| Eric Hipwood | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Hipwood in April 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Eric Hipwood | ||
| Nicknames | Eel, Hippy[1] | ||
| Born | (1997-09-13)13 September 1997 (age 28) St Kilda, Victoria | ||
| Original teams | Caloundra (QFA) Aspley (NEAFL) Brisbane Lions Academy | ||
| Draft | No. 14 (Academy selection),2015 AFL national draft | ||
| Height | 200 cm (6 ft 7 in) | ||
| Weight | 94 kg (207 lb) | ||
| Position | Key Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Brisbane Lions | ||
| Number | 30 | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2016– | Brisbane Lions | 194 (285) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 18, 2025. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources:AFL Tables,AustralianFootball.com | |||
Eric Hipwood (born 13 September 1997) is a professionalAustralian rules footballer playing for theBrisbane Lions in theAustralian Football League (AFL). Primarily a key forward, Hipwood is apremiership player andleading goalkicker for the club.
Hipwood was born in Melbourne's inner suburb ofSt Kilda.[2] His parents were passionateSt Kilda Saints fans who had married in the stands ofMoorabbin Oval prior to his birth.[3] His grandfather, Ken, was instrumental in establishing theAspley Football Club inBrisbane's northern suburbs and his father, Brad, was a former senior player for Aspley.[4] His grandparents are also life members of the Aspley Football Club.[5] At the age of three, Eric moved to his father's home state of Queensland and settled on theSunshine Coast with his family where he began playing junior football for Kawana Park at the age of eight.[citation needed]
At 13 years of age he was placed in theBrisbane Lions Academy[6] and switched allegiances to theCaloundra Panthers. Two years later, at the age of 15, he played his first QFA senior match for Caloundra in their away clash against Aspley and kicked three goals on debut.[7] In his final year of junior football he switched clubs again and played for Aspley in theNorth East Australian Football League (NEAFL). Hipwood was selected to represent Queensland at the2015 AFL Under 18 Championships and was named in the All Australian team for his performances.[8] He was then invited to attend theAFL Draft Combine in November 2015.[9]
Hipwood was drafted by theBrisbane Lions with their second selection and fourteenth overall in the2015 national draft as an academy selection after Brisbane matchedRichmond's bid on him.[10] He made his AFL debut in the forty-nine point loss againstWest Coast atthe Gabba in round 13 of the2016 season.[11] After the thirty-two point loss against theWestern Bulldogs atEtihad Stadium in round five of the 2017 season, in which he recorded twelve disposals, five marks, four tackles and three goals, he was the round nominee for theAFL Rising Star.[12]
Hipwood played all 22 matches of the 2018 season. With 37 goals, he was Brisbane's leading goalkicker for the year. In round 16, Hipwood kicked 6 goals in Brisbane's win against Carlton. Hipwood received threeBrownlow Medal votes in both this game and the round 9 win againstHawthorn.[13]
2019 saw Hipwood play 23 games including finals with 35 goals kicked for the year. He signed a contract extension, keeping him at Brisbane until at least the end of 2023.[14]
In2021, Hipwood ruptured hisACL in the round 17 match againstSt Kilda.[15] He would go on to miss Brisbane's finals series, and only returned 10 months later for a2022 match againstAdelaide. After Hipwood led the Lions in goals during the 2022 finals series, he extended his contract with the club for six additional years, making the signature Brisbane's longest contract sinceAlastair Lynch in 1994.[16]
Hipwood was suspended for one game during the round 10 clash againstRichmond for a dangerous tackle againstNick Vlastuin. Vlastuin was also fined for striking back at Hipwood.[17] The Lions forward returned from suspension and had a career-best game in round 13 against theWestern Bulldogs, kicking a personal-best six goals.[18] Hipwood was a part of the Brisbane's2024 premiership winning team, kicking a goal in a 60 point victory over theSydney Swans.[19] His goal, a miraculous left-foot goal from the pocket, was celebrated with an imitation of club legendJason Akermanis.[20] Following the premiership, Hipwood revealed that he played the finals series through an injury.[21]
Updated to the end of the 2024 season.[22]
G | Goals | K | Kicks | D | Disposals | T | Tackles |
B | Behinds | H | Handballs | M | Marks | ||
# | Played in that season's premiership team |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | Votes | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | |||||
| 2016 | Brisbane Lions | 30 | 10 | 11 | 16 | 60 | 35 | 95 | 30 | 11 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 6.0 | 3.5 | 9.5 | 3.0 | 1.1 | 0 |
| 2017 | Brisbane Lions | 30 | 20 | 30 | 16 | 124 | 48 | 172 | 59 | 25 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 6.2 | 2.4 | 8.6 | 3.0 | 1.3 | 2 |
| 2018 | Brisbane Lions | 30 | 22 | 37 | 27 | 133 | 47 | 233 | 93 | 24 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 8.3 | 2.9 | 11.2 | 3.9 | 0.9 | 6 |
| 2019 | Brisbane Lions | 30 | 23 | 35 | 29 | 182 | 51 | 233 | 107 | 42 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 7.9 | 2.2 | 10.1 | 4.7 | 1.8 | 6 |
| 2020[a] | Brisbane Lions | 30 | 19 | 24 | 19 | 147 | 40 | 187 | 79 | 17 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 7.7 | 2.1 | 9.8 | 4.2 | 0.9 | 1 |
| 2021 | Brisbane Lions | 30 | 16 | 26 | 20 | 118 | 51 | 169 | 79 | 20 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 7.4 | 3.2 | 10.6 | 4.9 | 1.3 | 1 |
| 2022 | Brisbane Lions | 30 | 17 | 25 | 17 | 125 | 49 | 174 | 79 | 18 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 7.4 | 2.9 | 10.2 | 4.6 | 1.1 | 0 |
| 2023 | Brisbane Lions | 30 | 26 | 41 | 29 | 200 | 57 | 257 | 140 | 49 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 7.7 | 2.2 | 9.9 | 5.4 | 1.9 | 1 |
| 2024# | Brisbane Lions | 30 | 24 | 33 | 21 | 193 | 66 | 259 | 134 | 31 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 8.0 | 2.8 | 10.8 | 5.6 | 1.3 | 4 |
| 2025 | Brisbane Lions | 30 | 22 | 25 | 18 | 169 | 62 | 231 | 107 | 32 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 7.7 | 2.8 | 10.5 | 4.9 | 1.5 | 0 |
| Career | 199 | 287 | 212 | 1494 | 516 | 2010 | 907 | 269 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 7.5 | 2.6 | 10.1 | 4.6 | 1.4 | 21 | ||
Notes
Team
Individual
