Brisbane Bears
Encyclopedia
The Brisbane Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Bears was an Australian rules football
club and the first Queensland-based club in the Victorian Football League
(VFL). The club played its first match in 1987, but struggled on and off the field until it made the finals for the first time in 1995. The Bears merged with the Fitzroy Football Club
after the completion of the following season to form the Brisbane Lions Football Club.
and Brisbane
, motivated by the need to sell multimillion-dollar licences to save a number of Victorian clubs which were struggling financially. A consortium headed by former actor Paul Cronin
and bankrolled by entrepreneur Christopher Skase
was controversially awarded the Brisbane licence. Not long afterwards, the club was officially announced as the Brisbane Bears, signing recently-retired Hawthorn
player Peter Knights
as coach, and unveiling an innovative playing strip consisting of a gold with a maroon yoke and a triangular "BB" logo intended to represent a stylised map of the club's home state, Queensland, with the outline of a koala
head appearing inside of the larger B.
The choice of the koala as a mascot and moniker was often mocked and tagged tacky as the Australian marsupial animal is not a bear and is typically sedate and hardly ferocious. Despite this, the bear appeared roaring on many of the marketing and promotional materials for the club, including the club's official VFL logo http://www.footystamps.com/bb_gold_coast.htm. However, regardless of such marketing, the team's poor on-field performances in the first seven years allowed the Bears' mascot to be targeted gratuitously, with nicknames like "The Bad News Bears" and "The Carrara Koalas".
The new club was given very little time in which to set itself up, with few players and no home ground. No venue in Brisbane
was suitable as the main sports played were Rugby League
and Rugby Union
where the venues were rectangular in shape while The Gabba
was encircled by a greyhound track at the time so the Bears based themselves at Carrara Oval, an hour's drive south-east of Brisbane on the Gold Coast
. Temporary stands, club rooms and facilities were hastily erected on the slopes surrounding the field.
Carrara was very convenient for Christopher Skase, now acknowledged as the owner of the club. To Skase, the Bears were another outpost in his media and leisure empire which also included the Mirage resorts (one of which was very close to Carrara) and the TV0 television station (later sold to acquire the Seven Network
), official broadcasters of the VFL.
Unlike their fellow expansion team, the West Coast Eagles
, the Bears did not have a large reserve of local players from which to draw on, and so the VFL arranged for every other club to provide at least two players. Understandably, other clubs were averse to providing top-line players and few of the players provided were of a high quality. Indeed, some of them had long-term injuries and one or two had already announced their retirement. Skase opened his chequebook and the Bears pursued a number of stars aggressively. They were rewarded with a few key signings, including Collingwood
's captain Mark Williams
, and 1985 Brownlow Medal
list Brad Hardie
. However a significant proportion of the player list was recruited from the SANFL and WAFL
and was unused to playing football at this level.
As a result, there was general surprise if not shock when this rag-tag band of cast-offs, widely tipped to finish last. Mark Mickan
, a 6'5" (196 cm) ruckman
recruited from West Adelaide in the SANFL was appointed captain of the Bears in his rookie season despite players with vastly more VFL experience in the squad such as Mark Williams and Brad Hardie.
The Bears won their first game in the VFL against North Melbourne at the MCG
19.23 (137) to 15.14 (104) in front of only 14,096 fans. After also defeating Geelong at the Cats home ground Kardinia Park 23.12 (150) to 19.17 (131) there was much cause for optimism within the new club. After losing their next game to St. Kilda they played their first game at Carrara against Fitzroy, the club they would merge with at the end of 1996. The Lions spoiled The Bears home party with a 20.9 (129) to 16.18 (114) win in front of 17,795 fans, The Bears largest home crowd of the 1987 season
. After their good early showing however the young squads relative inexperience became more and more apparent, sliding to the bottom of the ladder by Round 20. In the final round they won a playoff with Richmond
to avoid the wooden spoon in their first season, finishing with six wins.
In their first season The Bears attracted 98,616 fans to Carrara at an average of 8,965 per game, the lowest in the competition next to Fitzroy's 11,498. The Bears also registered the lowest home crowd for the 22 round season when only 4,859 attended the Round 20 clash with the VFL's other new team for 1987, the West Coast Eagles
. In fact in 1987 the Brisbane Bears attracted the 5 lowest crowds of the home and away season with 4 of the games played at Carrara.
The club again recruited aggressively, landing Sydney Swans
glamour spearhead Warwick Capper
. However, the Bears failed to learn the lessons taught during their first season. In 1988
and 1989
the club suffered some severe defeats and Knights was sacked with eight rounds to play in the '89 season. The club psychologist, Paul Feltham
, took charge of the team for the remainder of the year.
The club was also under severe financial pressure. Attendance had been very poor due to the diabolical performance of the team and the travel required to get to Carrara. The collapse of Skase's business empire and his sudden departure for Spain in late 1989 almost resulted in the death of the Bears. Over the ensuing preseason the players threatened strike action, but Cronin resigned, the club was taken over by the AFL, re-sold to Gold Coast businessman Reuben Pelerman, and the crisis was averted. With former Fitzroy player Norm Dare
appointed coach, the club battled on.
The near-loss of the club appeared to galvanise the AFL into action. Having almost killed the club through neglect, the AFL now spent significant amounts of money to help the Bears. The club was provided with priority draft picks and special recruiting zones to give it access to some of the nation's best talent, which over the next few years allowed the club to recruit future stars such as Michael Voss
, Jason Akermanis
, Clark Keating
, Steven Lawrence
and Darryl White
.
Former Carlton premiership coach Robert Walls
was installed as coach for the 1991 season
and immediately set about getting rid of the dead wood around the club. Having inherited the oldest list in the league, by the end of the season he had the youngest. He insisted that the Bears not bend over to the will of powerful Victorian clubs in recruitment matters, particularly in the case of young Northern Territorian Nathan Buckley
who was playing for the Port Adelaide Magpies
in the SANFL at the time. At the time of his recruitment Buckley was clearly the best player in the country not playing in the AFL and his signing was a coup for the club. Signed on a one-year contract, his manager stipulated that he would be released to the club of his choice if he so desired at the completion of the contract. At the end of the contract he was cleared to Collingwood as he had requested, but not without suitable compensation in the form of premiership centre-half forward Craig Starcevich
, goalsneak Troy Lehmann
and an early draft pick which the Bears used to snare future star Chris Scott
.
Things were changing off-field too. Pelerman, who was losing millions of dollars annually on the club, agreed to release the Bears from private ownership and revert to a traditional club structure in which the club's members were able to elect the board. In 1992
, the club ditched its ridiculed "BB" teddy-bear jumper in favour of a predominantly maroon strip with a gold V and white trim. And more significantly, the Bears moved permanently to the Gabba
in Brisbane
for the 1993 season and membership and attendances instantly tripled. The greyhound track around the ground was removed, the surface upgraded and the stands gradually replaced over the next few years with a view to converting the tired old ground to a state-of-the-art sporting facility.
However on-field results were still elusive. In 1994
however, the Bears began to show signs of a competitive side and were contenders for a finals berth before falling away in the last five games of the season. Walls announced his resignation halfway through the 1995 season
, but committed himself to seeing out the year. By three-quarter time in round 16 the Bears were 45 points behind Hawthorn, third-last on the ladder with four wins and another mediocre placing seemed inevitable. Astoundingly, the Bears rallied to win the match by 7 points making it the greatest three-quarter-time comeback in league history. Brisbane then won five of its six remaining matches in the home-and-away season, including against Richmond and Essendon who were both in the top four, to scrape into the finals for the very first time. The team was not disgraced to go down to eventual premiers Carlton by 13 points in their first-ever final. A club that had become a laughing stock was beginning to find its feet.
Inspired by their barnstorming finish to the season, the Bears, now coached by former Richmond premiership player John Northey
, had an excellent 1996 season
, culminating in two finals wins at the Gabba and a loss in the Preliminary Final to eventual premiers North Melbourne. Michael Voss also became the first Brisbane Bears player to win the Brownlow Medal
, sharing the honour with Essendon's James Hird
.
Behind the scenes, however, things were less rosy. The club was still struggling financially and was running out of opportunities to generate revenue. One of the Bears' biggest problems was its lack of support (both on and off the field) in Melbourne
, the location of most of its away matches. When Fitzroy collapsed due to financial pressures an opportunity to alleviate that problem presented itself. Fitzroy needed to merge its assets with another club, and when a merger with North Melbourne failed to win the support of the other AFL clubs, the Bears stepped into the breach and the Brisbane Lions
were born. 1996 would be the last season for the Bears and Fitzroy as individual entities, however the histories and traditions of both would be carried into the future by the new merged entity.
, which is not a Bear. Their uniform originally featured a koala.
Wikipedia listing of Brisbane Bears players
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
club and the first Queensland-based club in the Victorian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
(VFL). The club played its first match in 1987, but struggled on and off the field until it made the finals for the first time in 1995. The Bears merged with the Fitzroy Football Club
Fitzroy Football Club
The Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...
after the completion of the following season to form the Brisbane Lions Football Club.
History
In 1986, the VFL Commission announced plans to set up privately owned clubs based in PerthPerth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
and Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, motivated by the need to sell multimillion-dollar licences to save a number of Victorian clubs which were struggling financially. A consortium headed by former actor Paul Cronin
Paul Cronin
Paul Cronin is an Australian actor who has played iconic roles in the Australian television series Matlock Police and The Sullivans.-Personal Life:...
and bankrolled by entrepreneur Christopher Skase
Christopher Skase
Christopher Charles Skase was an Australian businessman who later became one of his country's most wanted fugitives, after his business empire crashed spectacularly and he fled to Majorca in Spain.-Early life:...
was controversially awarded the Brisbane licence. Not long afterwards, the club was officially announced as the Brisbane Bears, signing recently-retired Hawthorn
Hawthorn Football Club
The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys...
player Peter Knights
Peter Knights
Peter Knights is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. He is widely regarded as one of the finest centre half-backs to have played the game, despite suffering numerous injuries...
as coach, and unveiling an innovative playing strip consisting of a gold with a maroon yoke and a triangular "BB" logo intended to represent a stylised map of the club's home state, Queensland, with the outline of a koala
Koala
The koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae....
head appearing inside of the larger B.
The choice of the koala as a mascot and moniker was often mocked and tagged tacky as the Australian marsupial animal is not a bear and is typically sedate and hardly ferocious. Despite this, the bear appeared roaring on many of the marketing and promotional materials for the club, including the club's official VFL logo http://www.footystamps.com/bb_gold_coast.htm. However, regardless of such marketing, the team's poor on-field performances in the first seven years allowed the Bears' mascot to be targeted gratuitously, with nicknames like "The Bad News Bears" and "The Carrara Koalas".
The new club was given very little time in which to set itself up, with few players and no home ground. No venue in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
was suitable as the main sports played were Rugby League
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
and Rugby Union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
where the venues were rectangular in shape while The Gabba
Brisbane Cricket Ground
The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as The Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It is named after the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located....
was encircled by a greyhound track at the time so the Bears based themselves at Carrara Oval, an hour's drive south-east of Brisbane on the Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
. Temporary stands, club rooms and facilities were hastily erected on the slopes surrounding the field.
Carrara was very convenient for Christopher Skase, now acknowledged as the owner of the club. To Skase, the Bears were another outpost in his media and leisure empire which also included the Mirage resorts (one of which was very close to Carrara) and the TV0 television station (later sold to acquire the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
), official broadcasters of the VFL.
Unlike their fellow expansion team, the West Coast Eagles
West Coast Eagles
The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League. The club is based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and played its first games in the 1987 season. Its current home ground is Subiaco Oval...
, the Bears did not have a large reserve of local players from which to draw on, and so the VFL arranged for every other club to provide at least two players. Understandably, other clubs were averse to providing top-line players and few of the players provided were of a high quality. Indeed, some of them had long-term injuries and one or two had already announced their retirement. Skase opened his chequebook and the Bears pursued a number of stars aggressively. They were rewarded with a few key signings, including Collingwood
Collingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
's captain Mark Williams
Mark M. Williams
Mark "Choco" Williams is a former Australian rules footballer who coached the Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League from 1999 to 2010...
, and 1985 Brownlow Medal
Brownlow Medal
The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
list Brad Hardie
Brad Hardie
Bradley John "Brad" Hardie is a former Australian rules footballer and current radio commentator. He began his career as an attacking back pocket player, but ended as a dangerous goal kicking forward pocket...
. However a significant proportion of the player list was recruited from the SANFL and WAFL
West Australian Football League
The West Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The WAFL is the second-most popular in the state, behind the nation-wide Australian Football League...
and was unused to playing football at this level.
As a result, there was general surprise if not shock when this rag-tag band of cast-offs, widely tipped to finish last. Mark Mickan
Mark Mickan
Mark James "Rubbers" Mickan is a former Australian rules footballer who has the unusual history of being on the inaugural player list for two VFL/AFL clubs – Brisbane Bears and Adelaide Crows. He began and finished his senior career with SANFL club West Adelaide. All-Australian Team selection in...
, a 6'5" (196 cm) ruckman
Ruckman (Australian rules football position)
In Australian rules football, a ruckman is typically a tall and athletic player who contests at centre bounces and stoppages . The ruckman is one of the most important players on the field...
recruited from West Adelaide in the SANFL was appointed captain of the Bears in his rookie season despite players with vastly more VFL experience in the squad such as Mark Williams and Brad Hardie.
The Bears won their first game in the VFL against North Melbourne at the MCG
McG
Joseph McGinty Nichol , better known as McG, is an American director and producer of film and television, as well as a former record producer....
19.23 (137) to 15.14 (104) in front of only 14,096 fans. After also defeating Geelong at the Cats home ground Kardinia Park 23.12 (150) to 19.17 (131) there was much cause for optimism within the new club. After losing their next game to St. Kilda they played their first game at Carrara against Fitzroy, the club they would merge with at the end of 1996. The Lions spoiled The Bears home party with a 20.9 (129) to 16.18 (114) win in front of 17,795 fans, The Bears largest home crowd of the 1987 season
1987 VFL season
Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1987.-Night Series: defeated 8.10 to 8.6 in the Final at Waverley Park.-Leading goalkickers:...
. After their good early showing however the young squads relative inexperience became more and more apparent, sliding to the bottom of the ladder by Round 20. In the final round they won a playoff with Richmond
Richmond Football Club
The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...
to avoid the wooden spoon in their first season, finishing with six wins.
In their first season The Bears attracted 98,616 fans to Carrara at an average of 8,965 per game, the lowest in the competition next to Fitzroy's 11,498. The Bears also registered the lowest home crowd for the 22 round season when only 4,859 attended the Round 20 clash with the VFL's other new team for 1987, the West Coast Eagles
West Coast Eagles
The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League. The club is based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and played its first games in the 1987 season. Its current home ground is Subiaco Oval...
. In fact in 1987 the Brisbane Bears attracted the 5 lowest crowds of the home and away season with 4 of the games played at Carrara.
The club again recruited aggressively, landing Sydney Swans
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
glamour spearhead Warwick Capper
Warwick Capper
Warwick Capper is a retired high profile professional Australian rules football full-forward who played with the Sydney Swans with a short stint at the Brisbane Bears in the VFL ....
. However, the Bears failed to learn the lessons taught during their first season. In 1988
1988 VFL season
The 92nd Victorian Football League Premiership Season commenced in April 1988 and concluded on 24 September 1988, with Hawthorn winning their seventh Premiership in their sixth consecutive Grand Final appearance.-Night Series:...
and 1989
1989 VFL season
-Notable events:* In Round 13, horrendous conditions at Windy Hill saw Essendon and Footscray play the lowest scoring game since the 1927 Grand Final, with the teams combining for only 6.15 ....
the club suffered some severe defeats and Knights was sacked with eight rounds to play in the '89 season. The club psychologist, Paul Feltham
Paul Feltham
Paul Feltham is a sport psychologist and former Australian rules footballer and coach. He is best known for a short stint as caretaker coach of the Brisbane Bears in 1989.- Playing career :...
, took charge of the team for the remainder of the year.
The club was also under severe financial pressure. Attendance had been very poor due to the diabolical performance of the team and the travel required to get to Carrara. The collapse of Skase's business empire and his sudden departure for Spain in late 1989 almost resulted in the death of the Bears. Over the ensuing preseason the players threatened strike action, but Cronin resigned, the club was taken over by the AFL, re-sold to Gold Coast businessman Reuben Pelerman, and the crisis was averted. With former Fitzroy player Norm Dare
Norm Dare
Norm Dare is a former Australian rules footballer and coach, most notable for coaching five premierships in the QAFL.Dare initially played league football for Fitzroy in the VFL, where he played 70 games between 1968 and 1974...
appointed coach, the club battled on.
The near-loss of the club appeared to galvanise the AFL into action. Having almost killed the club through neglect, the AFL now spent significant amounts of money to help the Bears. The club was provided with priority draft picks and special recruiting zones to give it access to some of the nation's best talent, which over the next few years allowed the club to recruit future stars such as Michael Voss
Michael Voss
Michael Voss is the senior coach of the Brisbane Lions Australian Football League team and a former professional Australian rules footballer....
, Jason Akermanis
Jason Akermanis
Jason Dean Akermanis is an Australian rules football player. He is a Brownlow Medallist and triple premiership player who played for the Brisbane Bears, Brisbane Lions and Western Bulldogs...
, Clark Keating
Clark Keating
Clark Anthony Keating was an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League.Known as "Crackers" , Keating was picked up by the Brisbane Bears as a local...
, Steven Lawrence
Steven Lawrence
Steven James Lawrence is an Australian rules footballer. He is the son of former St Kilda star Barry Lawrence.-Brisbane career:...
and Darryl White
Darryl White
Darryl White is a former Australian rules footballer whose career with the Brisbane Bears and Lions in the Australian Football League lasted from 1992 to 2005....
.
Former Carlton premiership coach Robert Walls
Robert Walls
Robert Walls is a former Australian rules footballer and coach who now works primarily as a television commentator and newspaper columnist on the sport. On 22 June 2006 he was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.- Carlton :...
was installed as coach for the 1991 season
1991 AFL season
Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1991.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-National Cup:...
and immediately set about getting rid of the dead wood around the club. Having inherited the oldest list in the league, by the end of the season he had the youngest. He insisted that the Bears not bend over to the will of powerful Victorian clubs in recruitment matters, particularly in the case of young Northern Territorian Nathan Buckley
Nathan Buckley
Nathan Charles Buckley is a former professional Australian rules football player, commentator and coach, best known for his time as captain of the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League ....
who was playing for the Port Adelaide Magpies
Port Adelaide Magpies
The Port Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the South Australian National Football League...
in the SANFL at the time. At the time of his recruitment Buckley was clearly the best player in the country not playing in the AFL and his signing was a coup for the club. Signed on a one-year contract, his manager stipulated that he would be released to the club of his choice if he so desired at the completion of the contract. At the end of the contract he was cleared to Collingwood as he had requested, but not without suitable compensation in the form of premiership centre-half forward Craig Starcevich
Craig Starcevich
Craig Starcevich is a former Australian rules footballer in the VFL/AFL and currently a fitness trainer.He was recruited from East Perth whom he played 37 games for after he won the 1986 F. D. Book Medal for being judged their best and fairest player...
, goalsneak Troy Lehmann
Troy Lehmann
Troy Lehmann is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Collingwood and the Brisbane Bears in the Australian Football League during the early 1990s....
and an early draft pick which the Bears used to snare future star Chris Scott
Chris M. Scott
Christopher Michael "Chris" Scott is a former Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League best known as being a dual premiership player with the Brisbane Lions and is a current premiership AFL coach of the Geelong Football Club.-AFL career:Scott was picked by the Brisbane Bears...
.
Things were changing off-field too. Pelerman, who was losing millions of dollars annually on the club, agreed to release the Bears from private ownership and revert to a traditional club structure in which the club's members were able to elect the board. In 1992
1992 AFL season
Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1992. The AFL Grand Final this year was won by the West Coast Eagles, who became the first non-Victorian club to win a Premiership.-Ladder:...
, the club ditched its ridiculed "BB" teddy-bear jumper in favour of a predominantly maroon strip with a gold V and white trim. And more significantly, the Bears moved permanently to the Gabba
Brisbane Cricket Ground
The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as The Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It is named after the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located....
in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
for the 1993 season and membership and attendances instantly tripled. The greyhound track around the ground was removed, the surface upgraded and the stands gradually replaced over the next few years with a view to converting the tired old ground to a state-of-the-art sporting facility.
However on-field results were still elusive. In 1994
1994 AFL season
-Ladder:All teams played 22 games during the home and away season, for a total of 165. An additional 9 games were played during the finals series. It was the first season that the AFL implemented a top 8 team finals series...
however, the Bears began to show signs of a competitive side and were contenders for a finals berth before falling away in the last five games of the season. Walls announced his resignation halfway through the 1995 season
1995 AFL season
Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1995.-Round 1:-Round 2:-Round 3:-Round 4:*This was the first ANZAC Day clash held between Collingwood and Essendon which famously ended in a draw.-Round 5:-Round 6:...
, but committed himself to seeing out the year. By three-quarter time in round 16 the Bears were 45 points behind Hawthorn, third-last on the ladder with four wins and another mediocre placing seemed inevitable. Astoundingly, the Bears rallied to win the match by 7 points making it the greatest three-quarter-time comeback in league history. Brisbane then won five of its six remaining matches in the home-and-away season, including against Richmond and Essendon who were both in the top four, to scrape into the finals for the very first time. The team was not disgraced to go down to eventual premiers Carlton by 13 points in their first-ever final. A club that had become a laughing stock was beginning to find its feet.
Inspired by their barnstorming finish to the season, the Bears, now coached by former Richmond premiership player John Northey
John Northey
John "Swooper" Northey is a former Australian rules football player and coach. He played from 1963 to 1970 with the Richmond Football Club....
, had an excellent 1996 season
1996 AFL season
Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1996.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-Lighting Premiership:...
, culminating in two finals wins at the Gabba and a loss in the Preliminary Final to eventual premiers North Melbourne. Michael Voss also became the first Brisbane Bears player to win the Brownlow Medal
Brownlow Medal
The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
, sharing the honour with Essendon's James Hird
James Hird
James Hird is a former professional Australian rules footballer and the current coach of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League....
.
Behind the scenes, however, things were less rosy. The club was still struggling financially and was running out of opportunities to generate revenue. One of the Bears' biggest problems was its lack of support (both on and off the field) in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, the location of most of its away matches. When Fitzroy collapsed due to financial pressures an opportunity to alleviate that problem presented itself. Fitzroy needed to merge its assets with another club, and when a merger with North Melbourne failed to win the support of the other AFL clubs, the Bears stepped into the breach and the Brisbane Lions
Brisbane Lions
The Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996...
were born. 1996 would be the last season for the Bears and Fitzroy as individual entities, however the histories and traditions of both would be carried into the future by the new merged entity.
Mascot
The Bears' mascot was the koalaKoala
The koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae....
, which is not a Bear. Their uniform originally featured a koala.
Colours
- Maroon and Gold (1987-1988)
- Cerise and Gold (1989-1991)
- Maroon , Gold and White (1992-1996)
Wooden spoons
- 1990
- 1991
Individual awards
- Darryl WhiteDarryl WhiteDarryl White is a former Australian rules footballer whose career with the Brisbane Bears and Lions in the Australian Football League lasted from 1992 to 2005....
- Goal of the YearGoal of the Year (Australia)The Goal of the Year is a competition for the best goals kicked in the VFL/AFL during that season. It is run in conjunction with the Mark of the Year competition and is currently sponsored by Panasonic. The award is also known as the Phil Manassa Medal....
(1992) - Nathan BuckleyNathan BuckleyNathan Charles Buckley is a former professional Australian rules football player, commentator and coach, best known for his time as captain of the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League ....
- AFL Rising Star (1993) - Chris ScottChris M. ScottChristopher Michael "Chris" Scott is a former Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League best known as being a dual premiership player with the Brisbane Lions and is a current premiership AFL coach of the Geelong Football Club.-AFL career:Scott was picked by the Brisbane Bears...
- AFL Rising Star (1994) - Michael VossMichael VossMichael Voss is the senior coach of the Brisbane Lions Australian Football League team and a former professional Australian rules footballer....
- Brownlow MedalBrownlow MedalThe Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
(1996), All-Australian (1996) - Craig LambertCraig LambertCraig Lambert is a former Australian rules football player who played in the VFL/AFL between 1988 and 1993 for the Richmond Football Club and then from 1994 until 2000 for the Brisbane Bears then theBrisbane Lions Football Clubs.- References :...
- All-Australian (1996)
Honour roll
| Season | Position | Coach | Captain | Best & Fairest¹ | Leading goalkicker | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 13 | Peter Knights Peter Knights Peter Knights is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. He is widely regarded as one of the finest centre half-backs to have played the game, despite suffering numerous injuries... |
Mark Mickan Mark Mickan Mark James "Rubbers" Mickan is a former Australian rules footballer who has the unusual history of being on the inaugural player list for two VFL/AFL clubs – Brisbane Bears and Adelaide Crows. He began and finished his senior career with SANFL club West Adelaide. All-Australian Team selection in... |
Phillip Walsh Phillip Walsh Phillip Walsh is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood, Richmond and the Brisbane Bears in the VFL during the 1980s.... |
Jim Edmond Jim Edmond Jim Edmond is a former Australian rules footballer.Debuting in the Victorian Football League in 1977, Edmond was the former captain of Footscray Football Club between 1983 and 1985. He also won the goalkicking in 1981 with 25 goals... |
34 |
| 1988 | 13 | Peter Knights | Mark Mickan | Mark Withers Mark Withers (footballer) Mark Withers is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Melbourne and the Brisbane Bears in the Victorian Football League during the 1980s.... |
Warwick Capper Warwick Capper Warwick Capper is a retired high profile professional Australian rules football full-forward who played with the Sydney Swans with a short stint at the Brisbane Bears in the VFL .... |
45 |
| 1989 | 10 | Peter Knights, Paul Feltham Paul Feltham Paul Feltham is a sport psychologist and former Australian rules footballer and coach. He is best known for a short stint as caretaker coach of the Brisbane Bears in 1989.- Playing career :... |
Mark Mickan | John Gastev John Gastev John Gastev is a former Australian rules footballer in the VFL/AFL.A cult figure and "crowd favourite" standing at only 177cm and weighing just 73kg, Gastev debuted with the West Coast Eagles in their inaugural season in 1987 after playing for West Perth... |
Brad Hardie Brad Hardie Bradley John "Brad" Hardie is a former Australian rules footballer and current radio commentator. He began his career as an attacking back pocket player, but ended as a dangerous goal kicking forward pocket... |
54 |
| 1990 | 14 | Norm Dare Norm Dare Norm Dare is a former Australian rules footballer and coach, most notable for coaching five premierships in the QAFL.Dare initially played league football for Fitzroy in the VFL, where he played 70 games between 1968 and 1974... |
Roger Merrett Roger Merrett Roger Merrett is a former Australian rules footballer who played in two Victorian Football League premiership sides with the Essendon Football Club in the mid-1980s before moving to the fledging Brisbane Bears, later captaining the new club for seven seasons... |
David Bain and Martin Leslie | Brad Hardie | 37 |
| 1991 | 15 | Robert Walls Robert Walls Robert Walls is a former Australian rules footballer and coach who now works primarily as a television commentator and newspaper columnist on the sport. On 22 June 2006 he was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.- Carlton :... |
Roger Merrett | Michael McLean Michael McLean (footballer) Michael "Magic" McLean is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played with both Footscray and Brisbane in the VFL/AFL.- Early life :... |
Laurence Schache Laurence Schache Laurence Schache was an Australian rules footballer, playing in the Australian Football League with the Brisbane Bears and the South Australian National Football League with Sturt, West Torrens and Woodville-West Torrens.Born in Hopetoun, Victoria, Schache was zoned to the Essendon Football Club... |
47 |
| 1992 | 14 | Robert Walls | Roger Merrett | John Gastev | John Hutton | 43 |
| 1993 | 13 | Robert Walls | Roger Merrett | Martin Leslie | Roger Merrett Roger Merrett Roger Merrett is a former Australian rules footballer who played in two Victorian Football League premiership sides with the Essendon Football Club in the mid-1980s before moving to the fledging Brisbane Bears, later captaining the new club for seven seasons... |
60 |
| 1994 | 12 | Robert Walls | Roger Merrett | Craig Lambert Craig Lambert Craig Lambert is a former Australian rules football player who played in the VFL/AFL between 1988 and 1993 for the Richmond Football Club and then from 1994 until 2000 for the Brisbane Bears then theBrisbane Lions Football Clubs.- References :... |
Roger Merrett | 41 |
| 1995 | 8 | Robert Walls | Roger Merrett | Michael Voss Michael Voss Michael Voss is the senior coach of the Brisbane Lions Australian Football League team and a former professional Australian rules footballer.... |
Roger Merrett | 44 |
| 1996 | 3 | John Northey John Northey John "Swooper" Northey is a former Australian rules football player and coach. He played from 1963 to 1970 with the Richmond Football Club.... |
Roger Merrett | Michael Voss | Alastair Lynch Alastair Lynch Alastair Graeme Lynch is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League . He is best known as a three time premiership full-forward for the Brisbane Lions.... |
52 |
Club Records
- Total Matches Played: 222 (72 wins, 2 draws, 148 losses)
- Highest Score: 33.21 (219) vs SydneySydney SwansThe Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
, Round 8, 19931993 AFL season-Ladder:All teams played 20 games during the home and away season, for a total of 165. Each team also had two byes. An additional 7 games were played during the finals series.-Awards:*The Brownlow Medal was awarded to Gavin Wanganeen of .... - Lowest Score: 2.5 (17) vs Hawthorn, Round 12, 19881988 VFL seasonThe 92nd Victorian Football League Premiership Season commenced in April 1988 and concluded on 24 September 1988, with Hawthorn winning their seventh Premiership in their sixth consecutive Grand Final appearance.-Night Series:...
- Greatest Winning Margin: 162 points vs SydneySydney SwansThe Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
, Round 8, 19931993 AFL season-Ladder:All teams played 20 games during the home and away season, for a total of 165. Each team also had two byes. An additional 7 games were played during the finals series.-Awards:*The Brownlow Medal was awarded to Gavin Wanganeen of .... - Greatest losing margin: 164 points vs Geelong, Round 7, 19921992 AFL seasonResults and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1992. The AFL Grand Final this year was won by the West Coast Eagles, who became the first non-Victorian club to win a Premiership.-Ladder:...
- Longest Winning Streak: 7 (Round 15 to Round 21, 19961996 AFL seasonResults and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1996.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-Lighting Premiership:...
) - Longest Losing Streak: 12 (Round 20 1990 to Round 10, 19911991 AFL seasonResults and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1991.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-National Cup:...
) - Most Goals in a Season: 60 by Roger MerrettRoger MerrettRoger Merrett is a former Australian rules footballer who played in two Victorian Football League premiership sides with the Essendon Football Club in the mid-1980s before moving to the fledging Brisbane Bears, later captaining the new club for seven seasons...
in 19931993 AFL season-Ladder:All teams played 20 games during the home and away season, for a total of 165. Each team also had two byes. An additional 7 games were played during the finals series.-Awards:*The Brownlow Medal was awarded to Gavin Wanganeen of ....
(18 games) - Most Goals for the Club: 285 by Roger MerrettRoger MerrettRoger Merrett is a former Australian rules footballer who played in two Victorian Football League premiership sides with the Essendon Football Club in the mid-1980s before moving to the fledging Brisbane Bears, later captaining the new club for seven seasons...
(1988-96 - 164 games) - Most Games for the Club: 164 by Roger MerrettRoger MerrettRoger Merrett is a former Australian rules footballer who played in two Victorian Football League premiership sides with the Essendon Football Club in the mid-1980s before moving to the fledging Brisbane Bears, later captaining the new club for seven seasons...
(1988-96) - Most Years as Coach: 5 by Robert WallsRobert WallsRobert Walls is a former Australian rules footballer and coach who now works primarily as a television commentator and newspaper columnist on the sport. On 22 June 2006 he was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.- Carlton :...
(1991-95) - Most Years as Captain: 7 by Roger MerrettRoger MerrettRoger Merrett is a former Australian rules footballer who played in two Victorian Football League premiership sides with the Essendon Football Club in the mid-1980s before moving to the fledging Brisbane Bears, later captaining the new club for seven seasons...
(1990-96) - Highest Ladder Position at end of season: Third in 19961996 AFL seasonResults and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1996.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-Lighting Premiership:...
- Record Attendance: 66,719 vs North Melbourne, Preliminary Final 19961996 AFL seasonResults and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1996.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-Lighting Premiership:...
- Record Attendance at The GabbaBrisbane Cricket GroundThe Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as The Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It is named after the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located....
: 21,964 vs Essendon, Qualifying Final 19961996 AFL seasonResults and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1996.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-Lighting Premiership:... - Record Attendance at Carrara OvalCarrara StadiumCarrara Stadium is a sporting venue on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Carrara....
: 18,198 vs Geelong, Round 15, 19891989 VFL season-Notable events:* In Round 13, horrendous conditions at Windy Hill saw Essendon and Footscray play the lowest scoring game since the 1927 Grand Final, with the teams combining for only 6.15 .... - Brownlow MedalistsBrownlow MedalThe Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
: Michael VossMichael VossMichael Voss is the senior coach of the Brisbane Lions Australian Football League team and a former professional Australian rules footballer....
in 19961996 AFL seasonResults and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1996.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-Lighting Premiership:... - All-AustraliansAll-Australian TeamThe All-Australian Team is an all star team of Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including interchange players and a coach, of the best performed during the season....
Michael VossMichael VossMichael Voss is the senior coach of the Brisbane Lions Australian Football League team and a former professional Australian rules footballer....
and Craig LambertCraig LambertCraig Lambert is a former Australian rules football player who played in the VFL/AFL between 1988 and 1993 for the Richmond Football Club and then from 1994 until 2000 for the Brisbane Bears then theBrisbane Lions Football Clubs.- References :...
in 19961996 AFL seasonResults and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1996.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-Lighting Premiership:...
See also
Wikipedia listing of Brisbane Bears players