Breanna L. Koenen (born 31 December 1994) is an Australian rules footballer and captain of the Brisbane Lions in the AFL Women's (AFLW).

Breanna Koenen
Koenen warming up before the 2022 season 7 Grand Final
Personal information
Full name Breanna Koenen
Nickname(s) Bre[1]
Date of birth (1994-12-31) 31 December 1994 (age 29)
Place of birth Magnetic Island, Queensland
Original team(s) University of Queensland (QWAFL)
Draft No. 50, 2016 AFL Women's draft
Debut Round 1, 2017, Brisbane vs. Melbourne, at Casey Fields
Height 170 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Defender
Club information
Current club Brisbane
Number 3
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2017– Brisbane 77 (3)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the 2023 season.
Career highlights
Source: AustralianFootball.com

Early life and state football

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She started playing for her home team, the Magnetic Island Magpies an AFL Townsville junior club based at Horseshoe Bay Magnetic Island, together with her siblings.[1] She later played for the North Cairns Tigers during the summers, and was selected for Queensland at State level several times, including captaining the under-18 team in 2012.[2] In 2014, Koenen was awarded a Clem Jones Scholarship to study exercise science at the University of Queensland and to play for the University of Queensland Red Lions.[2][3] In her first two seasons at University of Queensland, she won the best and fairest award twice consecutively.[4] The following season, in 2016, she was named in the QWAFL Team of the Year.[5] In 2017, she was selected for a second time for the QWAFL Team of the Year and was awarded a UQ Blue award by the University of Queensland for enhancing the reputation of university sport.[6] Following Koenen's rise to the highest level of playing, the Youth Girls' best on ground award at the SeaLink AFL Carnival was named the Breanna L. Koenen Medal after her.[7]

AFLW career

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Koenen was recruited by Brisbane with the number 50 pick in the 2016 AFL Women's draft.[8][9][10] She made her debut in Brisbane's inaugural game against Melbourne at Casey Fields on 5 February 2017.[11] Brisbane signed Koenen for the 2018 season during the trade period in May 2017.[12] In April 2019, Koenen re-signed with Brisbane for the 2020 season,[13] and was then selected for the club's leadership group.[14] During this season, she shifted forward from a back line defending role to the half-back line and the midfield.[15] Koenen signed on with Brisbane for 2 more years on 15 June 2021,[16] and was named the Lions' captain ahead of 2022 season 6.[17]

Statistics

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Statistics are correct to the end of 2022 (S6).[18]
Legend
  G  
Goals
  K  
Kicks
  D  
Disposals 
  T  
Tackles
  B  
Behinds 
  H  
Handballs 
  M  
Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2017 Brisbane 3 8 0 0 34 17 51 13 19 0.0 0.0 4.3 2.1 6.4 1.6 2.4 0
2018 Brisbane 3 8 0 0 57 32 89 26 14 0.0 0.0 7.1 4.0 11.1 3.3 1.8 0
2019 Brisbane 3 5 1 0 38 15 53 12 14 0.2 0.0 7.6 3.0 10.6 2.4 2.8 0
2020 Brisbane 3 7 0 0 60 13 73 22 33 0.0 0.0 8.6 1.9 10.4 3.1 4.7 0
2021# Brisbane 3 11 0 0 100 29 129 30 21 0.0 0.0 9.1 2.6 11.7 2.7 1.9 0
2022 (S6) Brisbane 3 12 0 0 92 26 118 19 28 0.0 0.0 7.6 2.1 9.8 1.5 2.3 0
Career 51 1 0 381 132 513 122 129 0.1 0.0 7.4 2.5 10.0 2.4 2.4 0


Personal life

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Koenen was born on the last day of 1994 in Magnetic Island.[3] Her siblings are all talented athletes too, with her brother, Dirk, playing football with the Gold Coast Academy, her sister, Cara, playing netball with the Sunshine Coast Lightning in the National Netball League, and her younger sister Alyssa was an Australian representative in surfing.[1] She studied exercise science at the University of Queensland.[3] Apart from playing football, she works as a physiotherapist.[15] She attended school at The Cathedral School.[19]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Classy Koenen clan create sports history across the codes". Sunshine Coast Daily. 18 February 2017.
  2. ^ a b Swann, Michael (5 February 2014). "Breanna Claims Clem Jones Scholarship". University of Queensland Australian Football Club. Archived from the original on 7 April 2019.
  3. ^ a b c "Brisbane Lions AFL Women's Players". Brisbane Lions. Telstra Media. Archived from the original on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  4. ^ Wiles, Andrew (21 October 2015). "Koenen goes back-to-back in UQ B&F". AFL Queensland.
  5. ^ "Two Lions named in QWAFL Team of the Year". Brisbane Lions. Telstra Media. 12 September 2016.
  6. ^ Melrose, Sean (7 November 2017). "Lion Honored by UQ". AFL Queensland.
  7. ^ "Bryher Forster wins Breanna L. Koenen Medal as Townsville clubs turn out for SeaLink AFL Carnival". AFL Queensland. 23 May 2019.
  8. ^ "Breanna Koenen". Brisbane Lions. Telstra Media. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  9. ^ Black, Sarah (12 October 2016). "As it happened: 2016 AFL Women's Draft". Australian Football League. Telstra Media.
  10. ^ @uqsport (12 October 2016). "Four @UQAFC members drafted to @brisbanelions' inaugural Women's @AFL team: Breanna Koenen, Megan Hunt, Sharni Webb & Emma Zielke!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. ^ "AFLW 2017 round one: Melbourne Demons v Brisbane Lions". Herald Sun. 5 February 2017. Archived from the original on 7 February 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  12. ^ "AFLW: All the clubs' full lists after trade period". Australian Football League. Telstra Media. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  13. ^ "AFLW: Magnetic Island's Breanna Koenen re-signs with Brisbane Lions". Townsville Bulletin. 17 April 2019.
  14. ^ Fielding, Josie (18 December 2019). "Emma Zielke returns as Captain". Brisbane Lions. Telstra Media.
  15. ^ a b Fielding, Josie (28 February 2020). "Koenen's: Magnetic Island Magpies to Lions AFLW". Brisbane Lions. Telstra Media.
  16. ^ "Stars Sign and the Future Looks Bright". Lions Media. 15 June 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  17. ^ "Tough As Nails With A Heart Of Gold". Lions Media. 7 November 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  18. ^ "Breanna Koenen". australianfootball.com. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  19. ^ "QLD U18 Youth Girls Team Announced | AFL Queensland". Retrieved 3 December 2023.
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