Brisbane Lions leave their mark on Western Downs

DOZENS of AFL enthusiasts of all ages got the visit of a lifetime this week from two up-and-coming Brisbane Lions stars.

Ben Keays and Cedric Cox were in town showing Chinchilla locals Australian footy has an important role to play outside the big lights of the Gabba Stadium.

Monday afternoon was spent working on ball skills and game techniques down at the Chinchilla Recreation Grounds with members of the Suns AFC.

"Chinchilla feels a lot like my small hometown in Western Australia,” Cox said.

Originally from Halls Creek in the Kimberley region, Cox moved to Victoria as a teenager to pursue his AFL dream.

"We never got opportunities like this growing up, I think trips like this mean a lot to the kids we meet but it also means a lot to us as players,

"It's rewarding to see the regional support,” he said.

2019 will be the first time in three years since Chinchilla had enough players to form their own junior teams.

This year the club will have an under 12s and an under 14s team as well as their dominant senior mens division.

"We missed out not having our own junior teams the last couple of years so having the Lions come out this week was fantastic,” Suns team member, Steve Fenech said.

"We're currently re-working the playing schedule so the senior and junior teams can travel and play together,

"It's quite hard to juggle everything with three teams playing all over the downs over the same weekend, he said.

The Lions were also able to stop in at the Chinchilla Christian College and out at Brigalow before returning back to Brisbane to continue their pre-season training.

For more photos from the Brisbane Lions visit, check out the photo gallery bellow: