What can possibly be said about the legacy that Jonathan Brown will leave at the Brisbane Lions and Australian Football in general?

Words simply don’t do justice to the man who roamed the Gabba for 15 years, and was a true ‘Lion King’ in every sense of the term.

Even his impressive playing resume – which boasts 256 senior games, 594 goals, three premierships, three Club Champion awards, a Coleman Medal, and All-Australian selection to name a few – doesn’t accurately reflect his monumental impact on both the Club and the game itself.

A passionate Lions supporter as a child, Brown came to the Club with a strong football pedigree.

Not only did his father, Brian, represent Fitzroy in 50 matches during the late 1970s, but his uncles Noel Mugavin (43 games with Fitzroy and Richmond) and Billy Picken (240 games with Collingwood and Sydney) also played at the highest level.

Brown was just 15 when he started playing senior football with South Warrnambool in the Hampden League, and wasn’t afforded many favours against his bigger opponents.

It’s probably what made him such a tough customer, and by the time he moved to Brisbane at the end of 1999, just on his 18^th birthday, he was ready for AFL.

If Brown was intimidated by the prospect moving away from home and settling into a professional sporting environment for the first time, he certainly didn’t show it.

His teammates will attest that his larger than life personality was on show from day one at the Gabba, and his trademark strut was evident from his very first training session.

Under the tutelage of Leigh Matthews, Brown quickly showed what all the fuss was about with some powerful performances in the QAFL, before being called upon to play his first senior AFL match against Adelaide in Round 5 at the Gabba.

Brown’s ‘infamous’ debut is now part of Lions folklore, given the burly centre half-forward finished with a clean stats sheet – no kicks, no handballs, and no marks – despite spending most of his time on the field.

Brown did, however, earn himself a free kick that day, only to have teammate Jarrod Molloy take the ball and play on to advantage.

It was a humble beginning for a man who would go on to be regarded as one of the greatest centre half-forwards of all time.

Together with Alastair Lynch and Daniel Bradshaw, he formed part of the most formidable forward line of the modern era – and received first-class service from midfielders such as Michael Voss, Simon Black, Nigel Lappin, and Jason Akermanis.

A 19-possession, nine-mark and seven-goal haul against Geelong in just his 19^th senior game in 2001 stamped his arrival as a future AFL powerhouse.

Later that season, at just 19 years of age, he gathered 16 disposals and booted two goals to help lift his side to an historic Grand Final win over Essendon.

In just his second season, Brown had achieved what most AFL players only dream of. Better yet, he was a three-time premiership player before his 22^nd birthday.

Success was part and parcel of the AFL business for Brown, whose first five seasons had reaped three premierships from four Grand Final appearances.

However, little did he know that his side would go on to reach the Finals just once more in his final 10 seasons.

Although the ultimate success eluded him during that period, Brown’s personal profile and stature continued to grow as he began to reach the peak of his powers.

He won three consecutive Merrett Murray Medals as the Club’s Best and Fairest from 2007-2009, became just the fourth player in Club history to win a Coleman Medal, was selected in the 2007 and 2009 All Australian sides, Captained Victoria in the 2008 Hall of Fame Exhibition Match, and broke countless other Lions goal records.

Brown also succeeded Michael Voss as Brisbane Lions Captain in 2007 and became widely regarded as the game’s most revered leader.

He Captained the Club for a total of seven seasons (2007-2013) and was twice named by his peers as the competition’s Best Captain.

Opposition defenders would fear lining up against him, while his teammates would walk 10 feet taller around him.

It’s hard to remember the exact amount of times that Brown almost single-handedly willed his team to victory during those lean years – but there were many.

Within what seemed to be the blink of an eye, his career had progressed to the stage where he was no longer being compared to champion North Melbourne centre half-forward, Wayne Carey.

Instead, a new generation of AFL forwards were beginning to cut their teeth in the industry and were starting to be touted as potentially the next Jonathan Brown.

Today the time came for one of the all-time greats to step away from the game he loves and start preparing for the future.

Brown’s fearless approach on the contest and bash and crash style of play ultimately caught up with him, with a concussion suffered in Round 13 against Greater Western Sydney the final straw in a long list of ailments that have threatened his career at one time or another.

He departs with a level of respect and admiration that is reserved only for true champions of the game, and will one day sit among these players as a member of the exclusive Australian Rules Hall of Fame.

There’s no doubt Lions fans will sorely miss seeing the big number 16 rally the troops on the field in the future, but they can take great comfort knowing that they’ve had the pleasure of cheering Jonathan Brown on at the Lions for the past 15 years.

And these same fans will tell their children, and their children’s children, that they had the privilege of watching Browny while he was the King of the Brisbane Lions.