The MCG is the biggest stadium in the southern hemisphere and the home of AFL.
Built in 1853, it's hosted all but 6 AFL grand finals since 1902, plus the 1956 Olympics, the 2006 Commonwealth Games, and two Cricket World Cups in 1992 and 2015.
It was the scene of the Brisbane Lions’ unforgettable premiership hat-trick in 2001-02-03, and 18 years on it's one of the few remaining challenges Chris Fagan put to the Lions playing group when he took charge in 2017 that they have still yet to conquer.
The Lions are 0-6 under Fagan at the MCG having played Richmond (twice), Collingwood, Melbourne, Essendon and Hawthorn as they look forward to Friday night’s Round 18 clash with Richmond.
It’s only six games but it’s a massive motivation as the Lions confront 12 months without Eric Hipwood and a Richmond side that has lost four games in a row to West Coast, St.Kilda, Gold Coast and Collingwood.
Collectively, the 2021 Lions playing list has a 133-3-190 record at the MCG but Grant Birchall (86-39) and Mitch Robinson (22-1-24) account for almost half of the total games there. Daniel Rich (2-1-16) is third in MCG appearances.
Harris Andrews (0-8), Hugh McCluggage (0-6), Rhys Mathieson (0-6) and Jarrod Berry (0-5), Zac Bailey (0-3), Oscar McInerney (0-3), Callum AhChee (0-2), Brandon Starcevich (0-1) and Deven Robertson (0-1) have never won there. Of all the other listed players who have played at AFL level, Eric Hipwood, Cam Rayner, Keidean Coleman, Jack Payne, James Madden, Jaxon Prior, Tom Berry, Tom Fullarton, Connor Ballenden and Harry Sharp have never played at the ‘G’.
It was much the same through the early years of the premiership group of 2001-02-03. Until they found a way to win at the G, it dished out plenty of big losses.
Overall, the Brisbane Bears/Lions have made 79 visits to the MCG for an 18-1-60 record, which includes a more palatable 4-5 record in finals.
Going right back in history, Fitzroy played the sixth AFL game at the MCG on 10 July 1897, losing to Melbourne by 27 points. It was their first of 165 visits that produced a 72-2-91 record.
Finals aside, there have been some special moments in both camps. Here are 10 of the best statistically and anecdotally for the Brisbane group.
Round 1 1987 – The Bears’ very first game on a Friday night. A team written off as cast-offs and never-beens stunned the football world when they led all the way to beat North Melbourne 137 - 104. Brenton Phillips had 28 possessions and kicked five goals to collect three Brownlow Medal votes, while Mark Mickan, Captain in his first game, was a dominant force in the ruck for two votes, and Phil Walsh led the possession count with 31 to pick up one vote. So new was the team that club officials had to hurriedly hand out slips of the paper on which the club song was printed so the players to complete the customary celebration.
Round 22 1987 – It was a wooden-spoon grand final – Brisbane (14th) v Richmond (13th). The Bears had lost six in a row and had been hammered by 82 points by Footscray the week before, but they avoided the dreaded ‘spoon’ with a 169 - 113 win. Brad Hardie kicked a then club record, seven goals from 26 possessions and Queenslander Darren Carlson, in just his 11th game on the wing, topped the possession count with 28 and kicked two goals.
Round 20 1988 – It was a night to remember for silky-skilled ex-Richmond centreman Geoff Raines, who was a star for the Bears in their first three years. He had 25 possessions and kicked an equal career-best three goals to claim three Brownlow votes in a 14-point win. This ensured he replicated his 1987 effort of topping the club vote, finishing with 12 votes in 1988 after 11 votes in 1987. He finished equal 12th both times.
Round 12 1997 – It had been nine long years without a win at headquarters, but in their second visit to the MCG post-merger on a cold Sunday afternoon, the Lions handed the newly-adopted ex-Fitzroy fans a brilliant 85-point win. They kicked seven goals in the third term to win 135 - 50 against Melbourne. Jarrod Molloy, flying the merger flag with Chris Johnson, kicked a career-best seven goals. The side fielded by second-year coach John Northey included 12 players who would go on to be part of the golden premiership era that followed – Shaun Hart, captain Michael Voss, Jason Akermanis, Marcus Ashcroft, Daniel Bradshaw, Johnson, Clark Keating, Nigel Lappin, Justin Leppitsch, Alastair Lynch, Craig McRae and Darryl White.
Round 21 1999 – Alastair Lynch, adored by the Fitzroy fans and quickly adopted by the Brisbane folk, celebrated his 200th AFL game as they enjoyed a 55-point thumping of Melbourne to further stamp their mark on the AFL competition. Sitting third on the AFL ladder in their first season under Leigh Matthews, they banked their 15th win of the year 159 - 104. It was then, and still is, the club’s highest score at the MCG. Tim Notting kicked six goals in just his 13th game while Johnson bagged four and Lynch three.
Round 15 2001 – The Lions were just starting to emerge as a legitimate force. Embarrassed by a 74 point loss to Carlton in Round 8, they’d turned things around significantly without getting the points against Adelaide in Round 9 as the “know your role, accept your role, play your role” edict of Leigh Matthews started to take hold. They’d grabbed the attention with a Gabba win over ladder leaders Essendon in Round 10, beaten lowly West Coast in Perth and Melbourne at the Gabba and then knocked off second-placed Hawthorn at the Gabba. In Round 14 they accounted for lowly St.Kilda at the Gabba to make it five in a row, but still, southerners were skeptical. They hadn’t won in Melbourne … until Round 15. Taking on seventh-placed Collingwood at the MCG they kicked 10-11 to 7-1 in the second half to win by 26 points. Brad Scott received the only three-vote Brownlow Medal rating of his 158-game career for an excellent tagging role on Nathan Buckley, restricting the influence of the Pies skipper while doing a lot of damage working back off him. Simon Black’s 22 possessions and equal career-best three goals earned him two votes and Daniel Bradshaw’s five goals was worth one vote. It was the Lions’ sixth win in a row over Collingwood post-merger and had coach Matthews declaring a top-two finish was now ‘very achievable’.
Round 16 2004 – It was another game against Collingwood and another strong win to commemorate another Alastair Lynch milestone as the Lions pushed towards another flag. The veteran full-forward played his 300th game and, as he’d done in his 200th, kicked three goals as the Lions accounted for the Pies 109 - 73 in almost bizarre circumstances. After a fine day, the heavens opened right on the first bounce and it pelted with rain. Twice, even, the rain turned to hail, and in the first 43 minutes, the Lions kicked one goal despite a brilliant opening from Richard Hadley. But, sparked by two goals in as many minutes from Craig McRae, the visitors lifted. The Lions were two points up at halftime but a 7-4 to 2-0 third term ensured they would stay part of a four-team log jam at the top of the ladder with six rounds to play. It was St.Kilda by percentage from Brisbane, Port Adelaide and Melbourne and all were in order as the three-in-a-row premiers were chasing a quadrella that has been achieved only once in AFL history – by Collingwood from 1927-30.
Round 7 2009 – Triple premiership captain Michael Voss returned to the MCG for the first time as Brisbane coach as the Lions beat Richmond by 26 points despite conceding the first three goals and the last two. In a season in which they would play finals for the last time until Chris Fagan’s arrival in 2017 Jonathan Brown led the way in his first season as sole captain. The big key forward, a dominant force inside 50, was rewarded for four goals with three Brownlow Medal votes while at the opposite end Daniel Merrett was outstanding at fullback for two votes.
Round 1 2012 – Ben Hudson, a Gold Coast basketballer turned four-club AFL journeyman and now Lions midfield/ruck coach, made his playing debut with the club 36 days beyond his 33rd birthday. He was the club’s oldest first-time player until Luke Hodge in 2018, but still it was a night to remember as the Lions opened the new season with a 41-point win over Melbourne. After conceding three of the first four goals they virtually doubled the home team’s score from that point on as best afield Simon Black (31 possessions, 10 tackles and nine clearances) led the way. The unheralded goal-kicking trio of Todd Banfield, James Polkinghorne and Tom Rockliff kicked three goals each as Irishman Niall McKeever, playing in defence, picked up the only Brownlow vote of his 22-game AFL career.
Round 21 2014 – If it seems a long time ago it’s because it is. Almost seven years ago the Lions had their last win at the MCG. A disappointing 15th on the ladder at 6-14 in Justin Leppitsch’s first season as coach, they thumped Collingwood 123 - 56 in a result that ultimately cost the Pies a finals berth. A 25-year-old Dayne Zorko in his 58th game was best afield with 36 possessions, two goals and nine clearances, while Tom Rockliff celebrated his 100th game with 43 possessions and two votes. Pearce Hanley (34) and Stefan Martin (32) also found plenty of the ball, while Queenslander Jono Freeman was an unlikely hero with four goals in his second game. So long ago was it that only Zorko, Darcy Gardiner and Dan McStay of the current players were in the winning side.
FAVORITE FITZROY MOMENTS AT THE MCG
Oddly no major Fitzroy games milestones fell at the MCG. Kevin Murray’s 200th game was at Princes Park and his 300th was at Kardinia Park. And the 200th games of the club’s other 10 double-centurions were spread across suburban grounds in Melbourne. Paul Roos played his 200th game at Princes Park, Garry Wilson and David McMahon did likewise at Junction Oval and Frank Curcio at Victoria Park. Norm Johnstone, Alan Ruthven and Alan Gale played their 200th at Brunswick Street Oval, and John Murphy, Warwick Irwin and Mick Conlan at Waverley. Still, there were countless special moments at the MCG. Statistically at least they included these five.
Round 15 1906 – Formed in 1883 and a foundation member of the VFL in 1897, Fitzroy won the premiership in 1898-99 and 1900, lost the grand final in 1903 and won it again in 1904-05. As they chased a second hat-trick in 1906 they played Melbourne at the MCG on 25 August. It was Round 15. Fitzroy were second on the ladder, with Melbourne last. They won 17-18 (120) to 2-1 (13). Percy Trotter, a 1904-05 premiership player later chosen in the Fitzroy Team of the Century, kicked five goals. Charlie Naismith, a 29-gamer who was the twin brother of 1904-05 premiership player Wally Naismith and later awarded an OBE for his services to the dairy industry, kicked four goals. Ern Jenkins, a member of the very first VFL side, played his 150th game, while Geoff Moriarty, father of Fitzroy’s all-time leading goal-kicker and later Fitzroy’s first official coach in 1911, was the oldest member of the side at 34, while 19-year-old Jimmy Luff, in his second and last game, was the ‘baby’ of the side. It was Fitzroy’s highest score and biggest win at the time, and 90 years on when the club merged with the Brisbane Bears to form the Brisbane Lions it was still the club’s biggest win ever at the MCG.
Round 21 1984 – It was a massive day for the club as they posted their highest score at the MCG, and Bernie Quinlan kicked a club record 11 goals. In his 325th game Quinlan kicked 11 straight to collect three Brownlow Medal votes. Fitzroy, coached by Robert Walls, pummelled North Melbourne 26-9 (165) to 15-21 (111), with quarter-by-quarter goal tallies of 8-7-6-5. Doug Barwick kicked five goals in his 14th game, Billy Lokan had 23 possessions and kicked two goals for two medal votes and Michael Reeves received the only vote from 40 games in Fitzroy colors after starting his career at North. Garry Wilson topped the possession count with 24 possessions and kicked two goals and Matt Rendell had 21 possessions and 28 hit-outs in a dominant display in the ruck. Playing his fifth game in a career that would later see him a member of the first Brisbane Bear side was Bernie Harris, and in his second game was someone who would go on to be highly regarded across the entire AFL landscape. Jamie Cooper would play only 26 AFL games before a career in which he has painted the iconic team of the century for most clubs and won regard across the globe, with clients including baseball’s Philadelphia Phillies and European soccer clubs Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Real Madrid.
Round 12 1981 – It was a day for the statisticians and trivia buffs. Fitzroy kicked a club record 32 behinds in beating Melbourne by 44 points at the MCG in Robert Walls’ first season as coach. It was 17-32 (134) to 13-12 (90), including 3-9 in the third quarter and 5-11 in the last, with only three behinds listed as ‘rushed’. Mick Conlan (2-7), Lee Murnane (2-5) and Michael Poynton (2-4) were the worst offenders in front of goal, while Matthew Rendell (6-3), Bernie Quinlan (3-1) and Ross Thornton (2-2) did their best to alleviate the woes. Rendell was playing just his eighth game in a career that would later stretch to 164 games in Fitzroy colors and 13 games with the Bears pre-merger.
Round 17 1988 – Matty Armstrong had a big night at the MCG on the Friday night as Fitzroy thumped West Coast by 70 points. In just his 35th game the 21-year-old Tasmanian amassed 41 possessions and kicked a goal in the 19-20 (134) to 8-16 (64) win. It stands in the record books as the most possessions by a Fitzroy player at the MCG since statistics were kept for the first time in 1965. Scott Clayton had 31 possessions in the same game, while Richard Osborne kicked six goals and David Strooper four. It was a Fitzroy side coached by David Parkin and included a host of favorites – Leon Harris (173 games) and Paul Roos (140 games) were at the senior end with Ross Thornton (138), Clayton (126) and Osborne (121), while Paul Broderick (4), Alastair Lynch (14), Jim Wynd (16), Ross Lyon (24) and Michael Gale (31) headed a young brigade. Armstrong’s 41 possession haul was an equal career-best for a player who would go on to play 132 games for Fitzroy from 1987-94 before finishing his playing career with two years and 45 games at North Melbourne. Ironically, his last game was against the Brisbane Bears in the 1996 preliminary final – the Bears’ last game before the merger – and was unceremoniously dumped for the grand final. Later a Brisbane assistant-coach under Leigh Matthews in 1999-2000, Armstrong is now High Performance Manager at AFL Tasmania.
Round 21 1996 – This was a sad day and a hurtful day, but a monumental day in football history nevertheless. It was Fitzroy’s last game at the MCG against Richmond on Sunday 25 August. Before what was a ludicrously scheduled final hurrah in Perth the following week Fitzroy turned out in front of their home faithful for the last time. That 36 - 187 was immaterial. It was about 100 years of history, 1157 players, 1928 games, eight premierships, six Brownlow Medallists and eight Brownlow Medals, three Coleman Medals and all that went into a club that was once known as the Maroons and the Gorillas before adopting the nickname “Lions” in 1957. Before the game, former greats celebrated the good times in the appropriately named Legends Room. The legendary Bill Stephen led them in the club song before three cheers followed.
Past players old and new, Kevin Murray and Alan Ruthven, Paul Roos and Gary Pert were driven around the ground as they and more than 400 children dressed in the Fitzroy uniform formed a guard of honor for the players as they broke through the banner. As they ran a warmup lap the children followed like a colorful, human streamer.
A bumper crowd of 48,884 had watched the match, and most stayed to the very end as players from both sides gathered in the middle of the ground in an emotional end. Fitzroy flags were everywhere as the Fitzroy players started off on a slow farewell lap of honour. Embarrassed by the scoreline, it wasn’t what they wanted to do. But on the advice of coach McConnell, noting it was more about the jumper and the club’s history, young captain Brad Boyd led them on a walk that ended when hundreds of fans invaded the ground. The players trudged off. One game to go against Fremantle in Perth the following week.
The last Fitzroy side to play at the MCG, in notional positions, was:-
B: Chris Johnson, Jarrod Molloy, Brett Chandler
HB: Rowan Warfe, Stephen Paxman, Martin Pike
C: Nick Carter, Simon Atkins, Jason Baldwin
HF: John Barker, John McCarthy, Matthew Dent
F: John Rombotis, Anthony Mellington, Marty Warry
R: Matthew Primus, Brad Boyd (capt), Scott Bamford.
INT: Simon Hawking, Brad Cassidy, Matthew Manfield
COACH: Alan McConnell
