NEW FORMAT
The Brisbane Lions could go down as the last club ever to win a pre-season premiership after the AFL decided to re-structure its pre-season format from 2014.

The familiar NAB Cup round-robin style competition - which the Lions won in 2013 - has been replaced with a less formalised fixture which features ’18 games in 18 days’. Each club will play two matches.

The results of these matches are largely irrelevant, with no pre-season Grand Final to be decided. The matches are designed purely for the clubs to get a competitive hitout under their belt in the lead-up to the season proper.  

In addition to the two scheduled NAB Challenge matches, the Brisbane Lions have also arranged for a third match to be played against Sydney at Burpengary two weeks prior to Round One.

For the first two matches, teams will consist of 26 players – with six players on the interchange and two substitutes. These rules can be changed for the third match, if agreed upon by both clubs.  

PRACTICE MATCHES
The Lions will play three practice matches throughout the 2014 NAB Challenge Series:

Brisbane Lions     0.3.5 (23) lost to
Hawthorn               1.22.13 (154)
Lions Goals: Paparone, Green, Freeman 
Lions Best: Lester, Mayes, Zorko, Green, Bourke

Brisbane Lions v Gold Coast
Sunday 23 February
Townsville @ 3:40pm

Brisbane Lions v Sydney
Saturday 8 March
Burpengary (start time TBC)

MOST PRE-SEASON GAMES
Ash McGrath is by far the most experienced Lions player when it comes to official AFL pre-season matches.

McGrath has played 25 pre-season matches, which is five more than both Jed Adcock and Matt Maguire who are next with 20 each.

Stefan Martin, Trent West, and Daniel Merrett have each played 16.

Jonathan Brown, the Club’s most experienced senior player, has played just 14 pre-season matches throughout his decorated 14-year career.

MOST PRE-SEASON GOALS
Brown might have only played 14 pre-season games, but he’s clearly kicked the most pre-season goals at the Lions.

Brisbane’s greatest ever goal-kicker has booted 23 goals in pre-season matches – which included a five-goal haul in last year’s NAB Cup Grand Final victory over Carlton.

McGrath and Merrett are next best with eight apiece, while a couple of the team’s younger brigade – Rohan Bewick and Tom Rockliff – have kicked a total of six goals from pre-season practice games.  

SUPER GOALS
One of the most popular features of the pre-season matches is the ‘Super Goal’ which awards nine points for any person who kicks a goal from outside 50m.

Dayne Zorko and Brent Moloney are the only two Lions players to have kicked multiple Super Goals (they have two each), while Adcock, McGrath, and Merrett have also experienced the thrill of booting a nine-pointer.