AFL Hall of Fame 2016 ceremony: Brisbane Lions midfielder Nigel Lappin inducted into Hall of Fame

NIGEL Lappin is honoured and a touch overwhelmed. He’s more than happy to talk about his Hall of Fame induction but there’s a rider.

Brisbane midfielder Nigel Lappin in action during the 2002 Grand Final. Picture: Jody Darcy

NIGEL Lappin is honoured and a touch overwhelmed.

He’s more than happy to talk about his Hall of Fame induction but there’s a rider.

“It doesn’t worry me one little bit if nothing goes in the paper,” the Brisbane Lions champion says.

There in a nutshell is the beauty of Nigel Lappin.

He has always been the quietest member of Brisbane’s famous Fab Four, preferring to let Jason Akermanis, Michael Voss and Simon Black have the spotlight.

“Having all those good leaders around you meant I could just focus on my role and play my role which I found much easier than feeling like you had to lead a team every week,” Lappin says.

Getting taken at No. 2 in the 1993 national draft by the Brisbane Bears was a blessing in disguise for Lappin, hailing from the small town of Chiltern in northeast Victoria.

He didn’t think he would make it to the big time after shunning the normal pathway through the Murray Bushrangers in the TAC Cup in favour of playing locally with mates.

“Growing up as a country lad, I didn’t watch much AFL back then, so my heroes were the local country guys, the senior players there,” Lappin explains.

“I just wanted to play senior footy for Chiltern, that was what my family had done and I got the chance at an early age, playing ... as a 15-year-old.

“I got to play with my heroes so I was just loving it. I didn’t think I would get drafted so figured I might as well stay here and enjoy footy.”

Nigel Lappin tries to dish off a handball to Michael Voss. Picture: David Kapernick

However, Lappin’s impressive performances for Vic Country in the Teal Cup changed everything.

The venture into the unknown of Brisbane allowed Lappin to develop away from the spotlight ... just the way he liked it.

He played 17 games in his first year under Robert Walls and by his third it was obvious he wasn’t the only talented kid on the books.

In John Northey’s first year as coach in 1996, the Bears made it to the preliminary final, a glimpse of what was to come.

But it was the arrival of Leigh Matthews which changed everything for Lappin.

“We were just really proud that a guy like Leigh Matthews wanted to come and coach us,” he recalls.

“Leigh’s great strengths were he was able to work out what needed to win the biggest game of the year and the roles he needed players to play to make sure that happened.”

Three premierships in a row marked Lappin and his teammates as one of the greatest teams of all-time.

Lions doctor checking out Nigel Lappin’s ribs. Picture: Colleen Petch

Lappin is best remembered for his performance in the third flag when he went into the game with two broken ribs and a punctured lung.

He’d broken his ribs going back into a pack and copping a knee from teammate Shaun Hart in the preliminary final.

Then the night before the Grand Final he had a fitness test with teammate Aaron Shattock and punctured his lung — although he didn’t find out about that until after the game.

“The thing on Grand Final day was it wasn’t so much the pain, it was just the fact that I was struggling to breath,” Lappin said.

“I couldn’t work out why I was struggling to breath because I was better earlier in the week.

“I got away with it though, I was able to play my role at half-back and I was very grateful that the rest of the boys got the job done very early as we were seven goals up at halftime.”

He spent the next few days in hospital and missed the premiership celebrations but that was fine by Lappin as once again he was more than happy to let others bask in the glory.