Vodafone Brisbane Lions co-captain Jonathan Brown couldn’t be happier with the club’s choice of colours for the AFL’s annual Heritage Round.

The Lions will salute their rich Victorian history against the West Coast Eagles at Subiaco Oval on Saturday evening by wearing a replica of the last Fitzroy Guernsey worn by the original Lions from the late 1970s until 1996.

It will be the first opportunity for Brown – a passionate Fitzroy supporter in his junior years – to wear the same Guernsey that he idolised as a kid in an official AFL match.

“It’s just great to wear it,” Brown said. “As a young fella growing up, I was a mad Fitzroy supporter. I used to go to the games and get into the rooms afterwards to see all the old players.”

“Towards the end, there were some tough years at Fitzroy but after we’d have a win I’d wear the jumper to school the next day.”  

The Lions take on the reigning premiers at Subiaco this weekend in what is arguably the toughest task in football. Although the team hasn’t beaten the Eagles at the Perth stadium since 2001, Brown is not ruling out the chance of an upset victory.  

“It’s always good to go over there and have a crack at one of the top sides,” he said. “They’re going to be tough that’s for sure, but it can be done.”

Brown remembered some memorable victories by Fitzroy against the Eagles when the odds were heavily stacked up against them in the early 1990s.

“I think that even though the boys were struggling, they won a couple of good games over in Perth late in the Fitzroy days,” he recalls. “Hopefully that’s a good omen.”

Ironically, Subiaco Oval is also where the Fitzroy Lions played their final AFL match against Fremantle back in Round 22, 1996

The Fitzroy Guernsey will have further significance for the star Lions forward as it is the same jumper design that was worn by his father and uncle at Fitzroy in the late 1970s.

“I’ve obviously got a bit of a history (with Fitzroy) considering my dad and uncle played there.”

His father Brian Brown played 51 games for Fitzroy between 1976 and 1981 while his uncle Noel Mugavin played 41 matches for the ‘Roys from 1978 to 1981.

Jonathan Brown will reunite with his family and a host of other current and former players at the Melbourne Convention Centre for one of the largest scale reunions in VFL/AFL history. The upcoming Kings of the Pride reunion function held in Melbourne on Saturday 11 August will acknowledge every player that has played a senior match with Fitzroy, the Bears or the Brisbane Lions.

Please contact the Victorian office on 03 8850 5600 for further details surrounding the Kings of the Pride reunion event.