Past Michael Voss (1992-2006)

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‘Double or nothing’: When Brown beat Stevie sledge

It wasn’t the only time Johnson came off second-best against Brisbane. The forward recounted a time where he attempted to exert some physical dominance over Michael Voss — only for that to also backfire spectacularly.

“I think ‘Bomber’ Thompson gave us a big rev-up one day and said ‘righto, enough’s enough, let’s go after them (Brisbane)’,” Johnson said. “I reckon in the first five minutes of the game, I thought ‘well I’m going to go in here and try and sort of butt heads with Michael Voss’. “He ran straight through me and broke about three of my ribs, so that was my day just about finished.”

 

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Brown: 'Voss, toughest man in AFL'

Brisbane Lions three-time premiership winner Jonathan Brown says former Captain Michael Voss is the toughest man to ever play AFL. Even calling him the “William Wallace” of the game.

“He’s tougher than anyone. The toughest man I played with and I have seen. The greatest leader I have seen.”

Brown revealed this on Nova’s “Browny’s Premiership Reunion” podcast, which celebrates 15 years since the Lions unforgettable 2002 premiership over Collingwood. Each podcast he catches up with a different teammate from the class of 2002. Voss and Bronwy said this Grand Final was the most taxing of the four straight they would play in. The wet conditions made for a punishing heavy track.

“All I remember in my head was a key word and that was ‘run.’ That was the thing I just kept yelling out to the boys,” Voss said.

The last quarter would go down as one of the most nail-biting in the competition’s history. Only four points separated the Pies and Lions at the end of the third term. Every possession was critical.

“It was just a game where a little bit goes your way, you win. If it goes against you, you lose an important game. That’s what I remember of the last quarter,” Voss said.

The Captain was superb in the final quarter- taking crucial contested marks that would clip the Pies chances of scoring. Voss finished the day with 26 disposals and one goal, with many believing he was worthy of the Norm Smith medal.

Instead Collingwood’s Nathan Buckley was awarded the medal. The outrage following the match prompted the AFL to change their voting procedure, as votes were previously collected at three-quarter time.

“It’s flattering that people look back on that and have made a change because of it. At the same time I thought it went to a worthy winner,” Voss said.

Needless to say, unlike the Pies, he had the satisfaction of hoisting the silverware that afternoon for a second consecutive year.

 

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Remember When... Round 18

Round 18 1992. It was a memorable day in football, and not just because the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy, future merger partners, played at Princes Park in Melbourne. It saw the start of one great career as fans of both clubs bid farewell to another.

Michael Voss, later to become Brisbane’s triple premiership captain, made a stunning AFL debut as Matt Rendell, Fitzroy’s last finals captain, played for the Bears in his only game against Fitzroy.

That the Bears won 114 - 73 was a side matter. It was a day all about individuals. A 17-year-old tyro bursting onto a scene he would dominate for the next 15 years, and a 33-year-old who had dominated for a decade.

Voss, only 11 days beyond his 17th birthday, had a team-high 26 possessions playing on the wing as the young Bears snapped a horrific 13-game interstate losing streak.

Not since Round 11 1991 had they won away from home and their average losing margin during this run was 72 points. And it wasn’t as if Fitzroy were a poor side. They sat 9th on the ladder and were right in the mix for the top six.

But it was like the ‘kid’, fresh from a standout performance as Queensland captain at the Teal Cup (Under 18) carnival and wearing jumper #56, brought an entirely new energy and enthusiasm. And it quickly spread through the team.

They led by 27 points at halftime and then 39 points at three-quarter time. And, as if to stamp a special mark of authority on the day, they made it 41 points at the final siren. It was the club’s 32nd win.

Voss played on Fitzroy 131-gamer John Blakey, later an assistant coach with the Brisbane Lions from 2003-06.

As the 359-game Fitzroy and North Melbourne champion has been told more times than he will care to count, while Voss tore up the Princes Park wing with his 26 possessions, Blakey had just four possessions.

 

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5 Best Finals Performances In Lions History

Michael Voss – 2002 Grand Final

He didn’t win the Norm Smith Medal – but he should have. And if voting wasn’t done midway through the final quarter in a game that went down to the last kick he would have. He had nine possessions in the final quarter and five in the last five minutes when the game was on the line. On a cold, wet and miserable Saturday afternoon Voss had 26 possessions, a team-high six tackles and 12 inside 50s – more than 20% of his team’s total. He kicked a crucial goal just before three-quarter time to put his side in front after an incredibly inspirational play late in the second quarter when, after he was flattened in a heavy bump from Collingwood’s Scott Burns

Scott Burns

Age

51

Ht

181cm

Wt

85kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

19.2

5star

K

10.5

4star

HB

8.7

5star

M

5.0

5star

T

2.8

4star

No current season stats available

D

19.6

5star

K

13.0

5star

HB

6.6

4star

M

4.6

5star

T

3.0

5star

, he bounced back up, won a contested possession and fed Simon Black for a goal. He ran straight to Burns and gave him an old-fashion mouthful that has been replayed countless thousands of times on Youtube.

 

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Where Are They Now?: '03 Premiership Team

Michael Voss, bound for the finals in his second year as senior coach at Carlton after five years in charge of the Lions from 2009-13, has added 151 games in the coaches box (or the coaching bench) to his brilliant 289-game career. A total of 440 match day breakfasts.

A father of three, the skipper could and perhaps should have delivered an AFL son, with Casey now a SANFL best & fairest winner with Sturt and a regular South Australian representative after inexplicably missing the chance to show his wares in the AFL system.