The Brisbane Lions proudly inducted nine new members into their Hall of Fame in front of 600 delighted guests at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre earlier this evening.

Triple premiership star Jonathan Brown was was amongst the nine players, coaches, administrators and other notable Club contributors to be welcomed into a most exclusive group which now boasts 44 Hall of Famers from throughout the Club’s combined 133-year history.

The night commenced with Fitzroy rover Warwick Irwin receiving his medallion from Garry Willson. Irwin played 213 games for Fitzroy across the 1970s and 1980s. He was named Fitzroy Club Champion in 1975 and played in the team’s night premiership side in 1978. He was named on the wing in Fitzroy’s Team of the Century in 2001.

Administrator Percy Mitchell, who gave more than 50 years of service to Fitzroy from the 1930s, was the second person to be inducted. His daughter Pat McInerney accepted the medallion on his behalf.

Club Patron John Pearce was the third inductee, with triple premiership coach Leigh Matthews presenting his medallion. For more than 30 years, Pearce has been a huge supporter of the Lions and provided business advice. He was formerly the Lions number one ticket holder.

The late Frank Curcio was the fourth person to be inducted, with his son Michael Curcio receiving the medallion from Lions great Chris Johnson. Curcio was a ruckman and defender for Fitzroy between 1930-40 and captained the side between 1938-41. He was the first player of Italian background to make his mark in the VFL competition and was also a talented bass violinist.

Former player and coach Robert Walls became the fifth inductee. He was presented his medallion by current Senior Coach Chris Fagan.  Walls coached a career total of 224 games at the Club: 115 games for Fitzroy and 109 games for the Bears. Walls steered the Bears to their first final in 1995, with many of his players at the Bears going on to become triple-premiership stars for the Lions.

The late Alan “Butch” Gale, who was named as ruckman in the Fitzroy Team of the Century in 2001 was the sixth person to be inducted into the Brisbane Lions Hall of Fame. Family friend Luke Hodge presented his son Chris Gale with his medallion. Gale debuted as a 17-year-old for Fitzroy and went on to play 213 games across 14 seasons from 1948-1961.

Richard Osborne, one of Fitzroy’s most prolific goal kickers in the 1980s and 1990s, was the seventh person inducted on the night. He was presented his medallion by Ross Thornton. Osborne captained Fitzroy in 1991 and was five times the Club’s leading goal-kicker.

Andrew Ireland, one of AFL’s most influential administrators, was the eighth person to be inducted into the Brisbane Lions Hall of Fame. Ireland spent 22 years with the Bears and Lions and was presented his medallion by Graeme Downie. During his tenure he was behind critical decisions including the merger of the Bears and Fitzroy; the appointment of Robert Walls and Leigh Matthews as coach and relocating the Club from Carrara to The Gabba.

Triple premiership star Jonathan Brown was the ninth and final person to be inducted into the Brisbane Lions Hall of Fame. A one Club man, the half forward played 256 games for the Lions between 2000-2014 and kicked 594 goals. He is the son of former Fitzroy player Brian Brown and was named Lions’ Club Champion three times; dual All Australia; Coleman medallist as the AFL’s leading goal-kicker and served four years as the Lions Captain. He played in four consecutive AFL Premiership Grand Finals between 2001-2004 and returned to Brisbane with the silverware three times.

The Lions also paid tribute to Club legend Kevin Murray by celebrating 50 years since his historic Brownlow win. Murray was honoured with the team wearing a special Hall of Fame guernsey against Carlton earlier that day.