Brisbane CEO Greg Swann is proud of his AFLW side’s ability to rebuild after the club was “decimated” by the league’s expansion.
After being one of the early juggernauts, the Lions were systematically picked apart by teams both inaugural and new, leaving only a loyal core behind.
From their 2017 Grand Final side, Brisbane has a total of 10 players who are still in the league but playing at other clubs.
It didn’t take them long to rebound however, making finals in 2020 before winning the 2021 premiership.
“The overwhelming thing for me was these girls deserved it,” Swann told SEN’s Whateley.
“That was our third Grand Final and we came up short both times.
“We got decimated by the (expansion) clubs, we lost 16 players and some pretty good ones to other teams.
“We dusted ourselves off and got back on the horse effectively, so I was just so pleased.
“Even this year, we got told on a Saturday that were playing at home and then you’re getting on a plane and playing in Melbourne.
“They’ve been so resilient these girls and having to go to Adelaide with a hostile crowd and they were red hot favourites.
“It was a proud day for the club and the girls were outstanding. They had the awards last night and they’ve partied pretty hard and there’s a lot of croaky voices, but they deserve to.”
Swann forecast the impact of AFLW expansion back in 2019.
“I rang someone this morning about the women’s comp. There’s a couple of things happening there I’m not too happy about,” Swann told SEN’s Crunch Time in 2019.
“We’re losing a heap (of players) and it wasn’t supposed to happen this way.
“It looks like we’re going to lose about a dozen which is ridiculous. We’re working with them trying to fix that.
“We’ve got the Suns coming in up the road and we have to give them eight, that’s part of the rules, but we look like we’ve lost another four back to Melbourne. I’m not sure that was supposed to happen.”
In the end, it worked out reasonably well for the Lions.
They will need to make some changes again in the off-season, with veteran pair Emma Zielke and Lauren Arnell retiring.
