Brisbane coach Chris Fagan says the additional hype surrounding his young side has been earned on the back of an improved showing in 2018.
The Lions won five games last year but were ultra-competitive in a number of matches, winning plaudits for their attacking brand of football.
While the expectations at the club have risen for the 2019 season, Fagan has called for complete focus heading into the pre-season.
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“Our players are aware of the fact that there’s a lot of positive thoughts about us, and to a degree, they feel like they’ve earned those comments,” Fagan told SEN.
“But they do know they have along way to go, we still only won five games last year, albeit we were much closer in six-or-seven other games and weren’t too far away from achieving victories.
“I think they’ve taken confidence out of that but still know that there’s a lot of work to be done and they’re aware of how competitive the competition is.
“I haven’t detected any complacency at all, it’s more how can we improve? How can we get better? How can we turn those close loses into wins next year?”
Brisbane acquired the services of Lachie Neale, Marcus Adams and Lincoln McCarthy during the trade period.