Brisbane hosts Geelong at the Gabba on Saturday afternoon with more to play for than it could have hoped for at the start of the season.
Win and they travel to the MCG to play Richmond with the very real prospect of a top two finish at the end of the home and away season and two finals at the Gabba. The Lions are being discussed quite openly … don't laugh, as a premiership contender.
Not in 2020, ’21, or ’22, but 2019.
These are the same Lions who just 64 games ago finished a season in which they leaked an average of 132 points a game. Between 2014 and 2016, the Lions won just 14 games.
So how did we get here?
In this week’s AFL Record, we identify the five key reasons why the Lions have been transformed so quickly from laughing stock to flag fancy.
1. Chris Fagan and David Noble join the club
New coach Fagan was one of the lead architects of Hawthorn’s golden era, as director of coaching and then general manager of football. Noble, as head of football, had held a similar position at Adelaide, a big club known for its stability and innovation.
Together they brought a sense of calm and a clear vision to the beleaguered club, but importantly, they came without a timetable for success.
2. Retention and recruitment
A new philosophy when it came to drafting. Pick kids from the country because they’ll be less likely to be homesick down the track. And if your draftees are good mates already, then again, they’re less likely to want to decamp down the track.
3. Luke Hodge joins the club
It is impossible to overstate the importance of one of the greatest players of the past 15 years choosing to delay his retirement for two seasons to come and be part of the Lions.
Hodge’s “I want to be part of this,” message has been huge for those at the club and others considering joining it.
4. Destination club
Some seriously good footballers have chosen to cast their lot with the Lions in recent years. Charles Cameron left Adelaide fresh off a Grand Final in 2017 to come to Brisbane. He’s a likely All Australian selection this year.
This year it was Lachie Neale. A South Australian playing for a Western Australian club, with no emotional ties or affiliation with Queensland, chose to come to the Lions.
5. The ‘Gabbatoir’ is back
Brisbane won 33 of 38 games at the Gabba during its 2001-2003 ‘three-peat’.
In 2019 the Gabba is becoming an equally intimidating venue. The Lions have won nine of 10 at home so far this year, with crowds growing progressively through the season. Saturday’s clash with Geelong is sold-out.
Read the full story in this week’s AFL Record, available at all grounds for just $5.