Simon Black won it all but even he has regrets.
And the Brisbane Lions champion is concerned the current crop will have plenty too unless they can find a new gear and a ruthlessness that's absence has frustrated the AFL great.
The Lions, beaten by four points in last year's grand final, finished a rollercoaster season in fifth and will host Carlton in Saturday night's elimination final at the Gabba.
Even making the finals - they're the only team to do it in all of the last six seasons - is an achievement for a side that began terribly and copped a glut of key injuries and off-field dramas.
But nine straight wins suddenly had them on track for a top-two finish before fade-out losses to Greater Western Sydney and Collingwood ruined their run.
They finished the season with a 20-point defeat of Essendon, but even then endured some final-quarter nerves as the Bombers kicked five unanswered goals.
Their quarter-by-quarter scoring this season tells the story.
The Lions have won a league-leading 20 of 23 first terms, almost doubling their opponents' score (653-356) in games this season.
But they have battled in fourth quarters (10-2-11) and marginally edged their rivals in the middle two terms (13-10).
Black hopes it's the version of the Lions that pumped St Kilda by 85 points in early August that turns up on Saturday, as they begin attempting the almost unheard of feat of wining the flag from outside the top four.
"They were ruthless that day (against St Kilda) and my knock on the Lions is that they just don't show that regularly enough, the ability to bury a side when they're on top," he told AAP.
"They allow them to come back into the contest; we see it too regularly and the great sides do that at a better level than Brisbane have shown.
"That's the disappointing thing for me, with the experience they have.
"You can rattle off all the great stats, but the greatest reflection is the scoreboard and for mine they haven't put enough dominance on it."
Three-time title winner Black was the first AFL player to amass 300 games and win a Brownlow, Norm Smith and premiership medal.
"Let's just hope with the experience they've had ... you become a different individual (in finals)," he said.
"The stakes are higher; you're on edge and the failure of last year's grand final should be a real driving force.
"Those experiences still burn ... like losing the final in '04 still burns for me.
"Look at this group they've pulled together; if they weren't able to get one (premiership), you'd be bitterly disappointed.
"The years go fast and you have to make hay when you have an opportunity.
"Albeit it's a bit tougher from fifth, but they have an opportunity here."
Three teams have made the grand final from outside the top four under the current system, the Western Bulldogs the only one of those to win a flag in 2016.
Despite his criticism, Black still thinks the Lions can join them.
"They've had to do it tougher this year after not jumping out of the blocks well at all," he said.
"Winning on the road three weeks in a row (assuming they win at the Gabba on Saturday) to win a flag will be a massive challenge.
"That bye is huge though and it's given them their biggest chance to win it, to freshen up.
"We never got them (before finals, but) I remember having a bye in mid-season and the impact lasts for several weeks after.
"Can they do it? Yeah, I think they can."
For the second consecutive year former Lions premiership captain Michael Voss will bring his Blues to the Gabba for a final.
In last year's preliminary final, the Blues kicked the game's first five goals but were run down in a 16-point Lions win.
Carlton could recall inspirational veteran Sam Docherty for the clash, less than six months after he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his knee against Brisbane in the opening round.
The pre-finals bye has also opened the door for potential returns from their respective injuries for key forwards Charlie Curnow (ankle) and Harry McKay (thigh), defender Mitch McGovern (hamstring), Zac Williams (hamstring), ruckman Tom de Koning (foot) and on-baller Adam Cerra (hamstring).
"You know what Vossy's like; he'd have them wound up like a spring, ready to run through a brick wall," Black said.
"That's what they did last year, but couldn't sustain it."
LIONS' ROLLERCOASTER SEASON
* Fell to 0-3 and forced to deny player rifts stemming from off-season trip.
* Improved to 3-5 with gutsy win over Gold Coast despite losing a third and fourth player to ACL tears among four game-night injuries.
* Enter the bye at 4-1-6 after losing the Hawthorn.
* Win nine straight, including a thumping of Port Adelaide on the road and tight defeat of Sydney at the Gabba, to surge towards a top-two finish.
* Losses to the Giants and Collingwood, after holding comfortable leads, blows chances of a top-four finish.
* Beat the Bombers despite final-quarter wobbles to lock in fifth place and a sixth-straight finals campaign.
