Fitzroy's old supporters are fighting for the survival of one of the last remnants of the club's history in a legal battle to ensure its AFL merger partner, Brisbane, keeps its original lion logo.

But the Victorian Supreme Court heard Fitzroy is standing in the way of Brisbane's financial success by demanding the club continue to use the logo.

Fitzroy says that when the clubs merged in 1996, Brisbane agreed in a Deed of Company Arrangement it would use the Fitzroy lion logo "in perpetuity".

Last year, Brisbane announced it was changing its logo from the traditional Fitzroy lion to a stylised design, described by its detractors as the "Paddle Pop" lion.

On Wednesday, Associate Justice Nemeer Mukhtar said passions ran high and "there is still some bleeding" about the Fitzroy issue after the 113-year-old club was forced to leave Melbourne to merge with Brisbane.

He said the case was a balancing act between potential financial damage to Brisbane and "the destruction of a symbol for which many people held great sentimental value".

The old Fitzroy has been revived as a suburban club in the lower divisions of the Victorian Amateur Football Association.

Brisbane Lions' barrister Rodney Garratt QC described Fitzroy as a club with a "shrinking if not vanishing supporter base" that sought to meddle in the business of a current AFL club.

"(A club that is) historical on one side that is asking to control the actions of an ongoing organisation, the Brisbane Lions, and is doing so in a way which threatens to be the cause of significant loss," he said.

Mr Garratt said Fitzroy did not say use of the logo would benefit its members, but the use of the logo would harm Brisbane's membership.

"There is a very uneven playing field," he said.

Fitzroy's lawyer Sturt (Sturt) Glacken SC described Brisbane's comments about its 1200 members as "condescending".

He said if Brisbane chose to go back on the agreement it made when the merger was announced, "it does so at its own peril".

In opposing an application by Brisbane for Fitzroy to pay a $177,000 bond to ensure Brisbane receives legal costs if it wins the case, Mr Glacken described the case as straightforward and small.

In its statement of claim, Fitzroy seeks that Brisbane be restrained from using the new logo or any logo other than the Fitzroy lion logo.

The court heard Fitzroy has limited financial resources and may have to collect money from the public to fund legal costs.

Associate Justice Mukhtar reserved his decision on the bond application.

The logo dispute is expected to go to mediation next month.

Founded in 1883, Fitzroy was a foundation VFL club in 1897 and won eight premierships - the last in 1944 - before financial troubles and poor onfield performances forced its merger.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP