AFL Academies: Brisbane Lions, Gold Coast Suns academies explained ahead of QClash 28

The Suns have the most prolific Academy in the land, but how does its quality stack up against the Lions? Here’s how both clubs’ success is making Queensland the AFL’s second biggest state.

For 14 years the QClash has been relegated to bit-part status among the AFL’s hierarchy of established rivalries but that is all set to change come Sunday night at the Gabba.

Never have the Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast Suns faced off while both teams sat inside the top eight – let alone at No. 2 and No. 3 on the ladder as they are now.

On the same weekend that the NRL’s Magic Round hits Brisbane, the Gabba is already closing in on a sellout. QClash28 is, without question, the biggest and most relevant meeting between these two clubs in their shared history.

And this burgeoning battle for Sunshine State supremacy is being waged not just on the AFL field, but in clubs and schools across Queensland.

There is no love lost when the Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast Suns do battle in the QClash. Picture: Matt Roberts/AFL Photos/via Getty Images.

Between them, the vaunted Lions and Suns Academies take in close to 1800 junior participants – and climbing – each year. Whole departments and millions of dollars have been put towards unearthing the next generation of AFL stars.

As recently as a decade ago, both clubs found themselves at the mercy of rivals who would routinely walk across the border and poach their top talent. Thus, it became pivotal that they began nurturing the talent in their own backyard.

And it is not just the competitive aspect that has pushed the clubs to funnel funds and manpower into their talent pathways. For every Harris Andrews or Lachie Weller that goes on to become a household name, there are thousands of peers whose AFL dreams go unrealised. But that investment is not for naught.

They then filter back into local clubs and leagues, as football savvy players and coaches, to help grow the game in Queensland and nurture the next generation of Lions and Suns Academy stars. It is an investment for the now and for the future.

And the proof is already in the pudding. Queensland has surpassed South Australia in terms of participation and is closing in on Western Australia as the No. 2 Aussie rules state, behind heartland Victoria.

But ultimately, the Lions and Suns Academies were built with the clear purpose of finding, honing and drafting the clubs’ next premiership players.

Last year Brisbane saluted and is well-placed now, at 6-1, to go again. Gold Coast (5-1) feels its time is coming and on current form, it is hard to argue Damien Hardwick’s side is not a serious contender in 2025.

The two clubs have come a long way from the inaugural QClash in round seven, 2011, when the 1-4 Suns upset the 0-5 Lions by eight points at the Gabba.

So exactly how influential have the two clubs’ academies been? And how much of a role will their AFL-listed graduates play on Sunday night?

YOUNG SUNS START TO SHINE

The Suns Academy program has become the face of the four northern academies in recent years, in large part to the sheer volume of top-tier talent the club has been able to produce.

Seven first-round draftees – Lachie Weller, Jack Bowes, Jed Walter, Ethan Read, Jake Rogers, Will Graham and Leo Lombard – have gone through Gold Coast’s talent pathway.

In 2023 alone, four of those – Walter, Read, Rogers and Graham – were all taken in an elongated first round of the draft.

Gold Coast boasts a staggering 15 academy graduates on its current AFL list. Of those, seven are expected to run out for the Suns at the Gabba on Sunday night – almost one-third of Damien Hardwick’s side.

(L-R) Will Graham, Ethan Read, Jed Walter and Jake Rogers were all selected in the first round of the 2023 AFL draft. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

In total, 32 Suns Academy graduates have been drafted to an AFL club for a combined 869 games. Five players did not feature at AFL level while two, 2024 draftees Lachie Gulbin and Leo Lombard, are yet to play a game but are part of the Suns’ current list.

Weller, who will play his 150th AFL game next week against the Western Bulldogs in Darwin, is the most experienced Suns Academy graduate. Only he, Jack Bowes (now at Geelong) and Bailey Scott (ex-North Melbourne) have gone on to play more than 100 games at AFL level.

Gold Coast has so far gotten 641 games out of its academy graduates. The 15 current players account for 420 of those.

BRISBANE STILL THE BENCHMARK

In terms of sheer number of draftees and first-round selections, the Suns outpace the Lions. But Brisbane still boasts the best bang for buck on investment.

Premiership-winning co-captain Harris Andrews is the most-capped northern academy graduate among the Lions, Suns, Swans and Giants.

The No. 61 pick from 2014 will play in game 220 on Sunday, narrowly outpacing 208-game Sydney superstar Isaac Heeney, who taken at No. 18 in the same draft.

Like Heeney, Andrews is a two-time All-Australian. They are the poster boys for the potential of the northern academies to produce genuine superstar talent.

Premiership players Harris Andrews (left) and Eric Hipwood are two of the great success stories of the Lions Academy. (Photo by Jono Searle/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

Andrews is one of 26 Lions Academy graduates to make their way onto an AFL list over the past 12 years, totalling 1068 games’ experience.

Spearhead Eric Hipwood, taken at No. 14 in 2015, is the second-most capped academy graduate with 184 games to his name. Port Adelaide’s Aliir Aliir (163 games) and Adelaide’s Ben Keays (143 games) are the other graduates to have eclipsed the 100-game mark.

Brisbane currently boasts nine academy members on its AFL list, for 615 games. Notably four of those – Andrews, Hipwood, Jaspa Fletcher and Jack Payne – were part of the Lions’ grand final-winning side last season.

Those four are all expected to feature on Sunday against the Suns, bringing the total number of academy graduates set to feature in the QClash to 11. That is, almost a quarter of the 46 players – including substitutes – who will play key roles in the biggest game of the two clubs’ shared history.

A BRIGHT FUTURE

After more than a decade of continued investment and growth in their academy programs, the Lions and Suns are now clearly reaping the benefits on the field.

At a combined 11-2, they are both genuine finals contenders and potential premiership threats in 2025.

The overall output of Brisbane’s graduates has been greater than that of Gold Coast’s, which for so many years was more quantity over quality. But that has started to swing in the other direction, as evidenced by the Suns’ stacking of talent in recent years.

And the future of the programs appears bright for both clubs.

Lions Academy star Daniel Annable is expected to be a first round selection in the 2025 AFL Draft. Picture: Josh Chadwick/AFL Photos/via Getty Images.

Gold Coast has as many as six academy players on the draft radar this season, headlined by Zeke Uwland – brother of Suns defender Bodhi – alongside Beau Addinsall, Dylan Paterson, Koby Coulson, Jai Murray and Kalani White.

Brisbane’s Daniel Annable is expected to be one of the first names read out on draft night, adding even more depth to the Lions’ stacked midfield, while Isaac Waller, Harrison Bridge and Raphael Geesu could also be snapped up in November.

Gone are the days of just one or two Queenslanders entering the AFL system each year. The Sunshine State is fast becoming a bona fide football factory and the fruits of the Suns’ and Lions’ investments will be on full display on Sunday night.