# 2020 Brisbane Lions season

The 2020 season was the 24th season in which the Brisbane Lions have participated in the VFL/AFL.

## Impact of COVID-19 pandemic

The 2020 season was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which was formally declared a pandemic on 11 March 2020, eight days prior to the scheduled start of the AFL premiership season and 18 days prior to the final round of the AFL season.

### AFL

Prior to the commencement of the season, the fixture was shortened from 22 matches per team to 17, under the expectation that matches would be forced to stop at the peak of the disease.
The season commenced on 19 March as originally scheduled, but the introduction of restrictions (and later of formal quarantines) on interstate travel, resulted in suspension of the season after round one. During that round, matches were played in empty stadiums for the first time in the league's history.
Throughout the season, matches were played for a shortened length of 16 minutes plus time on per quarter, instead of 20 minutes plus time on. This was originally done at the start of the season, in the hope that playing shorter games could facilitate more frequent games than weekly, maximising the games which could be played before the anticipated suspension of the season. Though the initial run of games lasted just one week, the shortened game time was retained after the season's resumption to allow make-up games to be more easily scheduled between rounds when matches were postponed or refixtured.
On 15 May, as most states began easing restrictions, the league's plan to resume the season was announced: clubs began non-contact training from 18 May, and full contact training from 25 May, ahead of resuming competitive matches from 11 June, with the revised fixture released gradually throughout the year, and changing regularly and often at short notice when the situation forced it.
The sizes of allowable crowds changed as the season progressed, with early season Queensland and New South Wales crowds limited to only a few hundred, while half crowds were allowed in the largely virus-free Western Australia from Round 7.
Following a virus outbreak in Melbourne in June, Richmond's base of operations was relocated to the Gold Coast, alongside all nine other Victorian clubs. The club played the remainder of their home games in the state, other than when travelling to other virus-free locations.

## AFL
### 2019 off-season list changes
#### Retirements and delistings

| Player | Reason | Club games | Career games |
| Tom Cutler | Traded | 66 | 66 |
| Lewis Taylor | Traded | 112 | 112 |
| Luke Hodge | Retired | 41 | 346 |
| Ben Keays | Delisted | 30 | 30 |
| Josh Walker | Delisted | 52 | 85 |
| Ryan Bastinac | Delisted | 43 | 164 |
| Nick Roberton | Delisted | 73 | 73 |

#### Free agency

| Date | Player | Free Agent Type | Former Club | New Club | Copmensation | Ref |
| 5 October | Cam Ellis-Yolmen | Unrestricted | Adelaide | Brisbane Lions | 3rd round | |
| 10 October | Grant Birchall | Unrestricted | Hawthorn | Brisbane Lions | None | |

#### Trades

| Date | Gained | Lost | Trade Partner | ref |
| 16 October | Pick 48 | Lewis Taylor | Sydney | |
| 16 October | Pick 72 | Tom Cutler & Pick 64 | Essendon | |

#### National Draft

| Round | Overall Pick | Player | State | Position | Team From | League From |
| 1 | 22 | Deven Robertson | WA | Midfielder | Perth | WAFL |
| 2 | 33 | Brock Smith | VIC | Defender | Gippsland Power | NAB League |
| 2 | 37 | Keidean Coleman | QLD | Forward | Brisbane Lions academy | NEAFL |
| 4 | 59 | Jaxon Prior | WA | Defender | West Perth Football Club | WAFL |

#### Rookie Elevations

* Player
* Mitch Hinge
* Oscar McInerney

### 2020 season
#### Marsh Community Series

| Match | Date | Score | Opponent | Opponent's score | Result | Home/away | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | Sunday 23 February, 3:10pm | 12.5 (77) | Collingwood | 14.14 (98) | Lost by 22 points | Home | Moreton Bay Central Sports Complex, Burpengary | 2,027 | - |
| 2 | Sunday 8 March, 6:40pm | 10.6 (66) | Greater Western Sydney | 16.15 (111) | Won by 45 points | Away | Ikon Park, Carlton North | 7,148 |

#### Home and away season

| Round | Date | Score | Opponent | Opponent's score | Result | Home/away | Venue | Attendance | Ladder |
| 1 | Sunday, 22 March, 3:35pm | 19.8 (62) | Hawthorn | 14.6 (90) | Lost by 28 points | Away | MCG | 0 | 15th |
| 2 | Saturday 13 June, 1:45pm | 12.9 (81) | Fremantle | 10.9 (69) | Won by 12 points | Home | The Gabba | 0 | 11th |
| 3 | Saturday 20 June, 7:40pm | 10.17 (74) | West Coast | 6.8 (44) | Won by 30 points | Home | The Gabba | 1,965 | 5th |
| 4 | Sunday 28 June, 3:35pm | 10.23 (83) | Adelaide | 7.4 (46) | Won by 37 points | Home | The Gabba | 7,354 | 3rd |
| 5 | Saturday 4 July, 7:40pm | 12.13 (85) | Port Adelaide | 6.12 (48) | Won by 37 points | Home | The Gabba | 10,161 | 2nd |
| 6 | Thursday 9 July, 7:40pm | 6.10 (46) | Geelong | 11.7 (73) | Lost by 27 points | Away | SCG | 1,311 | 3rd |
| 7 | Saturday 18 July, 1:45pm | 13.10 (88) | Greater Western Sydney | 10.8 (68) | Won by 20 points | Away | GIANTS Stadium | 3,168 | 2nd |
| 8 | Sunday 26 July, 6:10pm | 7.11 (53) | Melbourne | 7.7 (49) | Won by 4 points | Away | Metricon Stadium | 3,011 | 2nd |
| 9 | Friday, 31 July, 8:10 pm | 14.7 (91) | Essendon | 3.10 (28) | Won by 63 points | Away | Metricon Stadium | 4,860 | 2nd |
| 10 | Tuesday, 4 August, 7:10 pm | 4.17 (41) | Richmond | 12.10 (82) | Lost by 41 points | Away | Metricon Stadium | 5,651 | 2nd |
| 11 | Saturday 8 August, 7:40pm | 14.12 (96) | Western Bulldogs | 11.6 (72) | Won by 24 points | Home | The Gabba | 11, 061 | 2nd |
| 12 | Monday 17 August, 7:10pm | 7.11 (53) | North Melbourne | 8.4 (52) | Won by 1 points | Away | Metricon Stadium | 2,722 | 2nd |
| 13 | Sunday, 23 August, 3:35 pm | 6.14 (50) | St Kilda | 7.6 (48) | Won by 2 points | Home | The Gabba | 13,750 | 2nd |
| 14 | BYE | BYE | BYE | BYE | BYE | BYE | BYE | BYE | 2nd |
| 15 | Friday, 4 September, 7:50 pm | 6.6 (42) | Collingwood | 5.4 (34) | Won by 8 points | Home | The Gabba | 15,036 | 2nd |
| 16 | Wednesday, 9 September, 7:10pm | 13.10 (88) | Gold Coast | 6.7 (43) | Won by 45 points | Home | The Gabba | 11,292 | 2nd |
| 17 | Sunday, 13 September, 6:10 pm | 11.7 (73) | Sydney | 6.5 (41) | Won by 32 points | Away | Cazalys Stadium | 3,700 | 2nd |
| 18 | Saturday 19 September, 7:40pm | 11.12 (78) | Carlton | 10.1 (61) | Won by 17 points | Home | The Gabba | 14,563 | 2nd |

#### Finals

| Match | Date | Score | Opponent | Opponent's Score | Result | Home/Away | Venue | Attendance |
| Qualifying final | Friday 2 October, 7:50pm | 10.9 (69) | Richmond | 8.6 (54) | Won by 15 points | Home | The Gabba | 22,104 |
| Preliminary final | Saturday 17 October, 6:40pm | 6.6(42) | Geelong | 11.16 (82) | Lost by 40 points | Home | The Gabba | 29,121 |

### Awards
#### Season Leaders

| | Player | Number | AFL Rank |
| Disposals | Lachie Neale | 487 | 1st |
| Goals | Charlie Cameron | 29 | 8th |
| Centre Clearances | Lachie Neale | 42 | 5th |
| Marks | Eric Hipwood | 76 | 39th |
| Kicks | Jarryd Lyons | 249 | 5th |
| Tackles | Dayne Zorko | 73 | 23rd |
| Spoils | Harris Andrews | 138 | 3rd |
| Hitouts | Oscar McInerney | 342 | 7th |

#### League awards
##### All-Australian team

| | Player | Position | Appearance |
| Named | Harris Andrews | Full Back | 2nd |
| Named | Lachie Neale | Midfield | 2nd |
| Nominated | Hugh McCluggage | - | - |

##### 22 Under 22 team

| | Player | Position | Appearance |
| Named | Hugh McCluggage | Wing | 2nd |
| Nominated | Zac Bailey | - | - |