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Jonathan Brown (Australian footballer)

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Jonathan Brown (born 29 October 1981) is a former Australian rules footballer and radio presenter. He is the former captain of the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League.

Jonathan Brown
A Caucasian man in a maroon, blue and gold Australian rules football jersey walks towards the camera on grass
Brown in September 2012
Personal information
Nickname(s) Brown, Browny, Jon, Jono, JB
Date of birth (1981-10-29) 29 October 1981 (age 43)
Place of birth Port Fairy, Victoria, Australia
Original team(s) Geelong Falcons (TAC Cup)
Draft #30 (F/S), 1999 National Draft, Brisbane Lions
Height 195 cm (6 ft 5 in)
Weight 103 kg (227 lb)
Position(s) Centre half-forward
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2000–2014 Brisbane Lions 256 (594)
Representative team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
2008 Victoria 1 (3)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2014.
2 State and international statistics correct as of 2008.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Regarded during his playing days as one of the premier players in the competition, Brown is a three-time club Best and Fairest winner, two-time All Australian (2007 and 2009), one-time Coleman Medallist and three-time AFL premiership player.[1][2]

Early life

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Brown was born in Port Fairy, in Victoria's south west, to mother Mary[3] and father Brian (a former Fitzroy and Essendon player). He is the eldest of three brothers.[3]

Brown grew up on his family's property and attended school at Emmanuel College Warrnambool.[4] He grew up a Fitzroy fan and began playing Australian rules at an early age, playing school football and cricket with the Emmanuel College Hawks.[5] Brown began playing senior football with the South Warrnambool Football Club at the age of 15. He began senior cricket at about the same time and was a stand-out left-arm fast bowler. He played A-Grade cricket with Wesley CBC where he was Cricketer of the Year two years in a row and played in a senior premiership. He was also invited to play in the Victorian under-17 squad. However, he focused on Australian rules, pursuing a dream of following Ted Whitten to represent Victoria in State of Origin.[6] Brown drew the attention of AFL recruiters while playing under-18 representative football for the Geelong Falcons in 1999 at the national carnival in Brisbane when he was named as an All-Australian.

AFL career

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Drafting and first year: 1999–2000

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Brown was selected by the Brisbane Lions in the 1999 AFL Draft under the father–son rule. His father considered Brisbane a good option when Leigh Matthews became the senior coach, despite Hawthorn showing interest in recruiting him. Upon moving to Brisbane, he was immediately groomed as the club's next centre half-forward. The next year, in Round 5, he played his first senior game for the Lions as an 18-year-old against the Adelaide Crows. His best game in his opening year came against Fremantle in the final round of the season when he had 23 disposals and scored two goals.

Four consecutive Grand Finals: 2001–2004

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Playing in a team which included three Brownlow Medalists (Michael Voss, Jason Akermanis and Simon Black), Brown participated in four consecutive AFL Grand Finals and was a part of three consecutive premierships in 2001, 2002 and 2003.

Touted as the next Wayne Carey early in his career, Brown was an unspectacular but consistent contributor during his first few seasons and, at 195 cm and 105 kg, was an imposing target across half-forward. In Round 6 of 2001, Brown kicked seven goals and amassed nine marks and 19 disposals in his first dominant performance in front of goals. For the season, he averaged six marks, 14 disposals and 1.5 goals per game. His season tally of 157 marks was a team-high, and his total of 38 goals was third-best of Brisbane players.

Brown was well renowned for his bravery, often putting himself in reckless situations that put the mission of the team before his own physical well-being. An example of this was when he took the 2002 Mark of the Year by running with the flight of the ball and launching into the oncoming Hawthorn player Jade Rawlings. In an interview with Mike Sheehan for Open Mike, Brown acknowledged he was running towards the pack blindly (i.e. with his eyes only on the ball, not the players converging on the pack) and committed fully to the attempt.[7] Such efforts earned him numerous titles for courage during his career, including three Robert Rose Awards for being voted the most courageous player of the league in 2007, 2008 and 2011. Such acts of courage caused recurring injuries, especially during the past few years of his career, including four facial injuries between 2011 and 2014.

Plagued by injury and regular meetings with the AFL Tribunal during the next three seasons, Brown's development was hampered until 2004, when he had the best season of his career to that point, averaging an impressive eight marks, 16 disposals, and 2.3 goals per game. Despite missing eight games through injury and suspension, Brown kicked a career-high 39 goals and again led the Lions in marks, with 140. His progress was punctuated in the Qualifying Final against St Kilda when he achieved a best-afield six-goal performance. The season, however, ended on a sour note for Brown, as he was reported for striking Port Adelaide's Josh Carr during the Lions 40-point Grand Final loss. The report saw Brown suspended for the first five games of the 2005 season.

Reaching peak form: 2005–2006

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In 2005, Brown was promoted to the Lions' leadership group. He made his return from suspension in Round 6 of 2005 against Essendon and immediately had a significant impact, taking 14 marks and kicking eight goals on then-Essendon defender and future Sydney Swans premiership player Ted Richards, in what was arguably the best game of his career to that point.[8] Richards was dropped from the Essendon team as a result.[9] The following week, Brown kicked another five goals, and in Round 10 against the Kangaroos Brown had 12 marks, 27 disposals and five goals, followed by a career-high 29 disposals in round 11. Injury again cut his season short, but 2005 was clearly Brown's best individual season as he averaged eight marks, 18 disposals and 2.8 goals per game during the 12 games he played prior to Round 17, before a severe bout of osteitis pubis prevented him from having any influence in his last two games.

In May 2005, Brown was targeted by Collingwood in a deal reportedly worth $6 million over the next four seasons, but he was quick to announce that he had no plans to leave Brisbane. Two months later he officially signed a contract committing himself to the Brisbane Lions until the end of the 2008 season in a deal reportedly worth $2 million over three years.

2006 was the year in which Brown first stamped his authority on the AFL competition. Midway through the season, Brown seemed certain to claim almost every individual award on offer at the end of the year, as he dominated in the air and in front of goals on a weekly basis. Brown's form hit a peak between rounds 7 and 10, when over four games he averaged 11 marks, 20 disposals and 6.5 goals per game, including performances of seven or more goals in three successive games. Injury, however, ended his season prematurely yet again, as Brown played his last game of the season in Round 10. In the 2006 Brownlow Medal count, Brown polled 13 votes, enough to secure a top 10 finish despite only playing 10 games out of a possible 22. He was leading the count easily before he suffered the injury.

Vintage form: 2007–2009

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Following the retirement of long-time captain Michael Voss in 2006, Brown was strongly favoured to replace Voss as captain. Nevertheless, when the captaincy was announced on 20 March 2007, Brown was named as co-captain alongside Simon Black, Chris Johnson, Nigel Lappin, and Luke Power.[10] Brown had previously acted as co-captain for the Lions in the 2007 NAB Cup Grand Final, alongside Black, Johnson, and Power, with Lappin out injured. Desperate for an injury-free season, 2007 delivered just that for Brown, and what resulted was the best season of his career. He averaged nine marks and 16 disposals per game, and kicked 77 goals at 3.5 per game in 2007. In round 16 against Carlton, he became the first Brisbane player to kick 10 goals in a game, and he finished the year with seven goals against Geelong to secure the Coleman Medal as the season's leading goal kicker. That year Brown took the most contested marks in the competition to go with his first Coleman. He also won his first Merrett–Murray Medal (the Lions best and fairest), the AFL Players Association Best Captain Award, the Robert Rose Award for Most Courageous Player, was runner-up in the Leigh Matthews Trophy as League MVP and was named vice-captain of the All Australian team. At season's end, Brown was regarded by many, including AFL guru Mike Sheahan, as the number-one player in the competition.[11]

 
Brown at a training session in December 2008
 
Brown captained Victoria in 2008

Brown started the 2008 season slowly compared to his 2007 form, and was rested for one game in round seven due to minor injury concerns. He then returned to his best with three consecutive six-goal performances and combined with Daniel Bradshaw to be one of the most formidable forward duos in the league in the second half of the season. In the 15 games after his week off, Brown averaged nine marks, 16 disposals and 3.7 goals per game, although his season stats were inferior to the previous year. Brown captained Victoria in the AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match against the Dream Team, and a spectacular mark taken over Matthew Richardson in that game is captured in Jamie Cooper's painting The Game That Made Australia, commissioned by the AFL in 2008 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the sport.[12] He was named the AFLPA Most courageous player at the end of the 2008 season by his peers for the second consecutive year in a row, but missed out on a second All-Australian selection. Brown's 2008 season was capped off by winning his second Merrett–Murray Medal.

At the completion of Round 22 of the 2008 season, Brown announced he had signed a four-year contract that would see him remain a Lion until he is at least 31.[13] On 27 October 2008, Lions coach Michael Voss announced Brown's appointment as sole captain of the club.

2009 was Brown's most consistent year to date, being kept goalless just once and kicking two or more goals in a club record 17 consecutive games. In round 6, Brown had 13 marks, 24 disposals and five goals against Essendon, and in Round 17, he kicked eight goals against North Melbourne, including his 400th career goal. He also had 21 disposals and 12 marks. He placed second in the Coleman Medal at season's end, eight goals behind winner Brendan Fevola, and took the most contested marks in the league. He finished the year with a career-high, and Brisbane Lions record, 85 goals and averaged 8.5 marks and 16 disposals per game. His 19 Brownlow Medal votes placed him fourth overall and he concluded the year with his third consecutive best and fairest medal, second All-Australian selection and the AFLPA Best Captain Award.

Battling injuries and retirement: 2010–2014

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Brown was hampered by injury throughout the 2010 season, causing him to miss six games for the Lions. After a promising start to 2010, Brown and other key Brisbane players were struck by injury, and the team finished the season in 13th position on the ladder. Despite missing six games and the controversial introduction of Coleman Medallist Brendan Fevola to the team, Brown was again the Lions leading goalkicker, with 53 for the season, and he came third in Brisbane's best and fairest, behind Michael Rischitelli and Simon Black.[14] Brown was named the Members' Player of the Year[14] and polled almost half of his best-and-fairest votes in the first four rounds.[15]

Brown suffered a horrific facial injury in the first game of the 2011 season against Fremantle after he was kneed in the head by opposition defender Luke McPharlin in a marking attempt.

Brown suffered a second facial injury in round 17 of the 2011 season.

Brown suffered a third facial injury in less than three years in a 2012 intraclub match when teammate Matt Maguire kneed him in the head in a marking contest. Doubts started to surface over his career after such consistent damages to his skull.

In 2013, Jed Adcock was named as the Lions' co-captain alongside Brown, and, in 2014, Adcock was named as the sole captain, meaning that the Lions were not captained or co-captained by Brown for the first time since 2007.[16]

Brown was the victim of a fourth facial injury in the Round 13, 2014 clash between the Lions and the Greater Western Sydney Giants. He collided with Tomas Bugg's knee and was removed from the ground. He suffered a concussion, causing his retirement from football.

Statistics

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Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Led the league after season and finals
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2000 Brisbane Lions 16 13 5 2 82 41 123 47 11 0.4 0.2 6.3 3.2 9.5 3.6 0.8 0
2001 Brisbane Lions 16 25 38 22 217 130 347 157 31 1.5 0.9 8.7 5.2 13.9 6.3 1.2 5
2002 Brisbane Lions 16 19 14 14 143 87 230 97 20 0.7 0.7 7.5 4.6 12.1 5.1 1.1 0
2003 Brisbane Lions 16 19 27 15 173 113 286 126 31 1.4 0.8 9.1 5.9 15.1 6.6 1.6 8
2004 Brisbane Lions 16 17 39 21 173 101 274 140 27 2.3 1.2 10.2 5.9 16.1 8.2 1.6 8
2005 Brisbane Lions 16 14 33 19 142 96 238 103 19 2.4 1.4 10.1 6.9 17.0 7.4 1.4 11
2006 Brisbane Lions 16 10 35 18 133 56 189 103 13 3.5 1.8 13.3 5.6 18.9 10.3 1.3 13
2007 Brisbane Lions 16 22 77 38 239 114 353 195 22 3.5 1.7 10.9 5.2 16.0 8.9 1.0 17
2008 Brisbane Lions 16 21 70 47 223 84 307 167 18 3.3 2.2 10.6 4.0 14.6 8.0 0.9 10
2009 Brisbane Lions 16 24 85 52 281 104 385 204 25 3.5 2.2 11.7 4.3 16.0 8.5 1.0 19
2010 Brisbane Lions 16 16 53 24 168 73 241 126 14 3.3 1.5 10.5 4.6 15.1 7.9 0.9 12
2011 Brisbane Lions 16 10 22 11 89 35 124 64 7 2.2 1.1 8.9 3.5 12.4 6.4 0.7 3
2012 Brisbane Lions 16 20 47 20 189 108 297 143 20 2.4 1.0 9.5 5.4 14.9 7.2 1.0 4
2013 Brisbane Lions 16 15 28 15 128 56 184 94 14 1.9 1.0 8.5 3.7 12.3 6.3 0.9 2
2014 Brisbane Lions 16 10 19 7 64 46 110 44 19 1.9 0.7 6.4 4.6 11.0 4.4 1.9 0
Career 255 592 325 2444 1244 3688 1810 291 2.3 1.3 9.6 4.9 14.5 7.1 1.1 112

Honours and achievements

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Brownlow Medal votes
Season Votes
2000 0
2001 5
2002 0
2003 8
2004 8
2005 11
2006 13
2007 17
2008 10
2009 19
2010 12
2011 3
2012 4
2013 2
2014 0
Total 112

Media career

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Brown (centre) with Sarah Jones (left) and David King (right) on 18 June 2017 at Docklands Stadium

In 2009, Brown appeared alongside other AFL footballers in an AFL television advertisement titled "AFL: In a League of its Own", which featured prominent AFL players playing Australian rules football at famous sporting venues around the world, and in the middle of other sports being played, including basketball, Association football and American football. In the advertisement, Brown is running with the ball on an American football field evading and fending off defenders before running into Chad Cornes. The contact between the players results in the scene changing to a boxing ring, where after evading a boxer, he attempts to kick the ball, with Cornes smothering his kick.[18]

Brown was a regular guest panellist on The AFL Footy Show throughout his playing career and was regularly heard on Ash, Kip and Luttsy on Nova 106.9.

In 2009, Brown featured in an official advertisement for the AFL, playing Australian rules with opponent Chad Cornes in a boxing ring and breaking the tackles of American football players.[19]

In February 2015, Brown joined Fox Footy's commentary team and began featuring on On the Couch.[20]

In November 2015, Brown was announced as a co-host of Nova 100's new breakfast show Chrissie, Sam & Browny, alongside Chrissie Swan and Sam Pang.

Personal life

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Brown's father, Brian Brown, played football with Fitzroy and Jonathan was recruited to the Lions under the father–son rule. He is also the nephew of former Fitzroy player Noel Mugavin[21] and former Collingwood player Billy Picken, and cousin of Western Bulldogs player Liam Picken.[22]

On 25 October 2008 Brown married Kylie Adams.[23] They have three children, two girls and a boy.[24][25] He resides in the Melbourne suburb of Camberwell.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ "Voss on Brown the best". Brisbane Times. 9 May 2008. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  2. ^ "Player Profile – Jonathan Brown". Brisbane Lions website. Archived from the original on 12 October 2009. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  3. ^ a b "Jed Adcock named sole captain at Brisbane Lions as Jonathan Brown steps aside". Herald Sun. News Ltd. 23 January 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  4. ^ "Jonathan Brown Background". Velocity Sports. Velocity Sports. 10 April 2012. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  5. ^ Flanagan, Martin (27 October 2012). "Legend of Jonathan Brown". The Age. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  6. ^ Best, Greg (12 May 2008). "Brown puts the V back in victorious". The Standard. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  7. ^ Jonathan Brown Open Mike: Mark of the Year, retrieved 8 August 2022
  8. ^ Sydney veteran Ted Richards will not underestimate Brisbane Lions champion forward Jonathon Brown at the Gabba, The Daily Telegraph, 1 May 2014
  9. ^ "On this day: April 1, 2006 - Ted Richards debut". Sydney Swans. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  10. ^ "Lions appoint five skippers". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 20 March 2007. Archived from the original on 23 March 2007. Retrieved 20 March 2007.
  11. ^ "Brown spearheads top 50 list".
  12. ^ Australian Football League, The Game That Made Australia Archived 19 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 19 September 2010
  13. ^ Jonathon Brown Signs 4 Year Contract with Brisbane Lions Archived 13 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ a b Davis, Greg (10 September 2010). "Michael Rischitelli wins best-and-fairest". Herald Sun. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
  15. ^ Australian Associated Press (10 September 2010). "Rischitelli the Lions' best in 2010". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
  16. ^ Stannard, Damien (23 January 2014). "Jed Adcock named sole captain at Brisbane Lions as Jonathan Brown steps aside". Herald Sun. News Ltd. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  17. ^ "Supercoach Scoring Records @ FanFooty". www.fanfooty.com.au. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  18. ^ "AFL Commercial 2009 - In A League Of It's [sic] Own - HD". YouTube. ALZ. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  19. ^ "AFL reveals new commercial". Football Nation. 7 May 2009. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  20. ^ "Browny on the Couch - lions.com.au". lions.com.au. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  21. ^ "Brown's Fitzroy fables". Brisbane Lions website. 6 July 2007. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  22. ^ "Picken up the pace". Real Footy website. 13 June 2009. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  23. ^ Martin, Hannah (26 October 2008). "Lion king Jonathan Brown shows his pride on wedding day". Courier Mail. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  24. ^ "Lions roaring over captain Jonathan Brown and wife Kylie's new cub, Jack William Brown". The Courier Mail. 5 November 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  25. ^ Martin, Hannah (7 June 2014). "Retired Brisbane Lions legend Jonathan Brown's new beginning as third child arrives". Gold Coast Bulletin. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
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