How the Brisbane Lions Built Their Second Dynasty of the 21st Century
The Fagan Era Begins
Photo: Chris Fagan is appointed Lions senior coach in October 2016 (Dave Hunt/AAP)
Cast your mind back to October 4, 2016: the Brisbane Lions board, led by former CEO Greg Swann, appointed 55-year-old Tasmanian school teacher Chris Fagan. After having coached previous clubs, Melbourne (1998 – 2007), serving as assistant coach and general manager of football, and later Hawthorn (2008 -2016), serving as head of coaching and development and General manager of football. Fagan was a key pillar of Hawthorn’s dynasty, during which they won premierships in 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
When Fagan got appointed in 2016, the Lions hit rock bottom. He inherited a team that won just three games in the previous year and had an unbelievably low membership count of 23,000. Meanwhile, the Club had ongoing problems with crowds and the loss of key players. As Fagan arrived, he brought exceptional leadership skills to the club and those skills enabled him to transform the club’s culture. Fagan’s ability to develop trust, empower individuals, encourage accountability and create a shared vision was fundamental to that transformation. The Lions started to build as famous pick number one, Cameron Rayner, was selected by the Lions. Already building from their young list with the likes of Victorian school friends, Jarrod Berry and Hugh McCluggage. The rebuild was slowly starting to take place in Queensland.
Early Struggles and Signs of Progress
The first two seasons proved difficult for Fagan and the Lions, recording bottom-four finishes in both the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Many in the AFL world questioned if the Tasmanian school teacher had the capacity to turn this club around and bring success back to the proud Queensland Football club.
Photo: Lachie Neale is traded to the Lions during the 2018 trade period (Getty Images)
The 2019 season was seen as hope for the Lions faithful as a big off-season saw the club inject some new blood, bringing in key players such as Lachie Neale (Fremantle) and Lincoln McCarthy (Geelong Cats). The 2019 season was a breakthrough for Brisbane. Bouncing into the finals, finishing second on the ladder. Booking their first finals berth in a decade. A date with Richmond at the Gabba saw hope for Fagan’s troops, but the season wasn’t meant to be as his boys dropped out in straight sets, losing to the Tigers, who were establishing a dynasty, and a young Giants team who were in their own journey into finals.
The next three seasons were ultimately filled with highs and lows, with recording a win in the 2020 Qualifying Final but losing the preliminary Final. They still were a fair way off the mark from a contender. Both 2021 and 2022 were ultimately disappointing, finishing fourth and sixth in their respective years. The boys were learning lessons. 2022 saw a small improvement as the Lions recruited big-name star forward Joe Daniher to the ranks. As the Lions made another finals berth, it saw the boys go to the MCG and take down the Demons in a do-or-die semi-final in front of 60,000 people, a win no one gave them a chance of completing. This is just what these Lions needed. That off-season was exciting for Lions fans, with drafting two of the hottest prospects in the draft, eventual two-time norm smith medallist, Will Ashcroft (pick 2) and Jaspa Fletcher (pick 12). Two key players in the current Lions dynasty.
Photo: Will Ashcroft with Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan after being selected with Pick No. 2 in the 2022 AFL Draft. (Morgan Hancock/AAP Photos)
Grand Final Heartbreak
Fast forward one year, the Lions’ 2023 season was a breakthrough accomplishment. Picking up big-name player Josh Dunkley (Western Bulldogs) to add to the stacked list they already built. They finished in second spot once again and won both their Qualifying and Preliminary finals. After so long, this team who dreamt of playing on the biggest of stages was going off to the big dance. A Grand Final at the G, in front of 100,000, who wouldn’t want to play in that? However, the Lions fell ever so short of their first flag in twenty years, as the pies experience won their sixteenth premiership by four points. The lessons of previous finals failures had clearly shaped this side into a genuine premiership contender, going back to Fagan’s famous words “if you want to be any good, you’re going to fail” mentality.
The Miracle of 2024
Halfway through 2024, the Lions were sitting at 2-5 from their first seven games of the season. They had every right to pack up the season and look towards the following year, but that’s not what this proud footy team is about. At the bye, the Lions still sat 13th on the ladder with 5 wins and 6 losses; time was running out for this team and for the coach who had never played at the elite level. Remarkably, the Lions won their next nine games in a row and finished the season in fifth position. It wasn’t the double chance they aimed for, but it was a great achievement from a wacky season for the Lions, full of highs and lows. The 2024 finals run was one of the best you could think of in modern footy. It’s rarely seen that a bottom-four team of the final top eight makes it through to the final four, but the Lions were one of those teams, flying past the Blues at home, setting up a semi-final with the Giants. 44 points down, the Lions looked gone, but like the season, the Lions came from nowhere to beat the Giants by 5 points in Sydney.
Likewise, a week later, the Lions made a stunning comeback to down the Cats at the MCG to go through to a 2nd straight grand final and a shot at redemption. It had taken eight years, but the Lions finally delivered the complete four-quarter performance they had been searching for, in beating the Sydney Swans by a dominant 60 points. The Lions had realized their premiership dream, who went through plenty of hard times. Months after they were thirteenth was a remarkable achievement. Who would think they would be premiers after the injuries and season they had?
Photo: The Brisbane Lions celebrate their 2024 premiership after a 60-point Grand Final victory over Sydney at the MCG. (Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Back-to-Back Glory
After reaching the top of the mountain the previous year, the reigning premiers were hungry to get back and taste another premiership. The key question? How’s the Lions going to play without Joe Daniher? The retirement of Daniher was a shock to say the least. There were many critics around their forward line without that main target. Bring in 19-year-old Werribee boy Logan Morris. In just his second year, Logan was recorded as the premiers’ leading goalkicker. The premiers took care of business throughout the season, finishing third on the ladder, setting up a Qualifying final at the G against the Cats. They would fall short, as the Cats took the Lions apart. But once again Like the previous year, the premiers went the long way around the mountain, winning their semifinal against the Suns and a famous win at the MCG against Collingwood.
Another grand final awaited the Lions, and only the Cats were in their way of the back-to-back dream. After all the injuries & difficult fixture, a back-to-back dream loomed unrealistic, but the Lions never stopped believing. The second half in the grand final was one of the most stunning second halves you would see in grand final history. Tearing apart the team that beat them three weeks earlier. Winning by 47 points in front of another huge crowd at the MCG, securing their place in history with back-to-back flags! They couldn’t do it again, could they?
A Three-Peat for the Ages
A year later, the three-peat dream that was looming for the Lions became reality, with a stunning seven-point win over Fremantle. The last four minutes were arguably the best four minutes in AFL history saw one of the best dynasties in footy born. Turning a seventeen point deficit into a seven point triumph. Overall, the year that was 2026 saw the Lions once again finish third and play an away Qualifying final. Which saw them lose to Sydney, but wins over Adelaide and Hawthorn saw the Lions return to the big dance for a fourth straight grand final, and a third straight premiership. Equaling Lethal Matthew’s famous three-peat in the early 2000s, cementing Fagan’s Lions as one of the greatest of all time. With a historical four-peat now in view next year, many Lions fans can agree that this team has brought some of the best memories of all our lives. The sky is the limit for this historical footy team. From the complexities of a three-win season to a three-peat dynasty, the Brisbane Lions have completed one of the most remarkable transformations in AFL history.
