Bryce Retzlaff Biography

Defender Cheynee Stiller heads a group of six Brisbane Lions delisted by the club that also include Sam Sheldon, James Hawksley, Bryce Retzlaff and rookie-listed pair Brad Harvey and Josh Dyson.

Apprentice forward Bryce Retzlaff believes he is blessed to have Jonathan Brown as his skipper and teacher.

"There wouldn't be many kids in the AFL in a better position, playing alongside one of the blokes I admired growing up. He's just a freak. There's only four or five players in the competition at his level," Retzlaff said.

"There's everyone else and Jonathan Brown is just a step above so to be around him, training on the same ground as him is great, let alone him taking a bit of interest in you and spending a bit of time with you; so I'm certainly very lucky that's for sure."

Bryce Retzlaff makes his AFL debut for Brisbane at the Gabba with 12 disposals (6 kicks and 6 handballs), 3 marks and a tackle in an 8-point loss to Gold Coast.

Key position player Bryce Retzlaff went from shattered to elated in a matter of minutes on draft night after being overlooked by the Brisbane Lions at pick No. 73 before being selected at pick No. 84.

"My number got read out and I said 'that's my number' and the house nearly fell down," he said.

"We were running around and jumping around. It was crazy. Initially it was bad when I thought I missed out but it ended up being better because it wasn't expected. It was unbelievable."