Will Ashcroft on brother Levi joining Brisbane Lions to spearhead flag defence

One Ashcroft proved unstoppable on grand final day – and in less than two months Brisbane will have two of them. Will Ashcroft has warned rival clubs that the best is yet to come from the Ashcroft name.

Norm Smith medallist Will Ashcroft has warned the AFL world to expect similar things from younger brother Levi when the two join forces at the Brisbane Lions next season.

Chris Fagan and the Lions are the feel-good story of the competition after winning the premiership from fifth position, a year after their heartbreaking four-point grand final defeat to Collingwood.

But the goodwill of rival clubs and their fans will soon shift to frustration and anger as the Lions line up a stunning draft haul that could set them on the path to becoming the next great AFL dynasty.

Would-be No. 1 draft pick Levi Ashcroft and first-round talent Sam Marshall should both find their way to Brisbane in November’s national draft, courtesy of the father-son and northern academy access concessions that the AFL will not alter until next year.

Will Ashcroft of the Lions with his parents Rebecca and Marcus and brother Levi. Picture: Michael Klein

But by then it could be too late for the competition to put the stoppers on the Brisbane blitzkrieg.

Joe Daniher’s looming retirement decision aside, the reigning premiers will mount their premiership defence next season as an even stronger force than they were this year.

The average list age is still firmly within the premiership window and the bulk of the club’s talent is yet to or only just now entering its prime years.

Marshall was named best on ground for the Sandringham Dragons in their Coates Talent League grand final triumph this month and right behind him was Levi Ashcroft, who earlier this year pledged his allegiance to the Lions as a father-son at the upcoming draft.

In eerily similar circumstances to 2022, when his brother elected to join the Lions instead of entering the open draft, Levi Ashcroft will come at a heavily discounted price to the reigning premiers.

Will Ashcroft would have almost certainly gone at No. 1 overall that year ahead of Aaron Cadman, had the Lions not had bidding rights to the star midfielder. The same is expected of Levi Ashcroft in just over a month’s time.

“(Playing together) was definitely part of the decision making and same for Levi in the end as well,” Will Ashcroft told this masthead.

“We played five or six games at the Dragons together and were lucky enough to play in a premiership side together then. That was so fun and exciting for the family.

“My experiences playing alongside him were awesome so I thought it would be cool to do it at AFL level as well. To play at the club (Brisbane) that dad (Marcus Ashcroft) played for was also a big part of my decision making.”

Will Ashcroft revealed it was not a simple decision for him to pick Brisbane over potentially staying in Victoria, where his family had settled since he was 14, just as it was not a fait accompli that his brother would follow him to the Lions.

I’ve been trying to describe what Brisbane is getting in Levi Ashcroft since the GF. Can’t get this moment vs Coburg out of my head. Perfectly sums up his wicked creativity 🦁

Profile on Ashcroft & Sam Marshall dropping Wednesday for @ESPNAusNZ#AFLDraftpic.twitter.com/Mx3xIhHTVc

— Jasper Chellappah (@Jasperc53) September 30, 2024

“Mum and Dad and (our sister) Lucy were still living in Melbourne so there were a lot of considerations there,” he said.

“We had a discussion early in the year about the decision making because for me it was a genuine toss-up for a while if I wanted to stay in Melbourne and try to go to a club or come to Brisbane, and it was similar for Levi. We have good connections (in Melbourne).

“I just said to him, ‘focus on what you can control in the first six months of the year’. Then, when it came time to sort out his decision, once that was a done deal I said ‘mate, just enjoy it. You’ll never get to do this again. Soak it up for the last few games’.”

Sam Marshall during the 2024 Coates Talent League Boys Grand Final. Picture: Riley Lockett/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

After Levi Ashcroft had confirmed his intention to join his brother in Brisbane, Lions fans got an exciting taste of things to come when he turned out for a one-off VFL appearance in August.

Incredibly, the 17 year old had a game-high 35 disposals, eight marks, five tackles and kicked a stunning goal from the right-forward pocket in the 50-point win over GWS.

To those who watched him that day at Brighton Homes Arena, Levi Ashcroft looked like the best player on the field.

A month later his brother was playing a starring role in September for the Lions, culminating in a premiership and Norm Smith medal at the age of 20.

And Will Ashcroft says to expect much of the same from his brother when he arrives next year.

“How we play is similar and people are already saying that having watched him play some VFL footy and junior footy, comparing it to my footy,” he said.

“I think we both attack the game head-on and lead from the front and try to flourish in those big moments.

“We don’t see any challenge as too great and that’s representative in both our games.

“I think Levi and I are a bit different in how we approach our footy,” he added.

“Levi doesn’t like to talk too much about it outside of the footy club or when he’s at training or those sort of things.

“I would say Levi and I, or dad and Levi, probably don’t talk as much about footy. But I don’t mind getting his (father Marcus’) feedback at times.

“He (Levi) probably tries to distance himself from footy outside of training and games. I certainly enjoy doing things outside of footy as well, I try not to be too full-on with it, so I think we’re similar in more ways than we are different.”

Has a premiership winning team ever had more upside? Doedee, Kiddy, Gardiner, McCarthy, Oscar, and Levi Ashcroft and Sam Marshall to come back/join

— Keagan Ryan (@Keagan_Ryan_) September 28, 2024

REVEALED: HOW LITTLE LIONS PAID ASHCROFT FOR SECOND SEASON

— JON RALPH

Second-year phenomenon Will Ashcroft is footy’s cheap-as-chips Norm Smith Medallist, paid just over $200,000 in his second season and missing out on a bonus, despite being the Grand Final’s best player.

As a first-year draft pick from the 2022 national draft Ashcroft is locked into a mandated wage until the end of the season.

He has two more years left on an overall four-year contract signed when he arrived at the club which will reward him handsomely with a series of bonuses and incentives.

But by a quirk of the collective bargaining agreement, Ashcroft does not even earn any of the instant bonuses which reward first and second-year players for individual awards.

Steve Johnson presents Will Ashcroft with the Norm Smith medal on Saturday. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

He would have been awarded $50,000 for winning the Brownlow Medal, $40,000 for the Lions best-and-fairest, $30,000 for the All Australian team, $30 for a top three in the best-and-fairest and $20,000 for the Rising Star or All Australian squad.

Last year he missed out on a $20,000 incentive for winning the Rising Star and the $20,000 prize when he tore his ACL in round 19 as Harry Sheezel swamped him to win the prize.

This year his salary was set by the collective bargaining agreement which saw him receive a $155,000 base as a No. 1-20 draft pick in the 2022 national draft.

He received 13 match payments of $5000 and then a $12,000 bonus for playing 12 or more games this year.

It means in total he secured $232,000 for his Norm Smith Medal-winning season.

His brilliant play and clean-cut image will, in coming years, make him richer than his wildest dreams given a career that has a decade to run for the 20-year-old.

Ashcroft’s base salary will be as high as $500,000 from a contract that starts at the end of next month and he could earn much more given the way contracts are structured for young top-10 picks.

Nick Daicos was so brilliant in his second year that the Pies guaranteed all the money he could have made in bonuses for his third year, then eventually re-signed him on a long-term deal.

Will Ashcroft’s brother Levi is considered an extremely similar player to his brother although a more outgoing personality, with sister Lucy some time away from being draft-eligible.

She has massive wraps as a future AFLW star after effortlessly fitting into training with the Brisbane Lions AFLW squad as an academy member in recent years.