Vodafone Brisbane Lions Co-Captain Nigel Lappin today officially announced his retirement from playing AFL football.
Lappin informed his team-mates of his decision to hang up the boots on Tuesday morning before fronting a packed media conference at the Gabba.
The 32 year-old Club-listed veteran of 279 matches (5th on the Club’s all-time list) finishes his decorated 15-year career with a truly impressive list of team and individual achievements.
An elite midfielder and famed member of the Lions ‘Fab Four’, Lappin’s long list of accolades includes three premiership medals, a Club Champion award in 2004, four-time AFL All-Australian selection and Club Co-Captaincy to name a few.
The quiet and humble veteran has been sidelined since Round 5 of this year with a persistent Achilles injury which has effectively ended his final season at the Club. The Lions’ historic Round 4 comeback against Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium will remain as Lappin’s final match of his illustrious career.
Nigel was initially drafted to the then Brisbane Bears from the Victorian country town of Chiltern back in 1993 and played 17 matches in his debut season – predominantly on the wing. Lappin’s supreme fitness, speed and marking ability made him a difficult match-up for any opponent.
By the late 1990s, Lappin had established himself as a genuine elite midfielder with the all conquering Brisbane Lions and was an integral part of the Club’s hat-trick of premierships from 2001-2003.
He was named the Lions’ Best Finals Player in the year of their first premiership triumph and was selected in the AFL’s All-Australian team on four straight occasions from 2001-2004.
Lappin made headlines back in 2003 when he fractured a rib late in the Preliminary Final but decided to play in the following week’s Grand Final with the aid of painkillers. This act embodied his enormous heart and courage to be part of the eventual triumph with his team-mates.
After twice finishing Runner-Up in 1997 and 2000, Lappin was a popular winner of the 2004 Club Champion award.
His professionalism and sheer athletic durability saw him rarely miss a match during the first 11 years of his career until he suffered a dislocated ankle which prematurely ended his 2005 season. He re-injured his ankle during a practice match at the beginning of 2006 and was forced to undergo further surgery which sidelined him for the entire year.
He returned in 2007 and averaged a career-high 26.8 disposals per game in 18 senior matches to finish in the top five of the Club Champion award for a remarkable seventh time.
As Lappin draws the curtain on his marvelous playing career, the Brisbane Lions salute his enormous contribution to the Club both as a leader, player and thorough gentleman regarding him as one of the Club’s greatest players.
Lions members and supporters will have their final chance to officially farewell and applaud Nigel Lappin in person this Saturday night at the Gabba as he performs a lap of honour prior to the Round 21 Lions v Carlton match.
NIGEL LAPPIN PLAYER HONOURS
Games: 279
Goals: 174
Finals: 23
Draft Details: Selection No.2 – 1993 National Draft
AFL Debut: Brisbane Bears vs Fitzroy (Western Oval), Round 3 1994
Australian Asthma Sportsman of the Year 1998
Lions Club Champion Runner-Up 1997, 2000
Lions Club Champion Third Place 2001
All-Australian 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
Lions Best Finals Player 2001
Lions Premiership Player 2001, 2002, 2003
International Rules Series 2001
Lions Club Champion 2004
Lions Life Member
Lions Co-Captain 2007, 2008
