Jack Payne Biography

Jack Payne is in the frame to be part of the Lions' 2020 finals campaign after being a solid contributor late in the season for Brisbane.

Payne comes from a background in discus and said there was an unlikely crossover between the sports.

"When you're doing discus, it's a lot of footwork stuff and balance, so when you're flying for your marks, that can help you - footwork and technique," Payne said.

"I did discus for about four years and the year before my draft year, thought why not give it a good shot to hopefully fulfil my dream of playing AFL. I gave away discus to chase my AFL dream and it came true thankfully."

Jackson Payne signs a one-year extension with Brisbane to remain at the club until the end of 2020.

Payne spent most of his childhood chasing track and field dreams.

But aged 13 he caught the eye of a talent scout – despite just “mucking around” in a game at St Andrew’s Anglican College on the Sunshine Coast – and was signed to the Lions Academy.

“I never really followed AFL. I just played a couple of games with school.”

When he was 17, he decided to give athletics away, despite having represented Australia in the Oceanic Games for discus.

Payne knew AFL was where was his future lay.

“I saw some of my mates get drafted that year (2016),” he said.

“They were a part of the academy as well. It made me want to have a real good crack at it.

“I wanted to be around the team environment. Going through athletics, it was all about yourself ... to be around good mates 24/7 was what won it for me.”