Top five draft prospect Levi Ashcroft has officially nominated as a Lions father-son selection, with the teenager to join brother Will in following in the footsteps of father and club great Marcus in playing for the Queensland club.
Ashcroft has proven to be one of the leading names in this year's draft class, having dominated in midfield for the Sandringham Dragons, AFL Academy, Vic Metro and Brighton Grammar.
Much like his older brother, who was drafted with Pick 2 in 2022, the ball-winning and hard-working 17-year-old looms as arguably this year's top talent set to be drafted through November's intake.
With father Marcus' stellar 318-game career that boasted three premierships with the Lions in the early 2000s, Brisbane have priority access to Levi, as they did with Will two years ago.
The club confirmed Levi's nomination as a father-son selection on Thursday, with the exciting prospect expressing his delight in preparing to make the journey north at the end of this year.
โIt's an honour and a privilege to be able to say I am joining this great club,โ he said.
โOur family has great connection to the club, with Dad's legacy, but also over the past couple of seasons as Will has started his career here as well.
โTo be joining him, and potentially playing for this club together, would be a dream come true for us but there is a lot of work to be done before that happens.
โI have been made so welcome by the people here - from Lachie Neale and Harris Andrews to Josh Dunkley, Charlie Cameron and Hugh McCluggage and all the younger guys.
โI feel so privileged to join a group like this. I just can't wait to get to work and earn the respect and trust of my new teammates and coaches."
Ashcroft will also make his VFL debut for Brisbane's reserves side this weekend when the Lions host GWS at Brighton Homes Arena on Sunday morning.
Brisbane football boss Danny Daly spoke of his pleasure to have Ashcroft commit to the club.
โTo have a young player like Levi coming to us with as much talent and potential is beyond exciting for our club, our members and fans,โ Daly said.
โLevi has performed strongly at various levels this season and we look forward to helping him develop into an AFL player within our program.
โWhat also impressed us is that not only is Levi a quality player, but he is also a quality person and someone that will help enhance the culture at the Brisbane Lions.
โThe Ashcroft's including Marcus, Bek, Will, Levi and Lucy have already been a part of our Brisbane Lions family and now that will continue for many more years.โ
Ashcroft has averaged 27.3 disposals, 6.3 inside 50s and 4.7 marks across three games for Sandringham in the Talent League this year, with the Dragons aiming for their third successive title - a run Ashcroft has been a part of since the age of 15.
