At 16 Oscar Allen was a 180cm basketballer who enjoyed junior football as pretty much a second sport, playing mainly as a small defender. And then he grew… 10cm in 12 months and 16cm in the next three years.
Now he is a 196cm footballing key forward who, having joined the Lions from the West Coast Eagles as a free agent over summer, looms as one of the AFL recruits of the year.
And even before he plays his first game in the #4 Brisbane jumper he has inherited from Callum Ah Chee, Allen has claimed a slice of club history, having gone straight into the Lions’ eight-man leadership group.
Not since the birth of the Brisbane Bears in 1987, when South Australian Mark Mickan, a newcomer to the AFL who was appointed the club’s inaugural captain, has a player enjoyed such an immediate leadership appointment.
Allen received strong support from teammates in the customary player leadership vote, and was endorsed by coach Chris Fagan to join co-captains Harris Andrews, Hugh McCluggage and Josh Dunkley, and fellow leadership group members Jarrod Berry, Cam Rayner and first-timers Will Ashcroft and Jaspa Fletcher.
Amazingly, there will be games this year in which the Lions field six AFL captains – the current trio plus Allen and ex-Lions skippers Dayne Zorko and Lachie Neale.
Such has been Allen’s immediate impact he’s been christened ‘vol’ by his teammates – short for ‘volume’ because he is so loud.
Set to turn 27 on 19 March and married last November, he brings to the Lions the experience of 105 games in the AFL and two years as co-captain of the West Coast Eagles with Liam Duggan following Luke Shuey’s retirement in 2023.
Born and bred in Perth, he is a product of Whitford Junior Football Club, which also counts ex-Eagles stars Brett Heady, Andrew Donnelly and Mark LeCras and ex-Adelaide captain Nathan Van Berlo among its AFL products.
He played in the WAFL with West Perth, which also ex-Brisbane players Marcus Adams, Rowan Bewick, John Gastev, Jaxon Prior, Mike Richardson and Nick Robertson.
Allen was co-captain of the WA Under 18 side that won the 2017 Australian Championship, won the Larke Medal as the best at the carnival, and was named at centre half forward in the All-Australian Under 18 side that included new Lions teammates Cam Rayner and Zac Bailey.
He joined a Larke Medal Honour Board which also includes 2022 winner Will Ashcroft, and ex-Brisbane pair Josh Schache (2015) and Deven Robertson (2019), and rocketed up the draft board when he starred in the U18 All-Stars game on 2017 AFL Grand Final Day with two goals, 18 disposals and seven marks.
He measured 191cm at the Draft Combine, where he scored 25/30 for the Kicking Test, registered excellent endurance, and clocked a solid 3.07sec in the 20m sprint.
Described as a ‘workhorse’ in the lead-up to the draft, he joined the Eagles via pick #21 in the 2017 National Draft in which Brisbane claimed Rayner at #1, Bailey at #15 and Brandon Starcevich at #18, and later Jack Payne at #54.
History says it was something of a miracle that he slid so far. The top 21 in the draft were:-
- Cam Rayner (Bris)
- Andrew Brayshaw (Frem)
- Paddy Dow (Carl)
- Luke Davies-Uniacke (NM)
- Adam Cerra (Frem)
- Jaiden Stephenson (Coll)
- Hunter Clark (StK)
- Nick Coffield (StK)
- Aaron Naughton (WB)
- Lochie O’Brien (Carl)
- Aiden Bonar (GWS)
- Darcy Fogarty (Adel)
- Jarrod Brander (WC)
- Matt Ling (Syd)
- Zac Bailey (Bris)
- Ed Richards (WB)
- Jack Higgins (Rich)
- Brandon Starcevich (Bris)
- Wil Powell (GC)
- Callum Coleman-Jones (Rich)
- Oscar Allen (WC)
Having debuted in Round 16 2018, Allen has a year-by-year game count of 2-21-15-21-0-23-11-12 for a total of 105 games, including one final in 2020. He missed the entire 2022 season with a foot problem.
He’s kicked 151 goals, with a best of five against Collingwood in 2021 and North Melbourne in 2024, and was the Eagles’ leading goal-kicker in 2023.
He has played seven times against Brisbane for a 1-6 record, and has enjoyed a 4-5 record at the Gabba, having boosted his numbers at his new home during the 2020 Covid season.
Having worn jumper #12 at the Eagles, he finished 10th in the club best & fairest in 2021 and second in 2023 behind Tim Kelly and ahead of Duggan.
Allen is the youngest of three boys – older brother Angus played at West Perth in the WAFL, and oldest brother Gareth was an international lacrosse player, having won a bronze medal for Australia at the 2010 World Championships in Manchester.
