It couldn’t happen again, could it?
Come to think of it… it could, and very well may be unfolding in front of our very eyes.
After Round 14 in 2024, the Brisbane Lions sat in 13th position. Without a Wildcard Round to bail out ordinary teams, the club knew what it had to do, and in the run home, the Lions rattled off seven wins in their last nine games to finish fifth. From there… well, to paraphrase Mark LeCras, we all know what happened.
Brisbane are no stranger to fighting back when the ‘experts’ write them off, and frankly, I am both sceptical as to the wisdom of these experts, and envious of their courage. After the Lions did the unthinkable and allowed Collingwood to raise the premiership cup in 2023, the experts touted a potential downfall. After all, the Lions had been ‘up’ since 2018 0 they were due a fall, right?
Wrong.
Emboldened by the team’s average start in 2024, those who speculated about a downfall were revelling in being correct.
Post Round 14, they got a lot quieter.
This season, they have not been as quick to condemn the Lions. Once bitten, and all that, I suppose. They have still labelled them disappointing, and have questioned the commitment of some, but none have written them off. Not like they did in 2024.
They were wise to bite their tongues.
This is just the introduction – the remainder of this article is for our members. They support me, and I provide for them. It’s a good deal.
Oh… a Mongrel paywall… the worst of all paywalls. We’re all in on the 2026 AFL season. Player articles, stats, awards, game coverage. Dump the mainstream lip service and dive into articles like this – you will never look back. If you don’t want to, that’s fine. I consider it your loss as we get into the grind of the season, and you’re stuck with the stuff that’s frustrated you for years.
