It's been 18 years since the Lions featured in the greatest day on the AFL's annual calendar.
Darcy Wilmot was just eight months old.
Tonight, the teenager will play his third AFL game for Brisbane in a preliminary final at the hallowed MCG.
Revered AFL pundits believe the match supersedes the pressures of playing in the grand final itself.
To be there for the last day in September is one thing, but getting there is harder, they say.
Lions coach, Chris Fagan agrees.
"The grand final's the prize," he laughs.
"That's the thing, it's almost the bigger game, because everyone knows that.
"The key to it, is not to get caught up in thinking about the grand final, the key is just to play every minute of a prelim final like it's the last minute you're going to play, so that's been the message this week."
Brisbane were in this exact predicament almost two years ago – the Geelong Cats also the team standing in their way of advancing to the decider.
The Lions lost by 40 points that night at the Gabba during a COVID-interrupted AFL season.
Bundled out of finals yet again, another season full of promise had somewhat been wasted.
But Fagan believes you only learn from the losses.
The Lions' Chris Fagan era finals
Year |
Ladder Position |
Finals Outcome |
Overall Finals Record |
|---|---|---|---|
2019 |
2nd |
QF v Richmond L 112 to 65 SF v GWS L 83 to 80. |
0-2 |
2020 |
2nd |
QF v Richmond W 69 to 54 PF v Geelong L 82 to 42 |
1-3 |
2021 |
4th |
QF v Melbourne L 93 to 60 SF v Bulldogs L 79 to 78 |
1-5 |
2022 |
6th |
EF v Richmond W 106 to 104 SF v Melbourne — W 92 to 79 PF v Geelong — [?] |
Currently 3-5 |
The players said the post-mortem was honest, raw and confronting.
Tonight, they return to the preliminary final stage, for the first time since that Cats ambush in 2020.
By 10:30pm and after 120 minutes of football, they'll know if those lessons have, in fact, been learnt.
Battle-hardened and mentally tougher
Reflecting on that loss, Lions forward Daniel McStay said this: "I probably felt like the Richmond game leading into the Geelong game, was probably the biggest we'd ever played in".
"It was this whole whirlwind of 'we finally won a final' and all these sorts of things, and we probably went into the Geelong a little bit underprepared of what it means to actually play in a prelim."
He believes this year they're battle-hardened and mentally tougher.
"Now, we've actually played in two massive games [Richmond and Melbourne], I feel like we've got more of a calmer head around the group and we understand what it takes to play in these big games and we're just really looking forward to the opportunity.
"I think we're in a great position to compete with Geelong."
It's a sentiment echoed by Fagan.
The 61-year-old has been around footy for decades.
He's sat alongside Alastair Clarkson as the Hawthorn coach and led Hawthorn to four premierships, including a three-peat in 2013-15.
He knows AFL sides must take their opportunities when they come.
"I think losing a prelim final a few years ago, does teach you a few lessons.
"Maybe because it was the first prelim we'd been in … the players did get caught up in thinking about the grand final, maybe, or they didn't appreciate fully the opportunity that they had, that they were so close.
"So [the players] have talked about that a little bit this week ... that they took a little bit for granted — not the win, but just that 'oh, we're in a prelim, the next step, maybe it's a little bit easier than you think'."
Fagan said the players now appreciate that prelim finals are hard to get to.
"What you've got to try and do is when you get to them, make the most of the opportunity, that doesn't guarantee that you're going to win though," he said.
"But I think the mindset is certainly different this time around."
Momentum and belief
Mindset will be crucial for Brisbane.
Like last week and the week before, they enter the battle as underdogs.
Geelong are the hot and deserved favourites – they're riding into the MCG on a 14-game winning streak, full of confidence, well rested and about to play in their 13th preliminary final in 19 years.
But Brisbane have momentum, belief in their ability and in each other – often the vital ingredients for a finals fairytale.
"If you can play four good weeks, you can have yourself a premiership," said triple-premiership Brisbane Lion Jason Akermanis.
"That game against Melbourne, even myself, I just wrote them off. I didn't think they were able to turn it around," he said.
"But haven't they turned it around?
"It's probably the worst time for the Cats to be taking [the Lions] on because they are just playing magnificent footy and they know that they can do it now as far as the type of footy they want to play.
"If [the Lions] kick straight and do all the right things and the opposition are a little bit off, I have no doubt that the Lions will be able to get a very seasoned win.
"But they're ready, they've just matured really more than anything, and they're ready to go.
"I'm just seeing a whole lot better effort … I mean, the tackling pressure, you know they're better around the ball, they've got a better balance, they seem to be able to score as well, their forwards are working harder.
"Their defence though has been probably the biggest turnaround … but it just shows you, you don't need your best team to win against good opposition, you need a very good, committed group and that's what they've got at the moment."
