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 Zachary Karl Bailey grew up in Darwin, Northern Territory and played for Southern Districts Football Club. Bailey represented the NT Thunder and Allies at junior level.https://www.lions.com.au/news/13992/pick-no-zac-bailey 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 a goal during the first quarter of the 2023 Grand Final against . Brisbane lost the game by a narrow margin. 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, finishing the match with 3 goals and 6 behinds.
On 8 September 2026, Bailey signed an eight-year contract extension with the Lions.
Statistics Updated to the end of round 22, 2026.
| 2018 || || 33 | 12 || 6 || 4 || 76 || 86 || 162 || 36 || 28 || 0.5 || 0.3 || 6.3 || 7.2 || 13.5 || 3.0 || 2.3 || 0 |- | 2019 || || 33 | 15 || 5 || 5 || 106 || 74 || 180 || 38 || 29 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 7.1 || 4.9 || 12.0 || 2.5 || 1.9 || 0 |- | 2020 || || 33 | 19 || 13 || 9 || 166 || 89 || 255 || 76 || 47 || 0.7 || 0.5 || 8.7 || 4.7 || 13.4 || 4.0 || 2.5 || 1 |- | 2021 || || 33 | 24 || 31 || 18 || 273 || 167 || 440 || 77 || 68 || 1.3 || 0.8 || 11.4 || 7.0 || 18.3 || 3.2 || 2.8 || 4 |- | 2022 || || 33 | 24 || 37 || 18 || 271 || 141 || 412 || 96 || 52 || 1.5 || 0.8 || 11.3 || 5.9 || 17.2 || 4.0 || 2.2 || 5 |- | 2023 || || 33 | 24 || 29 || 19 || 254 || 148 || 402 || 76 || 72 || 1.2 || 0.8 || 10.6 || 6.2 || 16.8 || 3.2 || 3.0 || 5 |- | scope=row bgcolor=F0E68C | 2024# || || 33 | 22 || 22 || 12 || 218 || 140 || 358 || 94 || 52 || 1.0 || 0.5 || 9.9 || 6.4 || 16.3 || 4.3 || 2.4 || 0 |- | scope=row bgcolor=F0E68C | 2025# || || 33 | 26 || 42 || 39 || 321 || 199 || 520 || 123 || 60 || 1.6 || 1.5 || 12.3 || 7.7 || 20.0 || 4.7 || 2.3 || 6 |- | scope=row bgcolor=F0E68C | 2026# || || 33 | 20 || 30 || 19 || 274 || 153 || 427 || 106 || 57 || 1.5 || 1.0 || 13.7 || 7.7 || 21.4 || 5.3 || 2.9 || 0 |- class=sortbottom ! colspan=3 | Career ! 186 !! 215 !! 143 !! 1959 !! 1197 !! 3156 !! 722 !! 465 !! 1.2 !! 0.8 !! 10.5 !! 6.4 !! 17.0 !! 3.9 !! 2.5 !! 21
Notes
Honours and achievements Team AFL premiership player: 2024, 2025 McClelland Trophy/Club Championship: 2025
Individual 2× All-Australian team: 2025, 2026 22under22 team: 2021 Marcus Ashcroft Medal: 2022
References
External links