Lineman Franchise Player

No	Name	Position	Years
53	David Allen	Guard	1992-1994, 1996-

 

 

 

 

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FRANCHISE PLAYER	7  ANDREW OGBORNE Quarterback       1984-7, 95
	Offensive Franchise Player   The Lions' first quarterback.  A natural leader and an accurate passer, Ogborne guided Sydney Uni to the Grandfinal in 1984 and undefeated championship seasons in 1985 and 1986.  He received the MVP award for the 1985 Grandfinal.  Designing the playbook and calling the plays, Ogborne was the architect of the 1986 offence which is still the top ranked Lions offence for yards per play (7.7) and second ranked for points per game (46.8) and yards per game (382.5).  He had started impressively in 1987 (rating a Lions record 210.2) before a badly broken arm ended his season.  That game also snapped a then Gridiron NSW record 26 game winning streak for the Lions.    After an eight year break, Ogborne returned to the field to lead the Lions to an undefeated championship season in 1995 before retiring as a player.  Ogborne's comeback meant he had quarterbacked the Lions to victory in his last 36 straight games for three undefeated Gridiron NSW championship seasons in 1985, 1986 and 1995.     Ogborne still holds many Lions passing records, including game records for pass yards (352 v Hills District 20/7/86), TD passes (5 v Sutherland 24/5/87), completion percentage (77.8% (min. 20 atts) v Hills District 20/7/86), consecutive completions (9 v Hills District 20/7/86) and quarterback rating (313.5 (min. 10 atts) v St George 7/6/87).  He was the starting quarterback of the 1985 and 1986 NSW teams and a member of the Australian Kookaburras tour of American in 1984.

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FRANCHISE PLAYER	82  CRAIG MORGAN Linebacker       1993-2006
	Defensive Franchise Player   Morgan joined the club in 1993 as a foundation member of the Cubs.  He was captain and leading tackler on the Cubs for their undefeated championship seasons in 1994 and 1995.  Morgan was good enough to play in Division 1 while still eligible for colts, starting at centre for the Lions in 1993.  He moved to linebacker for the next season and began his rise through the ranks of defensive playmakers.    In 1997, Morgan changed his number to 82 and lead the seasonal tackle count for the first time.  While the records are incomplete, there is little doubt Morgan topped the tackle count for every year from 1997 until 2005, when he restricted his own playing time as Defensive Co-ordinator.  Morgan holds the Lions career records for tackles averaged (513), fumble recoveries (9), fumble recoveries for touchdown (2) and safeties (3).  Having a knack for making the big play, Morgan also holds the Lions career record for points scored on defence (24).    Morgan was captain and leading tackler (a Lions season record of 85 tackles) on the 2004 defence which set Gridiron NSW records for the most shut-outs in a season (9) and the least points conceded in a regular season (12).  Morgan started on the Gridiron NSW championship teams of 1995, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, and was selected into the 20 Year Anniversary Team at linebacker.

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FRANCHISE PLAYER	53    DAVID ALLEN Guard       1992-4, 96-
	Lineman Franchise Player   Allen joined the Lions in 1992, starting his career at outside linebacker.  By 1993, he was a defensive leader and calling the plays in the huddle.  After missing the 1995 season, he topped the season tackle count from outside linebacker in 1996, making him one of only two players to achieve that feat.    His move to the line started with strong performances in the 7-a-side tournaments in the late 1990s.  Allen first played defensive tackle, before switching over to the offensive line.  Despite playing about half his career on offence, Allen still ranks highly in several defensive categories.  He holds the Lions career record for interceptions returned for touchdowns (2) and ranks second in career fumbles caused (5), fifth in career tackles for loss (30+) and sixth in career sacks averaged (14).    On the offensive line, Allen has excelled as a tough-as-teak lineman with the power to shift the pile and the speed to pull around the corner.  He has played every position on the line and was selected into the 20 Year Anniversary Team at guard.  Allen holds the Lions career record for games played (169) and started on the Gridiron NSW championship teams of 1992, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008.  He has been a regular on the NSW Wolfpack and in 2008 was selected into the Australian Outback.