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The forgotten Lion in "magnificent shape" ahead of 2026
Jaiden Sciberras • December 13th, 2025 3:05 pm
The Brisbane Lions enter this offseason as they did the last; bearing the weight of the premiership flag.
Dominating Geelong on the final day of September, the Lions officially entered a modern-day dynasty, reaching three straight Grand Finals for the second time since the turn of the century and locking in their second flag in as many seasons.
Unsurprisingly, the Lions enter 2026 as the favourites to take out the competition yet again, with the football world bracing for what could be their second threepeat in club history.
Led by coach Leigh Matthews and superstars Michael Voss, Simon Black, Jason Akermanis and Jonathan Brown, the Lions won three straight premierships in the early 2000’s, reaching four straight Grand Finals to form one of the greatest dynasties in the history of the game.
They are now faced with the chance to become the first club to do so twice in the AFL era.
As revealed by club boss Danny Daly, the club is more than connected with their heroes of yesteryear, maintaining close communication with key figures from Brisbane’s extraordinary threepeat to inspire the players of today.
“We’re very fortunate,” Daly told SEN Mornings.
“We have Leigh Matthews on the board, and he is very close with ‘Fages’ (coach Chris Fagan).
“They talk a little bit about it, and the Browny’s, the Blacky’s and the Akermanis’… Chris Johnson (member of threepeat side) is on the board – we’ve got some connection with a lot of those past players in the club.
“From time to time, we chat about (it). I spoke to Browny last week, about how they went about it, so whilst you want to move forward and it’s a different era, you do reflect on what they did and how they were able to achieve that.
“It happened, and they might have some stories that are relevant that we could use moving forward. It’s a balance between the history but also moving forward.”
Beyond their pre-existing list, the Lions added two top recruits via free agency over the off-season, acquiring West Coast captain Oscar Allen and Essendon ruckman Sam Draper to add to their talented group.
While the club did lose out on a handful of premiership players, Daly has reported that their freshest faces have settled in wonderfully, filling necessary gaps within their stacked list.
“They’re both fantastic footballers as we know, but they are also great characters,” he said.
“Change is sometimes scary, but it’s also good. Unfortunately we lost a couple of players in Brandon Starcevich (West Coast), Cal Ah Chee (Adelaide), Oscar McInerney (retired) and Dev Robertson (West Coast), but to be able to get those two guys in (is fantastic).
“They were a real needs basis - Oscar Allen, the Joe Daniher story is a story that everyone has spoken about, so it’s good to have an older key forward down there to help our younger guys.
“Oscar McInerney was a big loss for us as well, so to be able to bring Sam in as another ruckman to compliment Darcy Fort and Henry Smith was really important for us.
“Change is always good in a list.”
In one of the major stories of 2025, injured Eagles skipper Oscar Allen controversially departed the club, opting to join the Lions after meeting with Hawthorn during the season.
Recovering from a knee injury that sidelined Allen for a majority of the year, Daly reports that the 26-year-old has hardly skipped a beat in both his ability and – more specifically – his leadership.
“He’s been able to exert his leadership straight away,” Daly said.
“The fortunate thing for both he and Sammy is that they are in the back half of their rehab stage.
“They were in the club a little bit earlier than most, but they had about five or six players around them as well, so they were able to have that lead-in to the whole group coming back by getting to know those five or six other guys in the rehab group.
“Once the rest of the crew came back, they’d been around the club three weeks, so they felt a part of it and able to exert their leadership styles upon those guys straight away.
“Oscar, for example, he has already taken Ty (Gallop), Logan (Morris) and Henry Smith under his wings, doing a bit of work with them off the field. He’s been fantastic in that department for us already, so he’s had an influence straight away.”
Incredibly, Brisbane's new recruits aren’t the only players set to pressure selection in Round 1, with half back flanker Keidean Coleman and small forward Lincoln McCarthy both recovering from long-term injuries.
Coleman, who finished runner-up in the Norm Smith Medal count in Brisbane’s 2023 Grand Final loss to Collingwood, will prove a huge in for the side, having played just two games since his efforts in ’23.
“Kiddy has obviously missed a lot of football over the last couple of years, only played two or three games last year,” Daly continued.
“He’s done a hell of a lot of work over the pre-season, and he has come back in magnificent shape. He’ll be right to go for Round 1.
“Last night watching training, his ability to hit those kicks through the corridor in a little bit of match sim type practice was unbelievable. You forget what type of footballer he is.
“His ability to be able to penetrate with his kicking is exceptional – his 2023 Grand Final, he came runner up in the Norm Smith Medal. We’re looking forward to having a fit Kiddy Coleman back next year, which will be great for us.”
Veteran forward McCarthy has also battled severe health issues, featuring just eight times in 2024 before being sidelined for the remainder of the season and the year that followed.
Positively, the 32-year-old appears to have returned to full fitness ahead of a crucial year, with the club re-comitting to the forward via the Rookie Draft over the off-season.
“Lincoln McCarthy as well, obviously with a couple of knee (injuries), last year he had to endure making the decision not to go through with his rehab and giving it an extra six months and potentially missing out on some finals football,” Daly continued.
“He’s in great shape as well and he’ll be ready to go for Round 1 as well. It will be great to have those boys back because as we saw last year, the ability to get Darcy Gardner and Oscar McInerney a premiership after missing 2024 was really great for the footy club.
“To be able to get Kiddy and Linc hopefully a premiership in the next couple of years will be great for those boys.”
The back-to-back premiers will take to the field in late February, as a pre-season Q-Clash against the Suns marks their first contest since their 2025 Grand Final triumph.
