| Simon Black | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Simon Black in 2008 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Simon Black | ||
| Born | (1979-04-03)3 April 1979 (age 46) Mount Isa,Queensland | ||
| Original team | East Fremantle (WAFL) | ||
| Draft | No. 31,1997 National Draft | ||
| Height | 186 cm (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Weight | 81 kg (179 lb) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1998–2013 | Brisbane Lions | 322 (171) | |
| International team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| 2001 | Australia | 2 (0) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2013. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources:AFL Tables,AustralianFootball.com | |||
Simon Black (born 3 April 1979) is a formerAustralian rules football player and current assistant coach, who played his whole career with theBrisbane Lions in theAustralian Football League (AFL).
Black was a midfielder with a reputation for hard work and skill. He had the ability to get under the pack to retrieve the ball as well as deliver it with precision to teammates.
He was drafted by the Brisbane Lions in 1997 from the East Fremantle Football Club, and he debuted in the first game of the1998 season and quickly became one of Brisbane's best players. He became Brisbane’s thirdBrownlow Medallist by winning the much-coveted award in2002 by a four-vote margin. He also won the 2003Norm Smith Medal and the 2001, 2002, and 2006Merrett–Murray Medals awarded to thebest and fairest player with theBrisbane Lions and three premiership medallions he received as a part of the Lions' hat-trick of premierships in2001,2002 and2003. Black, along withMichael Voss (1996 Brownlow Medallist),Jason Akermanis (2001 Brownlow Medallist) andNigel Lappin were collectively known as 'The Fab Four' and are widely considered to be one of the best midfield combinations in the history of the game.[1]
Black is currently serving as the Contest Skills and Midfield Coach at theBrisbane Lions.[2]
Born inMount Isa,Queensland, to Western Australian mother Fran and father Ray a dairy farmer ofKaitaia in New Zealand.[3] He relocated toWestern Australia with his family at a very young age, where he attended school atCorpus Christi College in Bateman andAquinas College, Perth.[4] Nurtured by his father, Black initially playedrugby union with dreams of being anAll Black thanks to his New Zealand heritage but later took up Australian rules.[5] He was a standout junior 800m and 1500m runner as a junior. At age 15 he suffered a back injury that required him to not play football for 18 months.[6] He joinedEast Fremantle Football Club and represented Western Australia in the 1997 edition of theAFL Under-18 Championships, where he earned All-Australian honours. He was a member of East Fremantle's losing 1997 WAFL Grand Final team.[7] Black was drafted by the Brisbane Lions with the 31st selection in the1997 National Draft.[8]
Black was impressive during the 1998 pre-season and earned his senior debut in Round 1 against the Western Bulldogs atthe Gabba. He played nine senior matches and averaged over 12 disposals during his debut season and took out the Club’s Best First Year Player award. In 1999, he consolidated himself as an automatic senior selection and built a reputation for winning the ball in contested situations. He collected 20 possessions and kicked two goals against Geelong in Round 9 which earned him an AFL Rising Star Nomination; he ultimately finished third in the award behind Sydney’s Adam Goodes and Adelaide’s Brett Burton. He played 22 matches for the season and averaged close to 19 disposals and won the Lions' Rookie of the Year award for the second consecutive season. In 2000, he averaged 23.9 disposals per game, led the competition in centre clearances on a per game basis and finished second behind Geelong’s Garry Hocking in hard-ball gets.[citation needed]
Black became one of the league's elite midfielders from 2001. Over the following four years, Black and the Lions contested four Grand Finals, winning the premiership in2001,2002 and2003, and finishing runner-up in2004. During that time, Black was part of a Brisbane midfield combination which is considered to be one of the best in the league's history: Black,Michael Voss,Jason Akermanis andNigel Lappin, who became known collectively as the "Fab Four".[1]
In 2001, Black played every match for the season, led the AFL in tackles and averaged a team-high 24.6 possessions. He was joint Club Champion with Captain Michael Voss, was named as the starting ruck-rover in the All-Australian team, finished 5th in the AFLPA's Most Valuable Player award, and won theHerald Sun Player of the Year award. He represented Australia for the first and only time of his career in the2001 International Rules Series against Ireland.
In 2002, Black won theBrownlow Medal, polling 25 votes to beat second-placedJosh Francou by four votes, and comparisons were made between him and dual Brownlow MedallistGreg Williams because of his outstanding peripheral vision and ability to get the contested ball.[9] He earned All-Australian selection and won the Merrett–Murray Medal for the second consecutive season. He was strong again in 2003, and won theNorm Smith Medal as best on ground in the Grand Final with a career-best 39 possessions, the most ever recorded by any player in a Grand Final – it remained the sole highest until it was eventually equalled byChristian Petracca's performance in2021.[10]
In 2004, Black became a vice-captain of the Lions, and he won All-Australian selection for the third time in his career. At the end of the season, Black had played a sequence of 107 consecutive matches for Brisbane, before a suspension in the violent2004 AFL Grand Final ended the sequence.
Black's 2005 season was interrupted by injury, but in 2006 he played every match, and won the third Merrett–Murray Medal of his career.[11] At the beginning of 2007, Black was named as one of the four Lions co-captains, replacing the retiring captain Michael Voss.[12] In 2007 and 2008, Black continued to be Brisbane's premier midfielder, and he finished second in the Brownlow Medal in both seasons. He earned Brisbane Lions Life Membership at the end of his tenth season of service. He was also the Courier Mail Player of the Year in 2008, and was runner-up in the 2008 Merrett–Murray medal.
In 2009, new coach Michael Voss namedJonathan Brown as the sole captain of the club, and Black remained in the leadership group.[13] He had another consistent season in 2010, finishing second in the Merrett–Murray Medal.[14] In 2012, Black played his 300th AFL game, becoming the first player in league history to win a Brownlow Medal, a Norm Smith Medal, a Premiership Medal and play 300 games.[15][16]
In 2013, Black equalledMarcus Ashcroft's record for the most games played for the Brisbane Bears/Lions playing his 318th game. His final game was the round 21 match againstGreater Western Sydney atthe Gabba after which he was suspended for one match for striking Giants captainCallan Ward in the final quarter.[17]
On 18 October 2013, Black announced his retirement from the AFL.[18]
Shortly after announcing his retirement from the AFL, Black signed on as an assistant coach at the Lions for two years. His main focus is coaching the team's forward line and attacking systems.[19]
In 2016, Black founded the Simon Black Australian Rules Academy, a full time sport and educational program which provides pathways for students to pursue University and Fitness qualifications while training and playing AFL in an elite academy environment.[20] He subsequently resigned from his role as a coach at the Brisbane Lions to focus on growing the Academy program.[21]
In August 2019, Black joined10 News First Queensland as an AFL analyst.[22]
In 2019, Black competed in thefourth season ofAustralian Survivor. He was eliminated on Day 42 and finished in 7th place.[23]
G | Goals | K | Kicks | D | Disposals | T | Tackles |
B | Behinds | H | Handballs | M | Marks | ||
# | Played in that season's premiership team | † | Led the league for the season | ± | 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 | |||||
| 1998 | Brisbane Lions | 20 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 73 | 37 | 110 | 28 | 11 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 8.1 | 4.1 | 12.2 | 3.1 | 1.2 | 0 |
| 1999 | Brisbane Lions | 20 | 22 | 19 | 14 | 260 | 156 | 416 | 70 | 60 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 11.8 | 7.1 | 18.9 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 9 |
| 2000 | Brisbane Lions | 20 | 19 | 16 | 12 | 273 | 181 | 454 | 61 | 62 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 14.4 | 9.5 | 23.9 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 4 |
| 2001# | Brisbane Lions | 20 | 25 | 23 | 17 | 308 | 314† | 622† | 79 | 119† | 0.9 | 0.7 | 12.3 | 12.6 | 24.9 | 3.2 | 4.8 | 12 |
| 2002# | Brisbane Lions | 20 | 25 | 17 | 18 | 288 | 294† | 582† | 84 | 115† | 0.7 | 0.7 | 11.5 | 11.8 | 23.3 | 3.4 | 4.6 | 25 |
| 2003# | Brisbane Lions | 20 | 26 | 16 | 14 | 326 | 308 | 634 | 73 | 113 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 12.5 | 11.8 | 24.4 | 2.8 | 4.3 | 12 |
| 2004 | Brisbane Lions | 20 | 25 | 13 | 11 | 284 | 307 | 591 | 57 | 97 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 11.4 | 12.3 | 23.6 | 2.3 | 3.9 | 18 |
| 2005 | Brisbane Lions | 20 | 18 | 10 | 8 | 213 | 183 | 396 | 50 | 48 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 11.8 | 10.2 | 22.0 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 6 |
| 2006 | Brisbane Lions | 20 | 22 | 8 | 4 | 257 | 273 | 530 | 63 | 108 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 11.7 | 12.4 | 24.1 | 2.9 | 4.9 | 11 |
| 2007 | Brisbane Lions | 20 | 21 | 9 | 11 | 244 | 222 | 466 | 45 | 91 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 11.6 | 10.6 | 22.2 | 2.1 | 4.3 | 22 |
| 2008 | Brisbane Lions | 20 | 21 | 10 | 9 | 253 | 286 | 539 | 61 | 87 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 12.0 | 13.6 | 25.7 | 2.9 | 4.1 | 23 |
| 2009 | Brisbane Lions | 20 | 23 | 10 | 7 | 256 | 328 | 584 | 65 | 112 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 11.1 | 14.3 | 25.4 | 2.8 | 4.9 | 19 |
| 2010 | Brisbane Lions | 20 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 222 | 238 | 460 | 74 | 69 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 12.3 | 13.2 | 25.6 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3 |
| 2011 | Brisbane Lions | 20 | 22 | 4 | 9 | 285 | 305 | 590 | 62 | 95 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 26.8 | 2.8 | 4.3 | 9 |
| 2012 | Brisbane Lions | 20 | 18 | 5 | 6 | 180 | 247 | 427 | 48 | 67 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 10.0 | 13.7 | 23.7 | 2.7 | 3.7 | 6 |
| 2013 | Brisbane Lions | 20 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 77 | 102 | 179 | 17 | 29 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 9.6 | 12.8 | 22.4 | 2.1 | 3.6 | 5 |
| Career | 322 | 171 | 154 | 3799 | 3781 | 7580 | 937 | 1283 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 11.8 | 11.7 | 23.5 | 2.9 | 4.0 | 184 | ||
In June 2019, it was announced that Black had been voted into theAustralian Football Hall of Fame for the class of 2018, but due to his commitments to filmingAustralian Survivor he was unable to attend the induction ceremony. He was officially inducted in 2020.[25]
