Derek Wirth is a former Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

er who played with the Brisbane Lions

Brisbane Lions

The Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996...

 in the Australian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

 (AFL).

A Springwood junior, Wirth was a key position player, originally drafted to the Brisbane Bears

Brisbane Bears

The Brisbane Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Bears was an Australian rules football club and the first Queensland-based club in the Victorian Football League . The club played its first match in 1987, but struggled on and off the field until it made the finals for the first time in 1995...

. He was recruited from Mount Gravatt, as one of three zone selections in the 1995 AFL Draft

1995 AFL Draft

The 1995 AFL Draft was held at the conclusion of the 1995 Australian Football League season.The AFL Draft is the annual draft of new unsigned players by Australian rules football clubs that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League.Clubs receive picks based...

. He didn't play a league game for Brisbane in 1996 and at the end of the year was signed by the Lions, who were formed from a merger between the Bears and Fitzroy

Fitzroy Football Club

The Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...

.

He spent two years with the Lions and in his second season finally made his debut, against Melbourne

Melbourne Football Club

The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....

 at the MCG

Melbourne Cricket Ground

The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...

 in round 18. Wirth kicked two goals and was one of just two multiple goal-scorers from Brisbane, but lost his place in the side following a 95 point loss. It was the only AFL game he would play, despite also spending a year at Geelong

Geelong Football Club

The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...

, who had picked him up in the rookie draft.

In 2000 he was a member of the Redland

Redland Australian Football Club

Redland Australian Football Club is a Redland City-based Australian rules football club competing in the AFL Queensland State League competition.-History:...

 team which competed in their inaugural Queensland State League

Queensland Australian Football League

The Queensland Australian Football League was an Australian rules football competition for clubs from South East Queensland.Up until 2010, the QAFL was the premier semi-professional competition in Queensland, with salary cap rules and regulations in place.It was previously known as the Queensland...

season. He went on to make over 100 appearances with the club and served as captain from 2003 to 2005.