# 1997 Brisbane Lions season

The Brisbane Lions' 1997 season was its first season in the Australian Football League (AFL) after its merger.

## Season summary
### Premiership Season
#### Home and away season

| Rd | Date and local time | Opponent | Scores | Scores | Venue | Attendance |
| Rd | Date and local time | Opponent | Brisbane | Opponent | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | 30 March (1:40 pm) | Adelaide | 96 | 132 | Football Park (A) | 36,602 |
| 2 | 6 April (2:45 pm) | St Kilda | 154 | 57 | The Gabba (H) | 17,123 |
| 3 | 13 April (2:10 pm) | Hawthorn | 75 | 87 | Waverley Park (A) | 27,947 |
| 4 | 20 April (2:45 pm) | North Melbourne | 109 | 83 | The Gabba (H) | 18,575 |
| 5 | 27 April (2:10 pm) | Port Adelaide | 71 | 73 | Football Park (A) | 31,757 |
| 6 | 3 May (2:10 pm) | Essendon | 71 | 102 | Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) | 37,642 |
| 7 | 11 May (2:45 pm) | West Coast | 60 | 139 | The Gabba (H) | 17,524 |
| 8 | 18 May (2:10 pm) | Fremantle | 93 | 98 | Subiaco Oval (A) | 14,721 |
| 9 | 25 May (2:45 pm) | Geelong | 126 | 98 | The Gabba (H) | 19,828 |
| 10 | 1 June (2:10 pm) | Sydney | 92 | 89 | The Gabba (H) | 20,403 |
| 11 | 9 June (2:10 pm) | Carlton | 63 | 84 | Princes Park (A) | 27,904 |
| 12 | 15 June (2:10 pm) | Melbourne | 135 | 50 | Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) | 13,392 |
| 13 | 28 June (7:40 pm) | Collingwood | 88 | 73 | The Gabba (H) | 19,560 |
| 14 | 6 July (2:10 pm) | Richmond | 68 | 50 | The Gabba (H) | 19,155 |
| 15 | 12 July (2:10 pm) | Western Bulldogs | 137 | 73 | Princes Park (A) | 16,430 |
| 16 | 18 July (7:40 pm) | Adelaide | 118 | 87 | The Gabba (H) | 21,348 |
| 17 | 27 July (2:10 pm) | St Kilda | 44 | 92 | Waverley Park (A) | 34,859 |
| 18 | 2 August (7:40 pm) | Hawthorn | 141 | 71 | The Gabba (H) | 19,635 |
| 19 | 8 August (7:40 pm) | North Melbourne | 59 | 116 | Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) | 27,021 |
| 20 | 16 August (7:40 pm) | Port Adelaide | 93 | 93 | The Gabba (H) | 20,835 |
| 21 | 23 August (7:40 pm) | Essendon | 102 | 106 | The Gabba (H) | 21,065 |
| 22 | 29 August (6:40 pm) | West Coast | 81 | 120 | WACA (A) | 29,402 |

#### Finals series

| Rd | Date and local time | Opponent | Scores | Scores | Venue | Attendance |
| Rd | Date and local time | Opponent | Brisbane | Opponent | Venue | Attendance |
| Second qualifying final | 7 September (2:30 pm) | St Kilda | 89 | 135 | Waverley Park | 50,035 |

## Ladder

| (P) | Premiers |
| | Qualified for finals |
| # | Team | P | W | L | D | PF | PA | % | Pts |
| 1 | St Kilda | 22 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 2294 | 1918 | 119.6 | 60 |
| 2 | Geelong | 22 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 2111 | 1791 | 117.9 | 60 |
| 3 | Western Bulldogs | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 2100 | 2062 | 101.8 | 56 |
| 4 | Adelaide (P) | 22 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 2151 | 1769 | 121.6 | 52 |
| 5 | West Coast | 22 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 1969 | 1770 | 111.2 | 52 |
| 6 | Sydney | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2093 | 1801 | 116.2 | 48 |
| 7 | North Melbourne | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2051 | 1835 | 111.8 | 48 |
| 8 | Brisbane Lions | 22 | 10 | 11 | 1 | 2076 | 1973 | 105.2 | 42 |
| 9 | Port Adelaide | 22 | 10 | 11 | 1 | 1852 | 2017 | 91.8 | 42 |
| 10 | Collingwood | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 2138 | 1919 | 111.4 | 40 |
| 11 | Carlton | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 1978 | 2045 | 96.7 | 40 |
| 12 | Fremantle | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 1748 | 1902 | 91.9 | 40 |
| 13 | Richmond | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 1883 | 2253 | 83.6 | 40 |
| 14 | Essendon | 22 | 9 | 13 | 0 | 2004 | 2170 | 92.4 | 36 |
| 15 | Hawthorn | 22 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 1873 | 2144 | 87.4 | 32 |
| 16 | Melbourne | 22 | 4 | 18 | 0 | 1477 | 2429 | 60.8 | 16 |
Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for Average score: 90.3 Source: AFL Tables