Zac Bailey

Zachary Karl Bailey (born 23 September 1999) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by Brisbane with their second selection and fifteenth overall in the 2017 national draft.

Early life Bailey grew up in Darwin, Northern Territory and played for Southern Districts Football Club. Bailey represented the NT Thunder and Allies at junior level. He moved to Adelaide, South Australia, in 2016 to attend boarding school at Prince Alfred College. While in Adelaide, he played for Norwood Football Club in the SANFL.

AFL career Bailey made his AFL debut in the ninety-three point loss to at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in round four of the 2018 season. In round two of 2021, Bailey tackled Geelong's Mark Blicavs in last few seconds of Brisbane's game at GMHBA Stadium that was controversially not paid holding the ball to Bailey. The following week, he kicked the match-winning goal after the siren against Collingwood at Marvel Stadium.

Bailey kicked an iconic Grand Final goal during the first quarter of the 2023 Grand Final against . Brisbane lost the game by a narrow margin, diminishing the impact of the stunning solo goal. Bailey got his redemption by being a part of the Lions' 2024 premiership winning team, collecting 17 disposals and 7 marks in a 60 point victory over the Sydney Swans.

Bailey would go on to accrue five Norm Smith Medal votes in the 2025 AFL Grand Final as the Lions went back-to-back. Bailey was one of the Lions' most dangerous players, but his inefficiency in front of goals saw him kick 4 behinds in a row; however, he would eventually finish the match with a prolific score of 3.6 (24).

Statistics Updated to the end of round 22, 2026.

186 !! 215 !! 143 !! 1959 !! 1197 !! 3156 !! 722 !! 465 !! 1.2 !! 0.8 !! 10.5 !! 6.4 !! 17.0 !! 3.9 !! 2.5 !! 21