Simon Black (born 3 April 1979) is a former

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

player and current assistant coach, who played his whole career with 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 ...

in the

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 ...

(AFL). Black was a midfielder with a reputation for hard work and skill. He had the ability to get under the pack to retrieve the ball as well as deliver it with precision to teammates. He was drafted by the Brisbane Lions in 1997 from the East Fremantle Football Club, and he debuted in the first game of the 1998 season and quickly became one of Brisbane's best players. He became Brisbane’s third

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as Charlie), is awarded to the best and fairest player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by the f ...

list by winning the much-coveted award in

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 ...

by a four-vote margin. He also won the 2003

Norm Smith Medal The Norm Smith Medal is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best on ground in the grand final of the Australian Football League (AFL). Prior to 1990, the competition was known as the Victorian Footbal ...

and the 2001, 2002, and 2006

Merrett–Murray Medal The Merrett–Murray Medal has been awarded annually since 1997, to the player adjudged the Brisbane Lions club champion over the immediately preceding Australian Football League (AFL) season. It is named after Roger Merrett and Kevin Murray (Aus ...

s awarded to the

best and fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

player with the

and three premiership medallions he received as a part of the Lions' hat-trick of premierships in

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Black, along with

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 ...

(

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

Brownlow Medallist),

Jason Akermanis Jason Dean Akermanis (born 24 February 1977) is a former professional Australian rules football player who played in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a Brownlow Medallist and triple premiership player who played for the Brisbane Bears ...

(

Brownlow Medallist) and Nigel Lappin were collectively known as 'The Fab Four' and are widely considered to be one of the best midfield combinations in the history of the game.Michael Voss says Carlton Fab Four has way to go to match Brisbane greats
/ref> Black is currently serving as the Contest Skills and Midfield Coach at the

Background

Born in

Mount Isa Mount Isa ( ) is a city in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia. It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. Mount Isa Mines (MIM) is one of the most productive mines in world history, based on co ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, to Western Australian mother and father Ray a dairy farmer of

Kaitaia Kaitaia () is a town in the Far North District of New Zealand, at the base of the Aupōuri Peninsula, about 160 km northwest of Whangārei. It is the last major settlement on State Highway 1. Ahipara Bay, the southern end of Te Oneroa-a- ...

in New Zealand. He relocated to

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

with his family at a very young age, where he attended school at Corpus Christi College in Bateman and

Aquinas College, Perth Aquinas College, informally known as Aquinas or AC, is an Independent school, independent Roman Catholicism in Australia, Roman Catholic Single-sex education, single-sex Primary school, primary and Secondary school, secondary Day school, day a ...

. Nurtured by his father, Black initially played

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

with dreams of being an

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

thanks to his New Zealand heritage but later took up Australian rules. He was a standout junior 800m and 1500m runner as a junior. At age 15 he suffered a back injury that required him to not play football for 18 months. He joined

East Fremantle Football Club The East Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Sharks and colloquially referred to as East Freo, is an Australian rules football club playing in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). The team's home ground is Eas ...

and represented Western Australia in the 1997 edition of the AFL Under-18 Championships, where he earned All-Australian honours. He was a member of East Fremantle's losing 1997 WAFL Grand Final team. Black was drafted by the Brisbane Lions with the 31st selection in the 1997 National Draft.

Playing career

Early career

Black was impressive during the 1998 pre-season and earned his senior debut in Round 1 against the Western Bulldogs at

the Gabba The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as the Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. The nickname Gabba derives from the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located. Over the years, the Gab ...

. He played nine senior matches and averaged over 12 disposals during his debut season and took out the Club’s Best First Year Player award. In 1999, he consolidated himself as an automatic senior selection and built a reputation for winning the ball in contested situations. He collected 20 possessions and kicked two goals against Geelong in Round 9 which earned him an AFL Rising Star Nomination; he ultimately finished third in the award behind Sydney’s Adam Goodes and Adelaide’s Brett Burton. He played 22 matches for the season and averaged close to 19 disposals and won the Lions' Rookie of the Year award for the second consecutive season. In 2000, he averaged 23.9 disposals per game, led the competition in centre clearances on a per game basis and finished second behind Geelong’s Garry Hocking in hard-ball gets.

Premiership era

Black became one of the league's elite midfielders from 2001. Over the following four years, Black and the Lions contested four Grand Finals, winning the premiership in

and

, and finishing runner-up in

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 ...

. During that time, Black was part of a Brisbane midfield combination which is considered to be one of the best in the league's history: Black,

and Nigel Lappin, who became known collectively as the "Fab Four". In 2001, Black played every match for the season, led the AFL in tackles and averaged a team-high 24.6 possessions. He was joint Club Champion with Captain Michael Voss, was named as the starting ruck-rover in the All-Australian team, finished 5th in the AFLPA's Most Valuable Player award, and won the

Herald Sun Player of the Year The ''Herald Sun'' Player of the Year award is a media award for the Australian Football League (AFL) given by Melbourne newspaper the ''Herald Sun''. It has been awarded annually since 1991. In each game throughout the season, a selected ''Hera ...

award. He represented Australia for the first and only time of his career in the 2001 International Rules Series against Ireland. In 2002, Black won the

, polling 25 votes to beat second-placed Josh Francou by four votes, and comparisons were made between him and dual Brownlow Medallist Greg Williams because of his outstanding peripheral vision and ability to get the contested ball. He earned All-Australian selection and won the Merrett–Murray Medal for the second consecutive season. He was strong again in 2003, and won the

as best on ground in the Grand Final with a career-best 39 possessions, the most ever recorded by any player in a Grand Final – it remained the sole highest until it was eventually equalled by Christian Petracca's performance in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

. In 2004, Black became a vice-captain of the Lions, and he won All-Australian selection for the third time in his career. At the end of the season, Black had played a sequence of 107 consecutive matches for Brisbane, before a suspension in the violent

2004 AFL Grand Final The 2004 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Port Adelaide Football Club and the Brisbane Lions, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 25 September 2004. It was the 108th annual grand final ...

ended the sequence.

Later career

Black's 2005 season was interrupted by injury, but in 2006 he played every match, and won the third Merrett–Murray Medal of his career. At the beginning of 2007, Black was named as one of the four Lions co-captains, replacing the retiring captain Michael Voss. In 2007 and 2008, Black continued to be Brisbane's premier midfielder, and he finished second in the Brownlow Medal in both seasons. He earned Brisbane Lions Life Membership at the end of his tenth season of service. He was also the Courier Mail Player of the Year in 2008, and was runner-up in the 2008 Merrett–Murray medal. In 2009, new coach Michael Voss named Jonathan Brown as the sole captain of the club, and Black remained in the leadership group. He had another consistent season in 2010, finishing second in the Merrett–Murray Medal. In 2012, Black played his 300th AFL game, becoming the first player in league history to win a Brownlow Medal, a Norm Smith Medal, a Premiership Medal and play 300 games. In 2013, Black equalled

Marcus Ashcroft Marcus Ashcroft (born 25 September 1971) is a former professional Australian rules footballer. He played 318 games for the Brisbane Bears and Brisbane Lions and held the position of General Manager of Football at the Gold Coast Football Club u ...

's record for the most games played for the Brisbane Bears/Lions playing his 318th game. His final game was the round 21 match against at

after which he was suspended for one match for striking Giants captain Callan Ward in the final quarter. On 18 October 2013, Black announced his retirement from the AFL.

Coaching career

Shortly after announcing his retirement from the AFL, Black signed on as an assistant coach at the Lions for two years. His main focus is coaching the team's forward line and attacking systems. In 2016, Black founded the Simon Black Australian Rules Academy, a full time sport and educational program which provides pathways for students to pursue University and Fitness qualifications while training and playing AFL in an elite academy environment. He subsequently resigned from his role as a coach at the Brisbane Lions to focus on growing the Academy program.

Media career

In August 2019, Black joined '' 10 News First Queensland'' as an AFL analyst. In 2019, Black competed in the fourth season of ''

Australian Survivor ''Australian Survivor'' is an Australian adventure reality game show based on the international ''Survivor'' format. Following the premise of other versions of the ''Survivor'' format, the show features a group of contestants, referred to as " ...

''. He was eliminated on Day 42 and finished in 7th place.

Statistics

: , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 20 , , 9 , , 2 , , 5 , , 73 , , 37 , , 110 , , 28 , , 11 , , 0.2 , , 0.6 , , 8.1 , , 4.1 , , 12.2 , , 3.1 , , 1.2 , , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 20 , , 22 , , 19 , , 14 , , 260 , , 156 , , 416 , , 70 , , 60 , , 0.9 , , 0.6 , , 11.8 , , 7.1 , , 18.9 , , 3.2 , , 2.7 , , 9 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 20 , , 19 , , 16 , , 12 , , 273 , , 181 , , 454 , , 61 , , 62 , , 0.8 , , 0.6 , , 14.4 , , 9.5 , , 23.9 , , 3.2 , , 3.3 , , 4 , - , scope="row" bgcolor="F0E68C" ,

^# , style="text-align:center;", , 20 , , 25 , , 23 , , 17 , , 308 , , bgcolor=CAE1FF , 314^† , , bgcolor=CAE1FF , 622^† , , 79 , , bgcolor=CAE1FF , 119^† , , 0.9 , , 0.7 , , 12.3 , , 12.6 , , 24.9 , , 3.2 , , 4.8 , , 12 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" , scope="row" bgcolor="F0E68C" ,

^# , style="text-align:center;", , 20 , , 25 , , 17 , , 18 , , 288 , , bgcolor=CAE1FF , 294^† , , bgcolor=CAE1FF , 582^† , , 84 , , bgcolor=CAE1FF , 115^† , , 0.7 , , 0.7 , , 11.5 , , 11.8 , , 23.3 , , 3.4 , , 4.6 , , bgcolor="98FB98" , 25 , - , scope="row" bgcolor="F0E68C" ,

^# , style="text-align:center;", , 20 , , 26 , , 16 , , 14 , , 326 , , 308 , , 634 , , 73 , , 113 , , 0.6 , , 0.5 , , 12.5 , , 11.8 , , 24.4 , , 2.8 , , 4.3 , , 12 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, style="text-align:center;", , 20 , , 25 , , 13 , , 11 , , 284 , , 307 , , 591 , , 57 , , 97 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 11.4 , , 12.3 , , 23.6 , , 2.3 , , 3.9 , , 18 , - ! 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;", , 20 , , 18 , , 10 , , 8 , , 213 , , 183 , , 396 , , 50 , , 48 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 11.8 , , 10.2 , , 22.0 , , 2.8 , , 2.7 , , 6 , -style="background:#eaeaea;" ! 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;", , 20 , , 22 , , 8 , , 4 , , 257 , , 273 , , 530 , , 63 , , 108 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 11.7 , , 12.4 , , 24.1 , , 2.9 , , 4.9 , , 11 , - ! 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;", , 20 , , 21 , , 9 , , 11 , , 244 , , 222 , , 466 , , 45 , , 91 , , 0.4 , , 0.5 , , 11.6 , , 10.6 , , 22.2 , , 2.1 , , 4.3 , , 22 , -style="background:#eaeaea;" ! 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;", , 20 , , 21 , , 10 , , 9 , , 253 , , 286 , , 539 , , 61 , , 87 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 12.0 , , 13.6 , , 25.7 , , 2.9 , , 4.1 , , 23 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 20 , , 23 , , 10 , , 7 , , 256 , , 328 , , 584 , , 65 , , 112 , , 0.4 , , 0.3 , , 11.1 , , 14.3 , , 25.4 , , 2.8 , , 4.9 , , 19 , -style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 20 , , 18 , , 6 , , 4 , , 222 , , 238 , , 460 , , 74 , , 69 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 12.3 , , 13.2 , , 25.6 , , 4.1 , , 3.8 , , 3 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 20 , , 22 , , 4 , , 9 , , 285 , , 305 , , 590 , , 62 , , 95 , , 0.2 , , 0.4 , , 13.0 , , 13.9 , , 26.8 , , 2.8 , , 4.3 , , 9 , -style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 20 , , 18 , , 5 , , 6 , , 180 , , 247 , , 427 , , 48 , , 67 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 10.0 , , 13.7 , , 23.7 , , 2.7 , , 3.7 , , 6 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 20 , , 8 , , 3 , , 5 , , 77 , , 102 , , 179 , , 17 , , 29 , , 0.4 , , 0.6 , , 9.6 , , 12.8 , , 22.4 , , 2.1 , , 3.6 , , 5 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 322 ! 171 ! 154 ! 3799 ! 3781 ! 7580 ! 937 ! 1283 ! 0.5 ! 0.5 ! 11.8 ! 11.7 ! 23.5 ! 2.9 ! 4.0 ! 184

Honours and achievements

*Team **3×

AFL Premiership This page is a complete chronological listing of VFL/AFL premiers. The Australian Football League (AFL), known as the Victorian Football League (VFL) until 1989, is the elite national competition in men's Australian rules football. The inaugur ...

(

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

): 2001, 2002, 2003 *Individual **'
AFL Qld Hall of Fame
'' Inductee: 2023 **

Australian Football Hall of Fame The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the 1996 AFL season, centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media pe ...

Inductee: 2020 **

: 2002 **3× Merrett–Murray Medal (Brisbane Best & Fairest): 2001, 2002, 2006 ** King of the Pride: 2007 – 2016 **3×

All-Australian The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perfo ...

: 2001, 2002, 2004 **

: 2003 ** Australian Representative Honours in

International Rules Football International rules football (; also known as international rules in Australia and compromise rules or Aussie rules in Ireland) is a team sport consisting of a hybrid of football codes, which was developed to facilitate international represe ...

: 2001 **

Marcus Ashcroft Medal The Marcus Ashcroft Medal is awarded to the player judged best on ground in the QClash Australian rules football, football match played between Brisbane Lions, Brisbane and Gold Coast Football Club, Gold Coast. It is named after former football ...

: 2011 (Round 21) ** Brisbane Lions Captain: 2007–2008 ** AFL Rising Star Nominee: 1999 (Round 9) In June 2019, it was announced that Black had been voted into the

for the class of 2018, but due to his commitments to filming ''

'' he was unable to attend the induction ceremony. He was officially inducted in 2020.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Simon 1979 births Living people All-Australians (AFL) Australian rules footballers from Western Australia East Fremantle Football Club players Brisbane Lions captains Brisbane Lions players Brisbane Lions premiership players Brownlow Medal winners Merrett–Murray Medal winners Norm Smith Medal winners Australian people of Māori descent People educated at Aquinas College, Perth People educated at Corpus Christi College, Perth Sportspeople from Mount Isa Western Australian Sports Star of the Year winners West Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Australia international rules football team players Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees VFL/AFL premiership players Survivor (franchise) contestants Participants in Australian reality television series