Page 28 - AFL QUEENSLAND 2012 YEAR IN REVIEW

be part of a Premiership, take home the Brownlow Medal, and win the Norm Smith Medal.
Fellow superstar Jonathan Brown created his own history by becoming the first Brisbane Lions player to kick 500 goals during the Round 4 match against the Suns.
The milestone proved a relief for the Lions Captain, who looked set to reach the mark 12 months earlier, but a series of unfortunate facial fractures ended up delaying the monumental achievement.
Regular full-back Daniel Merrett, who ended up spending the majority of his time up forward, recorded one of the single best individual performances of the year when he booted a season- high, and personal-best, seven goals against GWS in Round 8.
The feat was made even more impressive considering five of his goals came in the first quarter.
Daniel Rich’s four-goals from the midfield in Round 23 against the Westn Bulldogs, and Tom Rockliff’s equal Club record 40 disposals in Round 13 – also against the Dogs – are other worthy nominations for season’s best.
It wasn’t just the seasoned veterans who made an impact throughout 2012, with a number of young Lions emerging as potential future stars.
Former rookies Claye Beams and Mitch Golby each earned AFL Rising Star Nominations for their efforts in Rounds 1 and 8 respectively, while Stephen Wrigley, Jack Crisp, Billy Longer, Elliot Yeo and Dayne Zorko all got their first taste of senior AFL action.
But it was mature-age Queenslander Zorko who made arguably the greatest impact of any first-year player at the Lions, finishing equal 7th in the Club Champion award despite being sidelined for the first two months of the season.
‘Zorks’ – or ‘The Magician’ as commentators soon labelled him – quickly became a fan favourite, and proved so effective on the field that he was afforded the ultimate compliment by being tagged towards the end of the season.
The honour of the Lions’ best for 2012, however, went to quiet achiever Joel Patfull, whose regularly unsung efforts were recognised by the coaching staff when he was awarded the Merrett-Murray Medal as the Club’s best and fairest player.
Patfull capped off a supremely consistent season in defence by polling 34 votes in the Club Champion award, to finish marginally ahead of Rich (32) and Pearce Hanley (28.5).
While the senior team’s campaign ended early, the Lions Reserves completed an extraordinary turnaround by winning the 2012 NEAFL Premiership, just 12 months after being handed the wooden spoon.
Under the guidance of Nathan Clarke, the Reserves claimed the State title in style with a 10-goal win over 2011 Premiers NT Thunder, with Beams being awarded the Joe Grant Medal as the best afield in the Grand Final.
Just for good measure, the Reserves then went on to comfortably account for NEAFL Eastern Conference Premiers Queanbeyan in the cross-conference Championship one week later.
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2012 Year in Review