Driving up the M1 from the Gold Coast to Brisbane on Saturday afternoon was a strange experience from a Lions supporters’ perspective.

The game was a chance for the Lions to upset a North Melbourne team with a tenuous hold on a finals berth, but there was something bigger happening at the Gabba this night.

Since the start of this century Jonathan Brown has been a name that is synonymous with the Brisbane Lions Football Club.

He came to Brisbane as a Father-Son selection in the 1999 National Draft, and was immediately groomed to become the Club’s next great centre half forward.

I wonder if anyone could have imagined exactly just how good Brown would turn out to be, not only for his on-field exploits but for the off-field profile he brought the club firmly placed in Rugby territory?

Brown did it all during his playing days in one of the toughest positions on the ground, becoming a triple premiership player, triple Best and Fairest winner, two time All-Australian, a Coleman Medallist, five time leading goal kicker, triple Robert Rose award recipient for Most Courageous Player, along with also being the Lions Captain between 2007 and 2013.

The Club had announced that this game was going to be the Brisbane farewell for Jonathan Brown, and the great man would do a lap of honour at half-time to give the fans an opportunity to say their goodbyes to a Club Stalwart who gave everything he possibly could for the Lions.

After a slow start to the contest the young Lions rose to the occasion putting North Melbourne to the sword, piling on seven goals to one in a dominant second quarter that showed the fans a glimpse into the future.

The players left for the main break to a standing ovation and then it was Brown’s turn to grace the Gabba turf once more.

He spoke fondly of his time at the Club and implored the fans to be as loud as possible when the team returned after the half-time break because “you can certainly hear the crowd when they get behind you”.

A team man all the way to the end looking after his mates who still had the second half to hold out a Kangaroos outfit desperate to show that they won’t just be making up the numbers come September.

Brown started his lap of honour at the opposite side of the ground to where we had made our way to the boundary line near the Gate 7 entry, walking hand-in-hand with his son Jack while daughter Olivia also partook in the festivities.

The forecast was for a huge Queensland storm to hit the Brisbane area right as half-time and the Brown lap of honour was scheduled to take place.

As Brown approached us at our piece of real estate on the boundary line fence, the heavens were just about to open the floodgates.

It was almost prophetic in a way that this massive shower was almost waiting for Brown and his family to make the journey around the Gabba before belting down as only Queensland storms have the capacity to do.

As it turned out, the Kangaroos did their best to come from the clouds and rain on the Lions’ parade when all seemed lost during the third quarter.

Trailing by almost six goals at one stage the fight back started, which would leave everyone at the Gabba on the edge of their seat during the final quarter.  

The cameras regularly crossed to Brown in his corporate box as he rode every bump, tackle and goal as a nervous spectator willing the final siren to end the contest.

In the end, the Lions willed themselves over the line in a gutsy performance to record their fourth win of the season by four points.

It was the perfect and deserved send off for a champion on a night that celebrated his time with the Club and all that he achieved.

There was an on-ground presentation made to Brown with both teams applauding him for an outstanding career.

He then headed off the ground into the changerooms with the rest of the team to sing the song one last time after another Lions success at the Gabba.

It was a fitting farewell for a champion of the Club, a champion of the game and a champion of the people.