Having not missed a game since his debut in Round 1 last year, the rising Lions midfielder will be aged 19 years 246 days against Collingwood at the MCG when he becomes the third member of the family to his half-century.
He is the AFL’s youngest 50-gamer since the draft age was increased from 17 to 18 in 2009.
It will be a ‘win’ for the youngest member of the only family in Brisbane history to have three people wear club colours.
He will be 33 days younger than 300-game father Marcus, who was 20 years 214 days in his 50th game in 1992, and 99 days younger than brother and teammate Will, who was 21 years 81 days at the same milestone last year, having had a knee reconstruction in 2023.
Levi’s unbroken run to 50 is another family best - Marcus missed 13 games and Will missed 22.
The 50-game record of each is proof of what a different club the Lions are today in comparison to the battling Bears based at Carrara in 1992, when Marcus played his first milestone game under Robert Walls.
He had a 10-1-39 win/loss record at 20.4%, had averaged 17.6 possessions and 0.5 goals, and hadn’t looked like playing finals.
Will was 37-1-12 at 75.5%, averaged 24.1 possessions and 0.42 goals and had played four finals for four wins, including the 2024 premiership and the 2024 Norm Smith Medal.
And at 49 games Levi is 34-1-14 at 70.8%, is averaging 19.8 possessions and 0.5 goals, and has played four finals for three wins and the 2025 premiership.
Levi will be the seventh Brisbane player to hit 50 games without a miss, following Jack Redden, who went 112 games in a row from 2009-14, and Darcy Wilmot’s current streak of 105 games since the 2022 elimination final.
Jaspa Fletcher is third on this list, having played 90 games without a miss, while Dayne Zorko and Daniel Rich played 59 straight, and Lewis Taylor 50.
But the most astonishing statistic in the Levi Ashcroft story is not what he’s done... but what he almost didn’t do.
Born 18 December 2006, he only just snuck into the 2024 AFL draft. If he was born 14 days later on 1 January or later he would not have played until this year.
Instead, last year he became the first player in AFL history to play 27 games in their first season - a feat only possible because the home-and-away season was increased from 22 games to 23 games in 2023, and the Lions played the maximum four finals.
The closest comparison to Levi Ashcroft in recent years is North Melbourne’s Harry Sheezel. Born 13 October 2004, he was 20 years 187 days at 50 games, but he’d missed two games and had endured a 14% win rate.
Levi will be the 132nd of 363 Brisbane players to play 50 games - and the youngest.
He’ll slip in beneath three players from the golden era of 2001-02-03 - Nigel Lappin (20 years 15 days), Michael Voss (20/30) and Chris Scott (3/85).
Five other current players hit 50 before their 21st birthday - Harris Andrews (20/203), Wilmot (20/223), Cam Rayner (20/251), Eric Hipwood (20/332) and Logan Morris (20/344).
Levi Ashcroft’s first game at 18 years 187 days sees him 15th on the club’s all-time youngest player list. It is:-
17 years 11 days - Michael Voss
17 years 44 days - Matthew AhMat
17 years 177 days - Justin Leppitsch
17 years 243 days - Marcus Ashcroft
17 years 257 days - Daniel Bradshaw
17 years 292 days - Nigel Lappin
17 years 324 days - Nathan Chapman
17 years 328 days - Chris Scott
17 years 338 days - Ray Windsor
18 years 16 days - Richard Hadley
18 years 51 days - Cameron Wood
18 years 71 days - Damien Cupido
18 years 74 days - Chris Schmidt
17 years 86 days - Luke Power
17 years 87 days - Levi Ashcroft
TRIVIA QUESTION (1)
Who is the youngest 50-game player in AFL history? Essendon’s Tim Watson was 18 years one day when he posted his half-century in 1979, having debuted at 15 years 305 days in 1977.
TRIVIA QUESTION (2)
While the Ashcroft’s father/brother/brother ‘triple’ is a standout group in Brisbane club history, there have been four other father/son pairings - Geoff and Andrew Raines, Adrian and Jaspa Fletcher, Laurence and Josh Schache, Damien and Jordon Bourke. And four other brother/brother pairs - Michael and Brett Voss, Dayne and Claye Beams, Daniel and Darren Bradshaw and Jarrod and Tom Berry.
