| Michael Voss | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Voss in April 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Michael Voss | ||
| Born | (1975-07-07)7 July 1975 (age 50) Traralgon, Victoria | ||
| Original team | Morningside (AFLQ) | ||
| Debut | Round 18 1992,Brisbane Bears vs.Fitzroy, atPrinces Park | ||
| Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Weight | 88 kg (194 lb) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1992–1996 | Brisbane Bears | 79 (72) | |
| 1997–2006 | Brisbane Lions | 210 (173) | |
| Total | 289 (245) | ||
| Representative team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| 1992–1993 | Queensland | 2 (0) | |
| 1996 | Allies | 1 (0) | |
| International team honours | |||
| 2001–2006 | Australia | 4 (0) | |
| Coaching career3 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (W–L–D) | |
| 2009–2013 | Brisbane Lions | 109 (43–65–1) | |
| 2022– | Carlton | 95 (49–45–1) | |
| Total | 204 (92–110–2) | ||
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2006. 3 Coaching statistics correct as of 2025 season. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources:AFL Tables,AustralianFootball.com | |||
Michael Voss (born 7 July 1975) is a former professionalAustralian rules football player with the Brisbane Bears and Brisbane Lions, and current senior coach of theCarlton Football Club in theAustralian Football League (AFL).
Voss was a triple premiership captain with theBrisbane Football Club.[1] He was also the first Brisbane player to win theBrownlow Medal (1996), which is considered the game's most prestigious individual award; won theLeigh Matthews Trophy twice (2002 and 2003), which is awarded annually to the league's most valued player; and has been inducted into theAustralian Football Hall of Fame.[2] Additionally, he represented Australia in the2006 International Rules Series. As a player, he was noted for his fearless play, inspirational leadership, and the ability to turn a game. As coach in 2022, Voss led Carlton to its first finals berth since 2013, coming back from 15th on the premiership ladder to ultimately finish the season in 5th place, losing to Brisbane in a Preliminary Final.
Voss was born inTraralgon,Victoria and lived as a child inOrbost until the age of 11, when he moved with his family toBeenleigh,[3] a northern suburb of theGold Coast at the time.[4] Voss attendedTrinity College during his high-school years in Queensland.[5][6] His younger brotherBrett also played for the Brisbane Lions before transferring toSt Kilda Football Club to enhance his opportunities to play senior football.
Voss's football skills were excellent from an early age. He made his senior debut forMorningside in theQAFL at the age of 15 years.[7] A year later, he kicked 14 goals forQueensland in a second-division under-17 representative match, going on to win the inauguralHunter Harrison Medal for the tournament.
Voss grew up supporting theCarlton Football Club.
At 17 years and 11 days of age in 1992,[8] he debuted for theBrisbane Bears againstFitzroy atPrinces Park inMelbourne inRound 18, 1992, the youngest-ever player to play a senior game for the club.[9][10][11]
Although highly skilled, he was also slight, but he worked to get the most out of his body. By 1996, he was one of the most accomplished players in the competition, and at the end of the season he shared theBrownlow Medal, the game's highest individual honour, withJames Hird.[12][13][14]
At the end of 1996, following the merger of theFitzroy Football Club and theBrisbane Bears, Voss and teammateAlastair Lynch were named as inaugural co-captains of the newly formedBrisbane Lions. In 2019, Kobe Howard described Voss as "one of the game's greatest players" in Australian football history.[15][16][17]
In 1998, Voss suffered a catastrophic injury while contesting a mark at Subiaco Oval in Perth in a match againstFremantle. He collided with Fremantle'sShane Parker and broke his lower leg in half. The subsequent operation was at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, and it was a year before he was fit and in training to play again. This injury, along with the destabilisation caused by the merger of Fitzroy and the Bears, was a key factor in the Brisbane Lions finishing 16th (last) with a record of 5 wins, 16 losses, and 1 draw.[18][19][20]
Voss captained the Brisbane Lions in four consecutive AFL Grand Finals, yielding threepremierships (2001–2003). His performance in the2002 Grand Final againstCollingwood was an outstanding example of courage, skill and leadership, only narrowly conceding theNorm Smith Medal to opposing captain and former Bears teammateNathan Buckley.[21][22][23][24]
In early 2004, Voss kicked a career-best seven goals against a struggling Adelaide atAAMI Stadium as coachLeigh Matthews looked to play him in the forward line during the latter part of his career. However, a heavy injury toll to the Lions meant that Voss continued his career in the midfield.[25]
In 2005, Voss suffered a badly cut calf before Round 2 while renovating his home.[26] He recovered to play his 250th game the following week,[27] but the Lions suffered an embarrassing six-point loss to eventual premiersSydney after they had led by 32 points at the final change.[28] Prior to this, Voss had suffered fromtendinitis of the knee but had been able to curtail the problem. The calf injury affected his performances, with the four games after the injury yielding a high possession count of only 16. Voss later improved, and in Round 21 picked up 35 possessions againstPort Adelaide.
Soon after the completion of the2006 season, Voss announced his retirement from his playing career after 289 games and 15 years at the Brisbane Bears and Lions with three premierships and a Brownlow Medal to his name. He was subsequently employed as a sports journalist byChannel 10 in Brisbane. Voss said farewell in what turned out to be his last game, at the Gabba in Round 22 against St Kilda, gathering 34 possessions and two Brownlow Medal votes as a struggling Brisbane Lions team went down by 50 points to finals-bound St Kilda, who won on Brisbane's turf for the first time in a decade. Despite losing badly, the Lions received a long-standing ovation from a sold-out home crowd after the game for their prior premiership efforts as well as general farewell to several other players.[29][30][31][32]
When announcing his retirement at the end of Brisbane's2006 season, there was speculation that Voss would soon become a senior coach or join Leigh Matthews in the Brisbane Lions coaching team. Voss instead joined the Channel 10 sports commentary team.
Voss coached Australia'sAIS Under-17 squad to victory against theSouth African national Australian rules football team atNorth West Cricket Stadium inPotchefstroom,South Africa.[33]
Voss was often mentioned as a candidate to coach theMelbourne Demons after the resignation ofNeale Daniher. He was also linked to various other coaching positions, most notably Carlton.[34]
In May 2008, Voss accepted a consultancy role with the newly establishedGC17 bid team[35] and was seen by many to be the likely inaugural coach of the Gold Coast side, but he instead signed a two-year deal with theWest Coast Eagles as an assistant coach, which formally removed him from the running for the vacant Gold Coast senior coaching position.[36]
WhenLeigh Matthews, senior coach of the Brisbane Lions, resigned at the end of their2008 season, Eagles' chief executive Trevor Nisbett gave Voss permission to talk with his former club. The Lions later announced Voss as their new senior coach until the end of2011.[37][38]
Voss made his coaching debut in Brisbane's defeat of the West Coast Eagles in Round 1, 2009.
In Voss's first season as senior coach of the Brisbane Lions in the2009 season, he guided the Brisbane Lions into their first finals campaign since 2004, including a comeback elimination final victory overCarlton after trailing by 30 points early in the fourth quarter. However, the Lions under Voss were eliminated in the semi-finals by theWestern Bulldogs.
His next two years were not as successful on-field. After the club won its first four matches to be sitting on top of the ladder early in the2010 season, the Lions under Voss would only win three more games, finishing 13th (out of 16) on the ladder.[39] The Lions'2011 Season was even worse, with the Lions under Voss finishing 15th (out of 17 teams), its worst placing since1998 when it won the wooden spoon.[40] This continued in the2012 season, when the Lions under Voss finished 13th on the ladder.[41] The Lions with Voss kept struggling in the2013 season, where the Lions sat 12th on the ladder with eight wins and eleven losses after Round 19, 2013.
On 13 August 2013, Voss was told that he would not be receiving a contract extension with the Lions for 2014. Voss then opted not to coach out his contract, which expired at the end of the 2013 season.[42][43][44][45][46] Voss was then replaced by assistant coachMark Harvey as caretaker senior coach of the Brisbane Lions for the remainder of the 2013 season.[47][48][49]Justin Leppitsch was eventually appointed as the new senior coach of the Lions from2014 onwards.[50]
Voss left the club having coached 109 games for the Lions, achieving 43 wins, 65 losses, and 1 draw, for a winning percentage of 39.91%.[51][52][53]
In October 2014, Voss joined thePort Adelaide Football Club as an assistant coach under senior coachKen Hinkley in the position of midfield manager, replacingPhil Walsh, who had joined theAdelaide Football Club.[54][55] One measure of his success at Port is the number of their midfielders selected for theAll-Australian teamRobbie Gray (2014,2017,2018)Chad Wingard (2015),Travis Boak (2020),Charlie Dixon (2020), and2021 Brownlow medallistOllie Wines (2021). Voss left the Port Adelaide Football club at the end of the2021 season.[56]
In September 2021, following seven years as an assistant with the Power, Voss officially returned to the AFL's senior coaching ranks after being appointed senior coach of theCarlton Football Club.[57][58][59] Voss replacedDavid Teague as Carlton's senior coach, after Teague was sacked at the end of the 2021 season.[60][61][62][63] Carlton Football Club PresidentLuke Sayers on the appointment of Voss as senior coach said in a statement: "After a thorough and considered selection process, Voss's credentials and vast experience in football made him the right person for the job."[64]
In the2022 season, Voss took a leave of absence for one game in Round 2, 2022, against theWestern Bulldogs after he tested positive forCOVID-19.[65][66][67] Assistant coachAshley Hansen filled in as caretaker interim senior coach in the absence of Voss, and Carlton won the game by 12 points.[68] Voss resumed his role as senior coach in Round 3, 2022, againstHawthorn, where Carlton won by a point.[69] Carlton under Voss in his first year as senior coach, finished ninth with twelve wins and ten losses, just missing out of the finals, at the end of the 2022 season.[70]
Carlton under Voss in his second year as senior coach, finished fifth on the ladder with thirteen wins, nine losses and one draw, therefore making the finals at the end of the2023 season, the Blues' first finals appearance in a decade, this included two finals win, which meant the team made a Preliminary Final for the first time in 23 years.[71] Carlton under Voss were however eliminated byBrisbane Lions in the preliminary final.[72]
G | Goals | K | Kicks | D | Disposals | T | Tackles |
B | Behinds | H | Handballs | M | Marks | ||
# | Played in that season's premiership team | ± | Won that season's Brownlow Medal |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | Votes | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | |||||
| 1992 | Brisbane Bears | 56 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 61 | 58 | 119 | 22 | 11 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 10.2 | 9.7 | 19.8 | 3.7 | 1.8 | 0 |
| 1993 | Brisbane Bears | 3 | 16 | 7 | 1 | 141 | 116 | 257 | 65 | 22 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 8.8 | 7.3 | 16.1 | 4.1 | 1.4 | 1 |
| 1994 | Brisbane Bears | 3 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 105 | 63 | 168 | 34 | 13 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 8.8 | 5.3 | 14.0 | 2.8 | 1.1 | 0 |
| 1995 | Brisbane Bears | 3 | 21 | 30 | 15 | 285 | 207 | 492 | 88 | 30 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 13.6 | 9.9 | 23.4 | 4.2 | 1.4 | 13 |
| 1996 | Brisbane Bears | 3 | 24 | 23 | 12 | 336 | 236 | 572 | 87 | 55 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 14.0 | 9.8 | 23.8 | 3.6 | 2.3 | 21 |
| 1997 | Brisbane Lions | 3 | 17 | 9 | 12 | 185 | 152 | 337 | 40 | 21 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 10.9 | 8.9 | 19.8 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 4 |
| 1998 | Brisbane Lions | 3 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 117 | 122 | 239 | 31 | 22 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 10.6 | 11.1 | 21.7 | 2.8 | 2.0 | 7 |
| 1999 | Brisbane Lions | 3 | 21 | 23 | 13 | 248 | 145 | 393 | 63 | 34 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 11.8 | 6.9 | 18.7 | 3.0 | 1.6 | 10 |
| 2000 | Brisbane Lions | 3 | 23 | 14 | 16 | 318 | 232 | 550 | 103 | 64 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 13.8 | 10.1 | 23.9 | 4.5 | 2.8 | 16 |
| 2001# | Brisbane Lions | 3 | 25 | 21 | 19 | 363 | 240 | 603 | 98 | 67 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 14.5 | 9.6 | 24.1 | 3.9 | 2.7 | 19 |
| 2002# | Brisbane Lions | 3 | 22 | 36 | 21 | 283 | 184 | 467 | 88 | 47 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 12.9 | 8.4 | 21.2 | 4.0 | 2.1 | 17 |
| 2003# | Brisbane Lions | 3 | 25 | 20 | 17 | 283 | 252 | 535 | 105 | 66 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 11.3 | 10.1 | 21.4 | 4.2 | 2.6 | 19 |
| 2004 | Brisbane Lions | 3 | 24 | 31 | 17 | 276 | 231 | 507 | 97 | 58 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 11.5 | 9.6 | 21.1 | 4.0 | 2.4 | 10 |
| 2005 | Brisbane Lions | 3 | 21 | 12 | 4 | 241 | 201 | 442 | 92 | 49 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 11.5 | 9.6 | 21.0 | 4.4 | 2.3 | 6 |
| 2006 | Brisbane Lions | 3 | 21 | 3 | 5 | 232 | 230 | 462 | 104 | 54 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 22.0 | 5.0 | 2.6 | 7 |
| Career | 289 | 245 | 161 | 3474 | 2669 | 6143 | 1117 | 613 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 12.0 | 9.2 | 21.3 | 3.9 | 2.1 | 150 | ||
| Team | Year | Home and Away Season | Finals | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Drew | Win % | Position | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| BRI | 2009 | 13 | 8 | 1 | .614 | 6th out of 16 | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost toWestern Bulldogs inSemi Final |
| BRI | 2010 | 7 | 15 | 0 | .318 | 13th out of 16 | — | — | — | — |
| BRI | 2011 | 4 | 18 | 0 | .182 | 15th out of 17 | — | — | — | — |
| BRI | 2012 | 10 | 12 | 0 | .455 | 13th out of 18 | — | — | — | — |
| BRI | 2013 | 8 | 11 | 0 | .421 | 12th out of 18 | — | — | — | fired after round 20 |
| BRI Total | 42 | 64 | 1 | .397 | 1 | 1 | .500 | |||
| CARL | 2022 | 12 | 10 | 0 | .545 | 9th out of 18 | — | — | — | — |
| CARL | 2023 | 13 | 9 | 1 | .587 | 5th out of 18 | 2 | 1 | .667 | Lost toBrisbane inPreliminary Final |
| CARL | 2024 | 13 | 10 | 0 | .565 | 8th out of 18 | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost toBrisbane inElimination Final |
| CARL | 2025 | 9 | 14 | 0 | .391 | 11th out of 18 | — | — | — | — |
| CARL Total | 47 | 43 | 1 | .522 | 2 | 2 | .500 | |||
| Total | 89 | 107 | 2 | .455 | 3 | 3 | .500 | |||
| Brownlow Medal votes | |
| Season | Votes |
|---|---|
| 1992 | — |
| 1993 | 1 |
| 1994 | — |
| 1995 | 13 |
| 1996 | 21 |
| 1997 | 4 |
| 1998 | 7 |
| 1999 | 10 |
| 2000 | 16 |
| 2001 | 19 |
| 2002 | 17 |
| 2003 | 19 |
| 2004 | 10 |
| 2005 | 6 |
| 2006 | 7 |
| Total | 150 |
| Key: | |
| Green /Bold =Won | |
Voss joined theNetwork Ten AFL commentary team in 2007 in aspecial comments role.[75] He was also appointed as sports presenter on10 News First Queensland and remained in the role for a year.[citation needed]
In 2011, Voss was inducted into theAustralian Football Hall of Fame.[2]
During the 2024 pre-finals bye, Voss witnessed a stolen car crash and flip outside Barton Café in Hawthorn, Victoria. After a short foot chase, assisted by Barton Milk Bar owner James Laskie, Voss tackled the 16-year-old suspect that was in possession of a kitchen knife and held the suspect through acitizen's arrest until police arrived at the scene. An 18-year-old suspect evaded capture but was later arrested in connection to the theft. Michael Voss left the scene uninjured and collected his coffees from the café. Carlton playerSam Walsh was eating breakfast in the same café during the incident.[76]
In 2007, Voss was charged for his role in a melee withSimon Black,Fraser Gehrig and three other high-profile AFL players at a Melbourne nightclub.[77] At the resulting trial, Voss agreed to enter a diversion program, and therefore no conviction was recorded.[78]
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