Leo Lombard

Lombard was born on the Gold Coast into a family with a Cuban father and an English mother. He attended Varsity College throughout his upbringing and took part in their ASPIRE AFL excellence program with future Suns teammate Jake Rogers.^[2] Lombard's father, Héctor, is a professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship^[3] and a formerly competed as an Olympic judoka who represented Cuba at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. His father introduced him to Brazilian jiu-jitsu at six years of age^[4] and Lombard was considered a promising junior prospect years later when he claimed a gold medal at the Pan Pacific Championships in 2017 and was crowned the under-12 BJJ Australian Open champion in 2018.^[5] However, Lombard and his father later became estranged and no longer have a relationship, leaving Lombard's single mother to work three jobs in order to provide for her son.^[6]

Along with jiu-jitsu, Lombard began playing Australian rules football at eight years of age for the Burleigh Bombers and excelled as a junior footballer, which was rewarded with an invitation to join the Gold Coast Suns Academy at 12 years of age.^[7] Lombard grew up supporting the Gold Coast Suns in the AFL.^[8] He later admitted he only played football "for fun" on the side and was focused on pursuing a career in mixed martial arts, until the greater levels of development opportunities provided by the Suns Academy convinced him to quit Brazilian jiu-jitsu and chase a career in the AFL.^[9] Lombard progressed his way through the Gold Coast Suns Academy junior grades earning representative honours along the way such as being selected in the 2022 U16 All-Australian team.^[10] In 2023, he was selected to represent the victorious Allies team as a bottom ager in the U18 National Championships alongside future AFL teammates Jed Walter, Ethan Read, Jake Rogers and Will Graham.^[11] Lombard capped off his 2023 season by taking part in the Gold Coast's VFL grand final winning side at 16 years of age.^[12] He returned to the U18 National Championships a year later and was awarded the Larke Medal as the best performed Division I player in the country as well as selection in the starting U18 All-Australian team.^[13]

Lombard was drafted to his hometown AFL club, the Gold Coast Suns, when they decided to match a pick 9 bid from St Kilda at the 2024 national draft.^[14] Following an early season shoulder injury setback, he made his AFL debut for the Suns at 18 years of age against Fremantle in round 12 of the 2025 AFL season^[15] and became the first player of Cuban descent to compete in the AFL. He kicked a memorable goal that evoked loud cheers from the home crowd at Carrara Stadium in his first outing as an AFL player.^[16]

In Opening Round of the 2026 AFL season, Lombard kicked two goals from 15 disposals to earn himself a nomination for the 2026 AFL Rising Star award.^[17] In May, he extended his contract with the Suns, keeping him at the club until the end of 2030.^[18]

Updated to the end of round 14, 2026.^[19]