Brisbane Lions turning bitter defeat to AFL premiership glory

It applied to grand finals, the theory that a team not having graced the biggest stage previously, and stung by defeat, would draw on that experience to subsequently go one better.

It hasn't been a popular part of the game's lexicon for a while now after a number of sides defied that theory.

Adelaide came from seemingly nowhere to win back-to-back flags in 1997-98. Sydney won one out of the blue in 2005, and most famously, the Western Bulldogs in 2016.

The Bulldogs example, though, in the current era, seems to have been something of an anomaly. The "lose one to win one" line indeed seems to have had a bit of a refit, now applied to finals experience generally. And in 2021, Brisbane is looking more and more like its "poster boy".

The Lions have had some great wins over the past three seasons, but perhaps none of them as instructive as last Thursday night's 44-point demolition of a bona fide competition heavyweight in Geelong.

Sure, it was another comprehensive win on home turf at the Gabba, where the Lions have now won 26 of 31 games since their resurgence from the start of 2019, showcasing Brisbane's flair and dash.

This one, though, was notable more for the Lions' tougher streak coming to the fore. It was founded on the Lions' discipline, their psychological as well as physical toughness, a more defensive ethos reflected in the jobs done by backmen Marcus Adams, Harrison Andrews and Brandon Starcevich on Geelong stars Tom Hawkins, Jeremy Cameron and Gary Rohan, and in midfield, rookie Deven Robertson's blanketing of Cats' skipper Joel Selwood.

Can that harder edge be found other than by doing the hard yards in terms of experience, enduring the setbacks of September opportunities lost, and most importantly, learning from them?

The Brisbane line-up, give or take the addition of a Joe Daniher and a handful of other players introduced, is essentially the same as that which finished second on the ladder in 2019 before going out of the finals in straight sets.

That version, even on its home turf, was overwhelmed by Richmond in the qualifying final then pipped by Greater Western Sydney the following week. You suspect strongly that wouldn't be happening to this year's model.

It's also notable that this performance came against a Geelong side which had routinely proved too experienced and too strong for Brisbane in 11 of 12 previous clashes, including last year's preliminary final at the same venue.

Those previous experiences increasingly look to be what turn finals participants into flag threats. And we've seen it several times in recent years.

Richmond's drought-breaking 2017 premiership is always spun as a story about a club downtrodden for the best part of four decades suddenly flicking a switch and rediscovering its former mighty self.

But that, and the fact the Tigers' 2016 had been such a disaster, conveniently overlooks the fact that for three years prior to that, Richmond had reached finals. Yes, each time they were eliminated in week one. But the Tigers had won 15 of 22 games to get there in two of those seasons, and won nine games straight to make it on the other occasion.

Those elimination final defeats at the hands of Carlton (2013), Port Adelaide (2014) and North Melbourne (2015) were bitter pills, but the taste surely helped drive the Tigers on to three convincing finals wins on end on their way to the 2017 premiership.

West Coast in 2018 famously snuck over the line against Collingwood on grand final day, coming back from a five-goals-plus deficit to win the club's fourth AFL premiership, the ice cool boundary line set shot by Dom Sheed clinching the deal.

Remember that the Eagles in 2015, even after defeating Hawthorn in the qualifying final in Perth, looked all at sea on grand final day against the same Hawk side, jittery, fumbly and eventually beaten by 46 points. They'd go on to lose a home elimination final the following year, then in week two of the finals in 2017.

Would West Coast in the 2018 grand final have found enough composure on the biggest of stages to recover its perilous position without having first survived, then grown from those earlier setbacks? You'd have to have your doubts.

Of course, Brisbane isn't the only team with that sort of finals history profile heading into another assault on the big prize. Like the Lions, the Power also last year won a qualifying final and straight passage to a preliminary final, only to stumble at the penultimate hurdle.

Its loss to eventual premier Richmond by just six points still stings. But it's also those gut-wrenching moments which help steel flag contenders to find that something extra when the biggest moment beckons.

In 2021, there's a couple of very worthy premiership apprentices on perhaps the last lessons of their learning experiences. Which might make "graduation day" this season particularly interesting.