, Redden, Rich, Robinson, Rockliff, Taylor, Zorko.
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