Headed by president Angus Johnson and CEO Malcolm Holmes, the Brisbane Lions have moved to re-engage with their Victorian heritage - particularly Fitzroy Football Club - after seeing the partnership fall away in recent seasons.
A disagreement last year - which saw the clubs in court over a proposed change to the Lions’ jumper and resulted in an out-of-court settlement - was “a real wake-up call for the club,” Johnson said. It will be seen as the turning point of relations between the clubs, he suggested.
“It reminded us that Fitzroy is a big part of our heritage and that our Melbourne members and supporters are a really significant part of our club,” Johnson said. “We’d rather be working with people productively and in the best interests of the Brisbane Lions, than being at loggerheads.”
The restructure of Brisbane’s Melbourne office was the first move. Lions board member Paul Williams was appointed to assist the management team in Melbourne, while staff have been relocated from Brisbane to Melbourne.
The club hopes to work closely with Fitzroy in organising Melbourne events, giving Melbourne members and supporters greater access to Lions players, supporting Fitzroy’s efforts as a stand-alone club participating in the Victorian Amateur Football Association and ultimately, as Holmes put it, “making sure they feel a part of our club, because they are”.
Such measures have already paid dividends. In February at the Lions’ Melbourne family day, Fitzroy was invited to set up a stall and sell its memberships for the amateur competition. More use of Brunswick Street Oval is also planned.
“We had a number of Brisbane Lions supporters come up and say how delighted they were that Fitzroy was there and that hasn’t happened for years,” Fitzroy president Joan Eddy said.
A better cooordinated past players’ association is also a priority, with former Fitzroy and Brisbane champion Chris Johnson, who played 264 games with the clubs, likely to have a strong involvement.
“A lot of players from Fitzroy and the Bears have come and gone, so trying to build that together with all of the clubs’ histories is something I’m really looking to get involved with,” Johnson said.
The Lions know that such a turnaround will take time to see dividends.
“It’s a pet project of the board. We see real upside for the club, and huge opportunity down there to increase membership and supporter base,” president Johnson said. “Fitzroy is part of our family.”
