Justin Leppitsch

Justin Leppitsch

Justin Leppitsch in 2005
Personal information
Full name Justin Leppitsch
Date of birth (1975-10-01) 1 October 1975
Place of birth Melbourne, Australia
Original team(s) Southern Stingrays
Draft No. 4, 1992 National Draft, Brisbane Bears
Height / weight 191 cm / 98 kg
Position(s) Defender
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1993–1996
1997–2006
Total		 Brisbane Bears
Brisbane Lions		 044 0(58)
183 (136)
227 (194)
Representative team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
1999 Victoria 1 (0)
International team honours
1999–2000 Australia 4 (6)
Coaching career3
Years Club Games (W–L–D)
2007; 2008
2014–2016		 Suncoast Lions (AFLQSL)
Brisbane Lions (AFL)		 4 (4–0–0)
66 (14–52–0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2006.
3 Coaching statistics correct as of 2016.
Career highlights

Justin Leppitsch (born 1 October 1975) is a former professional Australian rules footballer and the former coach of the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League.

Early life

Leppitsch was raised in Berwick, Victoria. In 1992, he played in the newly established VSFL Under-18 competition (later known as the TAC Cup) with Southern Stingrays, where he was runner-up for the Morrish Medal,[1] and caught the attention of Brisbane Bears talent scouts. He was selected by Brisbane at pick 4 in the 1992 AFL Draft.[2]

AFL career

He made his debut in 1993 for the Bears as a 17-year-old, but was then dropped back to play for West Brisbane where he hurt his knee and required a complete knee reconstruction. He was unable to play football for 15 months.[3]

His breakout season was in 1999 under new coach Leigh Matthews, when he won the Brisbane Best and Fairest award, was selected as All-Australian for the first time[2] and represented Australia in International Rules.

Under Matthews, Leppitsch became a key component of the Lions spine, playing centre half back in the club's three premiership sides from 2001 to 2003 and earned All-Australian status three times.

Late in his career, Leppitsch battled a chronic hamstring-related back injury which inevitably ended his career due to the resulting calf muscle wastage. He announced his immediate retirement from the AFL on 5 June 2006.[4]

He was inducted into the Brisbane Lions Hall of Fame in 2012.[5]

Coaching career

In October 2006, Leppitsch had accepted a position as an assistant coach with the Brisbane Lions. He later signed with Richmond to be an assistant coach in September 2009.[6] In September 2013, Leppitsch signed a three-year contract to be the senior coach of the Brisbane Lions.[7]

On 29 August 2016, Leppitsch was sacked by the Lions after three seasons with the club,[8] despite being granted a one-year contract extension at the start of the year which would have seen him remain at the club until the end of the 2017 season.[9]

On 6 October 2016, Leppitsch returned to Richmond as an assistant coach.[10]

Statistics

Playing statistics

[11]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
Season Team # Games G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
Totals Averages (per game)
1993 Brisbane Bears 23 4 4 2 27 12 39 3 5 1.0 0.5 6.8 3.0 9.8 0.8 1.3
1994 Brisbane Bears 23 4 5 4 19 5 24 5 1 1.3 1.0 4.8 1.3 6.0 1.3 0.3
1995 Brisbane Bears 23 17 4 8 96 54 150 48 17 0.2 0.5 5.6 3.2 8.8 2.8 1.0
1996 Brisbane Bears 23 19 45 23 152 49 201 57 18 2.4 1.2 8.0 2.6 10.6 3.0 0.9
1997 Brisbane Lions 23 22 50 38 186 63 249 97 20 2.3 1.7 8.5 2.9 11.3 4.4 0.9
1998 Brisbane Lions 23 16 26 17 145 52 197 64 19 1.6 1.1 9.1 3.3 12.3 4.0 1.2
1999 Brisbane Lions 23 25 14 12 242 86 328 129 30 0.6 0.5 9.7 3.4 13.1 5.2 1.2
2000 Brisbane Lions 23 22 11 12 207 127 334 125 29 0.5 0.5 9.4 5.8 15.2 5.7 1.3
2001 Brisbane Lions 23 11 6 3 69 35 104 43 4 0.5 0.3 6.3 3.2 9.5 3.9 0.4
2002 Brisbane Lions 23 23 12 10 208 82 290 115 32 0.5 0.4 9.0 3.6 12.6 5.0 1.4
2003 Brisbane Lions 23 22 10 3 193 105 298 126 32 0.5 0.1 8.8 4.8 13.5 5.7 1.5
2004 Brisbane Lions 23 24 6 2 173 110 283 108 40 0.3 0.1 7.2 4.6 11.8 4.5 1.7
2005 Brisbane Lions 23 14 0 0 144 80 224 80 29 0.0 0.0 10.3 5.7 16.0 5.7 2.1
2006 Brisbane Lions 23 4 1 0 32 19 51 20 2 0.3 0.0 8.0 4.8 12.8 5.0 0.5
Career 227 194 134 1893 879 2772 1020 278 0.9 0.6 8.3 3.9 12.2 4.5 1.2

Coaching statistics

[12]
Legend
 W  Wins  L  Losses  D  Draws  W%  Winning percentage  LP  Ladder position  LT  League teams
Season Team Games W L D W % LP LT
2014 Brisbane Lions 22 7 15 0 31.8% 15 18
2015 Brisbane Lions 22 4 18 0 18.2% 17 18
2016 Brisbane Lions 22 3 19 0 13.6% 17 18
Career totals 66 14 52 0 21.2%

References

  1. ↑ Ashley Browne (2 September 1992). "Northern back takes Morrish". The Age. Melbourne, VIC. p. 28.
  2. 1 2 Walls, Robert (10 July 2004). "Milestones for greats". The Age.
  3. ↑ Voss, Michael (11 June 2006). "Competitive fire burned deep in Leppa". The Sunday Age.
  4. ↑ Stafford, Andrew (6 June 2006). "Leppitsch calls it a day as injuries take their toll". The Age.
  5. ↑ Hall of Fame – Justin Leppitsch
  6. ↑ Hogan, Jesse (18 September 2009). "Tigers snare Leppitsch, Lade". BrisbaneTimes.com.au. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  7. ↑ Lions confirm Leppitsch to replace Voss
  8. ↑ "Brisbane Lions sack coach Justin Leppitsch after 'bitterly disappointing' AFL season". ABC. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  9. ↑ Whiting, Michael (7 March 2016). "'Never any doubt': Lions confirm Leppitsch contract extension". AAP. Australian Football League. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  10. ↑ "Leppitsch returns to Richmond". richmondfc.com.au. 6 October 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  11. ↑ Justin Leppitsch's player profile at AFL Tables
  12. ↑ "Justin Leppitsch's coaching profile". AFL Tables.

External links

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