Brisbane triple-premiership player Jason Akermanis can expect to be welcomed into the Lions’ newly-announced Hall of Fame as soon as he is eligible despite his bitter split with the AFL club.
The Lions will induct 15 players at an inaugural ceremony in Melbourne on June 23, with the hall to honour greats from Fitzroy, the Brisbane Bears and the current merged club.
Fitzroy legends such as triple-Brownlow Medallist Haydn Bunton and nine-time best and fairest Kevin Murray are certain to be among the initial inclusions, along with Lions triple-premiership captain Michael Voss and coach Leigh Matthews.
Given players must be retired for at least three years, the likes of Simon Black, Luke Power and Akermanis can not be part of this year’s intake.
Akermanis, who finished his career with the Western Bulldogs in 2010, will come into consideration for the second induction group in 2014, with the ceremony to be held every second year.
His playing achievements should make him an automatic inclusion, given his 248 games with Brisbane included three premierships, two best and fairests and a Brownlow Medal, all part of the criteria.
The only cloud would be the acrimonious nature of his forced 2006 mid-season departure and the barbs he subsequently traded with key Lions figures such as Voss and Matthews.
But selector Robert Walls, a former Fitzroy player and coach and Brisbane Bears coach, suggested Akermanis would get his vote, with the manner of his Lions’ exit not a factor.
“For me, as one of the selectors, certainly not,” Walls told AAP on Tuesday.
“I’m judging on the way that they played and the years that they gave and the value that they were and the glory they achieved.
“He’s right up there obviously and so he should be.”
Former club chairman Graeme Downie will chair the selection panel, with former Lions media manager Peter Blucher and club historian Arthur Wilson the other selectors.
Other strong contenders for immediate inclusion are Fitzroy greats Wilfred Smallhorn, Garry Wilson, Paul Roos and Bernie Quinlan.
Given one of the ceremony’s aims is to honour Fitzroy’s contribution to the club’s history, Alastair Lynch and Chris Johnson, who both represented Fitzroy and went on to play in Brisbane’s 2001-03 premierships, would be choices that highlight that link.
Voss, entering his fourth season as coach, said gaining a sense of the club’s history was “crucial” for his young current squad.
The Lions said on Tuesday the travelling squad for their round 13 clash with the Western Bulldogs would stay on for the ceremony but Voss wants the entire list there.
“It’s basically your blood, your DNA,” Voss said.
