Dynasty vs Now
Every Lions fan will argue it: which three-peat was greater, 2001–03 or 2024–26? Here they are side by side — the medals, the mantras, the players and the numbers.
Two ways to win
The dynasty was forged in steel — the most physically and mentally hardened side of its generation, winning with relentless pressure and third-quarter surges. Two decades on, Chris Fagan's Lions won a different way: with fire and daring, a team told to "run to the fire" and play "on thin ice." Different methods, same result — the cup, held aloft at the MCG.
Nigel Lappin playing a Grand Final with broken ribs and a punctured lung. The 2001–03 Lions won on sheer, unbreakable will.
2024: "dancing on thin ice" — 44 points down against GWS, daring to play on the edge. 2025: "run to the fire" — meeting the weight of back-to-back head-on.
By the numbers
The players who piled up the numbers in each golden age — games, finals and the raw stats — top five in each category, with the era leader on top. Figures are era-scoped and club-scoped — only what each player racked up in Brisbane colours within that era's seasons, not career totals (so Joe Daniher's 204 goals, for example, are his Lions goals alone).
Four ever-presents played all 18 finals of the era.
All five won every winnable final.
Five ever-presents — all 20 finals of the era.
All five won every winnable final.
The verdict?
Three flags, four straight Grand Finals, then three flags and four straight Grand Finals again. Brisbane has now lived the same impossible run twice, 23 years apart.