Robert Copeland (born 26 May 1981) is a former

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

for the

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions are a professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that compete in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. Brisbane are the ...

and former captain of the Aspley hornets in the NEAFL. He is a dual premiership winner (2001, 2003) and was delisted in 2008.

Early Life and Junior Football

Copeland was born in

Redcliffe, Queensland Redcliffe is a coastal town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. It also refers colloquially to the Redcliffe Peninsula as a whole, a peninsula jutting into Moreton Bay which contain ...

and raised in Kilcoy.2023 Queensland Football Hall of Fame – Robert Copeland
14 September 2023 He played his junior football with the Strathpine Swans in Brisbane's northern suburbs. Overlooked in successive AFL Drafts, Copeland was recruited to the Brisbane Lions through the 2001 Rookie Draft (QLD Zone) from the

Northern Eagles The Northern Eagles were a rugby league team that competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) between 2000 and 2002. The club was formed during the rationalisation process of the NRL by forming a joint venture with the North Sydney Bears and th ...

and was elevated to the Senior list on 10 May that year after

Michael Voss Michael Voss (born 7 July 1975) is a former professional Australian rules football player with the Brisbane Bears and Brisbane Lions, and current senior coach of the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Voss was a tr ...

was placed on the long-term injury list.

AFL Career

Copeland made his debut for the

in Round 9, 2001 against

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. Copeland was regularly employed in a tagging role. Copeland's tagging job on Collingwood Captain,

Nathan Buckley Nathan Charles Buckley (born 26 July 1972) is a former professional Australian rules football coach, player and commentator. He is listed by journalist Mike Sheahan as one of the top 50 players of all time. Buckley won the inaugural Rising S ...

in the 2003

AFL Grand Final The AFL Grand Final is an Australian rules football match to determine the premiers for the Australian Football League (AFL) season. Prior to 1990 it was known as the VFL Grand Final, as the league was then known as the Victorian Football Leag ...

was considered a decisive influence in the Brisbane Lions win. Copeland played 143 games for the Lions, usually as an automatic selection. However in September 2008 Copeland was delisted due to recurrent injuries and inconsistent performance. After being overlooked in the 2008 draft Copeland was chosen to be the inaugural captain for new first division QAFL club Aspley Hornets.

Statistics

:Robert Copeland's player profile at AFL Tables
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2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 30 , , 17 , , 7 , , 4 , , 93 , , 27 , , 120 , , 37 , , 26 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 5.5 , , 1.6 , , 7.1 , , 2.2 , , 1.5 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 30 , , 17 , , 3 , , 3 , , 74 , , 36 , , 110 , , 25 , , 32 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 4.4 , , 2.1 , , 6.5 , , 1.5 , , 1.9 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 30 , , 18 , , 3 , , 2 , , 143 , , 61 , , 204 , , 63 , , 49 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 7.9 , , 3.4 , , 11.3 , , 3.5 , , 2.7 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 30 , , 25 , , 2 , , 3 , , 179 , , 93 , , 272 , , 80 , , 66 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 7.2 , , 3.7 , , 10.9 , , 3.2 , , 2.6 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 30 , , 15 , , 4 , , 0 , , 88 , , 54 , , 142 , , 31 , , 59 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 5.9 , , 3.6 , , 9.5 , , 2.1 , , 3.9 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 30 , , 17 , , 1 , , 0 , , 134 , , 85 , , 219 , , 65 , , 38 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 7.9 , , 5.0 , , 12.9 , , 3.8 , , 2.2 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 30 , , 21 , , 15 , , 10 , , 140 , , 94 , , 234 , , 70 , , 49 , , 0.7 , , 0.5 , , 6.7 , , 4.5 , , 11.1 , , 3.3 , , 2.3 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 30 , , 13 , , 4 , , 3 , , 68 , , 57 , , 125 , , 34 , , 39 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 5.2 , , 4.4 , , 9.6 , , 2.6 , , 3.0 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 143 ! 39 ! 25 ! 919 ! 507 ! 1426 ! 405 ! 358 ! 0.3 ! 0.2 ! 6.4 ! 3.5 ! 10.0 ! 2.8 ! 2.5

Achievements

Rising Star Nomination 2001 *

Best First Year Player 2001 *

Premiership Player 2001 *

Premiership Player 2003

References

External links

Robert Copeland at the Brisbane Lions website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Copeland, Robert Living people Brisbane Lions players Brisbane Lions premiership players Aspley Football Club players Zillmere Eagles Australian Football Club players 1981 births Southern Districts Football Club players VFL/AFL premiership players Australian rules footballers from Brisbane