Leo Lombard

Leonardo Lombard (born 5 October 2006) is a professional Australian rules footballer who was selected by the Gold Coast Suns with pick 9 in the 2024 AFL draft.

Early life

Lombard was born on the Gold Coast into a family with a Cuban father and an English mother. He attended Varsity College throughout his upbringing and took part in their ASPIRE AFL excellence program with future Suns teammate Jake Rogers. Lombard's father, Héctor, is a professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and a formerly competed as an Olympic judoka who represented Cuba at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. His father introduced him to Brazilian jiu-jitsu at six years of age and Lombard was considered a promising junior prospect years later when he claimed a gold medal at the Pan Pacific Championships in 2017 and was crowned the under-12 BJJ Australian Open champion in 2018. However, Lombard and his father later became estranged and no longer have a relationship, leaving Lombard's single mother to work three jobs in order to provide for her son.

Along with jiu-jitsu, Lombard began playing Australian rules football at eight years of age for the Burleigh Bombers and excelled as a junior footballer, which was rewarded with an invitation to join the Gold Coast Suns Academy at 12 years of age. Lombard grew up supporting the Gold Coast Suns in the AFL. He later admitted he only played football "for fun" on the side and was focused on pursuing a career in mixed martial arts, until the greater levels of development opportunities provided by the Suns Academy convinced him to quit Brazilian jiu-jitsu and chase a career in the AFL. Lombard progressed his way through the Gold Coast Suns Academy junior grades earning representative honours along the way such as being selected in the 2022 U16 All-Australian team. In 2023, he was selected to represent the victorious Allies team as a bottom ager in the U18 National Championships alongside future AFL teammates Jed Walter, Ethan Read, Jake Rogers and Will Graham. Lombard capped off his 2023 season by taking part in the Gold Coast's VFL grand final winning side at 16 years of age. He returned to the U18 National Championships a year later and was awarded the Larke Medal as the best performed Division I player in the country as well as selection in the starting U18 All-Australian team.

AFL career

Lombard was drafted to his hometown AFL club, the Gold Coast Suns, when they decided to match a pick 9 bid from St Kilda at the 2024 AFL draft. He made his AFL debut for the Suns at 18 years of age against Fremantle in round 12 of the 2025 AFL season and kicked a memorable goal that evoked loud cheers from the home crowd at Carrara Stadium in his first outing as an AFL player.

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Living people
2006 births

Broadbeach Australian Football Club players
Australian rules footballers from the Gold Coast, Queensland
Australian people of Cuban descent