Brisbane Lions captain Jonathan Brown has no thoughts of retirement

BRISBANE captain Jonathan Brown has no intention of retiring and expects Simon Black to join him for another campaign in 2013.

Jonathan Brown

BRISBANE captain Jonathan Brown has no intention of retiring any time soon and expects fellow Lions triple-premiership hero Simon Black to join him for another campaign in 2013.

Black and the Lions are currently in negotiations over activating a one-year option for 2013. Both Black and the club are keen for the 33-year-old to play on, but the payment structure of the deal remains a sticking point.

Brown believes the two parties will find common ground and Black will extend his glittering career into a 16th year.

Brisbane will wind up its 2012 season when it hosts the Western Bulldogs at the Gabba this Sunday and Brown said Black was still one of Brisbane's best players, with his vast experience making him invaluable to the club's cause.

"He loves playing footy and all indications at the moment are that he is still keen to keep playing,'' Brown said before training today.

''Obviously, he's had a couple of issues with his body this year but he's no different from most guys at the back-end of their career.

"We'd certainly love to see him keep playing. He's form has been outstanding. He is still our main contributor in the midfield.

''In what's a very young midfield apart from Blacky and Huddo (Ben Hudson), their experience is important to help the younger guys along.''

Brown, who turns 31 next month, said he was a "realist'' but the prospect of future success at the Gabba was keeping him young. He said the club's young core was taking greater ownership of the club and was driving the climb back up the ladder.

"I know I'm coming towards the back-end of things but while you are enjoying your footy and while the group is heading in the right direction, I'm keen to keep rolling,'' he said.

"You've just got to be enjoying the training and enjoying the footy and getting some on-field success.

"We are starting to get that as a group, starting to get the wins. It's a pretty big motivating factor for veterans like Blacky and myself that have been fortunate enough to be involved in a lot of successful teams.''

Brown said his body was holding up well and the recent series of serious head injuries may have actually helped extend his playing career.