16 Jonathan Brown

Choose another player Adcock, Jed - [7] Banfield, Todd - [18] Bartlett, Callum - [13] Beams, Claye - [17] Bewick, Rohan - [43] Black, Simon - [20] Brown, Jonathan - [16] Buchanan, Amon - [33] Cornelius, Aaron - [44] Crisp, Jack - [47] Docherty, Sam - [1] Drummond, Josh - [39] Golby, Mitchell - [41] Green, Joshua - [6] Hanley, Pearce - [11] Harwood, Ryan - [2] Hawksley, James - [12] Hudson, Ben - [22] Karnezis, Patrick - [28] Lester, Ryan - [35] Leuenberger, Matthew - [23] Lisle, Jordan - [19] Longer, Billy - [5] Maguire, Matt - [36] McGrath, Ashley - [9] McKeever, Niall - [40] Merrett, Daniel - [21] O'Brien, Jesse - [34] Patfull, Joel - [24] Polec, Jared - [4] Polkinghorne, James - [31] Raines, Andrew - [29] Redden, Jack - [30] Retzlaff, Bryce - [8] Rich, Daniel - [10] Rockliff, Tom - [38] Sheldon, Sam - [3] Staker, Brent - [14] Stiller, Cheynee - [32] Wearden, Patrick - [37] Yeo, Elliot - [26] Zorko, Dayne - [15]

Introduction
Jonathan Brown is widely regarded as one of the game’s most dominant players. The powerful centre-half forward and Club Captain’s strength, skill and aggression has earned him the respect and admiration of the entire football community.

Background
• Jonathan Brown is the oldest of four children and boasts a strong football pedigree. His father Brian played 50 matches with Fitzroy while his uncles Noel Mugavin (Fitzroy and Richmond) and Billy Picken (Collingwood and Sydney) both enjoyed careers in the then VFL.

• Brown got involved in football at an early age and made his senior debut with South Warrnambool as a 15 year-old in 1997.

• He moved onto the Geelong Falcons TAC Cup side by mid 1998 after establishing himself in the local leagues.

• He won All-Australian honours representing Victorian Country at the 1999 national U18 carnival in Brisbane and shaped as a leading candidate in the National Draft.

• He was also a promising cricketer. A left-arm fast bowler, Brown played A-grade cricket with Wesley CBC in Warrnambool and was invited to join the U17 Victorian squad in 1998 after performing well in the State championships.

• Despite being touted as a potential top five selection in the 1999 AFL National Draft, Brown – a life-long Fitzroy supporter – had fortunately already committed himself to the Lions under the father/son rule which enabled the Club to secure him with their second round pick No.30.

2000
• Despite failing to gather a possession in his senior debut for the Club in Round 5 of 2000 against Adelaide, Brown showed a sign of things to come by making a huge impact with the Lions in the latter half of the season.

• He signalled his emergence by taking an impressive nine marks in his return match against Adelaide at Football Park in Round 20 while he produced further top quality games against St Kilda and Fremantle in the ensuing rounds.

• He finished with 13 matches for the season and kicked five goals.

2001
• By midway through his second season, Brown had become an important member of the Lions’ side and was being mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Wayne Carey and Dermott Brereton.

• He bagged seven goals against Geelong in Round 6 at the Gabba – and equal Club record at the time – and was among the best players against Essendon in Round 10 when he kicked three goals and set the tone with his trademark aggression and physical approach early.

• He showed enormous poise and leadership during the Finals Series and in the absence of Alastair Lynch in the Preliminary Final against Richmond, he stepped up with a team-high four goals.

• As a 19 year-old centre-half forward, he failed to miss a match all season and was the youngest man on the ground in the Lions’ breakthrough premiership win against Essendon.

• He topped off a magnificent season with two tight-angled goals in critical stages of the 2001 Grand Final which helped steer his side to victory.

• Brown finished the season with 38 goals – the third highest at the Club – and averaged 13.9 possessions and 6.3 marks per game.

• It came as no surprise that he received the Most Improved Player award at the Club Champion Dinner in October.

2002
• Brown’s third season in the AFL was highlighted by a second premiership medal and the AFL’s Mark of the Year award.

• In an inspiring act of courage, the powerful centre half-forward ran back with the flight of the ball and dove headfirst through a pack to take the ‘Mark of the Year’ on his chest. Carlton legend Stephen Silvagni later described the mark as the best he had ever seen.

• He suffered some setbacks early in the season with an ankle injury which forced him to miss the better part of seven games.

• He still managed 19 matches, kicked 14 goals and averaged over 12 disposals despite receiving greater attention from opposition defenders as a dangerous key forward.

2003
• Despite missing a succession of matches with hamstring troubles in the first half of the season, Brown helped lead the Lions to a third consecutive premiership.

• He kicked 27 goals and finished 12th in the Club Champion award after polling more votes than any other player over the last 10 weeks of the season.

• Such was his impact that Collingwood’s Scott Burns attempted to take Brown out at the opening bounce of the 2003 Grand Final only to have the big country Victorian return to his feet and kick two goals for the match.

2004
• Brown endured another interrupted season through a combination of injury and suspension yet still managed to finish 10th in the Club Champion voting.

• He booted 39 goals for the season – just five less than Club leading goal-kicker Jason Akermanis – including a bag of six goals in the Qualifying Final against St Kilda.

• In that same game, Brown was controversially reported for rough play but was cleared to play in the Preliminary Final after the Club argued that the charge could not be sustained as the quarter time siren had already sounded and hence ‘play’ had stopped.

• He remained severely hampered during the Finals Series with a sore knee and could do little to help stop Port Adelaide from ending their hopes of a fourth consecutive premiership.

• Brown took his obvious frustration out on Port Adelaide’s Josh Carr in the first quarter of the premiership decider and the centre half-forward was subsequently suspended for the first five matches of 2005.

2005
• Fresh from a five-game suspension and off-season knee surgery, Brown entered his first competitive hit-out for 2005 against Essendon with little match practice – but his impact was immediate.

• He single-handedly tore Essendon to shreds with 20 possessions, 14 marks and a then equal Club record eight goals before resting for most of the last quarter on the interchange bench.

• He was rarely outside of the Lions’ best half-dozen players for the following few months and even adapted to a new role in the centre square showcasing an ability to clear the ball from stoppages.

• Unfortunately Brown was forced to miss three of last four matches due to a severe bout of osteitis pubis as the Lions fell out of finals calculations.

2006
• Brown revisited his white-hot form with two bags of seven goals and one haul of eight goals in the opening two months of the season.

• He firmed into Brownlow favouritism by mid-season as the Lions recovered from a poor start to the season to become a genuine challenger.

• Injury struck yet again in Round 10 against Collingwood when Brown suffered a serious hip injury which prematurely ended his season.

• His absence in the second half of the season was one of a number of factors that saw the Club plummet to its lowest ladder position since 1998.

• Despite only playing ten matches, Brown still managed to kick 35 goals, average a career-high 19.1 disposals and finish 11th in the Club Champion voting.

2007
• With questions surrounding the centre half-forward’s durability to play an entire season of football now surfacing among media circles, Brown was eager to prove his critics wrong.

• He was appointed as one of five Co-Captains at the beginning of the season and seemed to relish in his greater role of responsibility.

• Brown was as dominant as ever, playing in all 22 senior matches and winning his first ever Club Champion award – an individual accolade he rates as the most prestigious in football.

• Playing almost a lone hand up forward in the absence of injured spearhead Daniel Bradshaw, Brown kicked a competition-high 77 goals – including 51 in his last ten matches – despite often competing against up to three opponents at any given time.

• He wrote himself into the record books with a monster display against Carlton in Round 16 at the Gabba where, in a near faultless performance, Brown kicked a merged club record 10 goals.

• In addition to his first Merrett-Murray Medal, he received the Best Forward award and was also named as the Lions’ Most Courageous Player at the Club Champion dinner.

• He was selected as Vice Captain in the All-Australian team, became only the second player in Club history to be awarded the Coleman Medal and was voted by his peers as the competition’s Best Captain and Most Courageous Player.

• Despite his remarkable season, his young team of Lions fell just shy of September action for the third consecutive season.

2008
• Brown backed up his finest season to date with an equally impressive 2008 season, booting 70 goals from 21 matches and finishing fourth on the AFL’s goal-kicking tally.

• He formed a formidable duo in attack with returning full-forward Daniel Bradshaw and together they combined for a Club record 145 goals.

• A knee complaint kept Brown sidelined for the only time in Round 7 against Geelong but he returned the following week in time to Captain Victoria in the Hall of Fame match as part of the AFL’s 150-year celebrations. It proved a massive honour for Brown who had always dreamt of representing the ‘Big V’.

• Brown dominated upon his return to the Lions, booting six goals in three consecutive weeks from Rounds 8 to 10.

• He passed two significant milestones in 2008 – kicking his 300th career goal against North Melbourne in Round 10 and reaching 150 AFL matches against the Western Bulldogs in Round 12.

• His efforts were rewarded with a second consecutive Merrett-Murray Medal and the Lions Best Forward award at the Club Champion Dinner.

• In addition to his Club honours, Brown was named the AFLPA’s Most Courageous Player for the second consecutive season and was considered unlucky to miss out on All-Australian selection.

• He was named as the Lions sole Captain in October following a Football Department review conducted by new Senior Coach Michael Voss who was appointed in September.

2009
• The powerhouse centre half-forward continued his career-best form in 2009 by playing in all 24 matches, averaging 16 disposals and helping lead his team back to the AFL Finals for the first time in five years. 

• He kicked a merged Club record 85 goals for the season and finished second on the AFL's goal-kicking tally behind Carlton's Brendan Fevola.

• Brown was held goalless just once in his 24 matches and kicked a season-high eight goals against North Melbourne at the Gabba in Round 17 to pass the 400 career goals milestone.

• During the team's Semi Final against Carlton at the Gabba, he remarkably returned from a serious knock to his face to help lead his team into the second week of September.

• He became only the third person in Club history (behind Kevin Murray) to win three successive Club Champion awards when he finished one vote ahead of team-mate Simon Black.

• Brown was also awarded the Marcus Ashcroft Most Professional Player Award, the Members Player of the Year Award and became a Lions Life Member.

• He was selected in the AFL All-Australian team for the second time and earned the nod from the AFLPA as the Best Captain in the competition. 

• Brown also led the AFL in contested marks and finished a career-best equal fourth in the Brownlow Medal.

2010
• Brown started 2010 in brilliant form, and alongside new power forward teammate Brendan Fevola, lifted the Lions to four straight wins with 19 goals and 40 marks in the first four rounds.

• An adductor strain slowed Brown after round 4 and he was hampered by this injury for much of the season. He missed six games in total in 2010.

• He played his 200-game milestone against Essendon in round 21 and was the star following a stint on the sidelines with a corked knee. He had 25 disposals and 16 marks.

• Brown was the Lions’ leading goal kicker in 2010 with 53 goals from just 16 matches. He also lead the Club in contested marks with 40 for the season.

• Brown was awarded for his efforts in 2010 at the Club Champion awards with the Shaun Hart Most Courageous Player award, the Members’ Player of the Year award, and the Alastair Lynch Trophy for the Club Champion third place.

2011
• Brown's 2011 campaign got off to a horror start after he suffered multiple facial fractures in the team's season opener against Fremantle at the Gabba. The Lions Captain kicked three first half goals before an errant knee from Dockers full-back Luke McPharlin collected Brown in the face. In graphic scenes, Brown was forced from the field and taken directly to hospital where he stayed for a number of days.

• He spent eight weeks on the sidelines and, once he was given the all-clear to chew a well-done steak, made his anticipated return to the field in time for the team's Round 9 clash against North Melbourne.

• Brown made an immediate impact, booting four goals to help guide the Lions to their first win of the 2011 season. The remarkable effort also earned the skipper three Brownlow Medal votes.  

• He played nine consecutive matches before a trademark courageous marking attempt against Geelong in Round 17 left him with another fractured jaw which prematurely ended an unlucky season for the big man.

• His second facial injury for 2011 also raised questions over his 'recklessness' at contests, but the Club Champion said he would never change his playing style and vowed to return fired-up in 2012.  

• He still managed to finish fourth in the Club's goal-kicking (22 goals), despite playing just 10 senior matches.