IT HAS been a strange old off-season for Brisbane head coach Craig Starcevich.

A strange off-season that is just one chapter of a fascinating AFLW journey. One of only two coaches who have been at the helm since the inaugural 2017 season, alongside reigning premiership coach Mick Stinear, and one of three that were there at the very start.

Starcevich's Lions have played in four Grand Finals, won one, held tight through three rounds of expansion and reached the finals more than any other side.

But this off-season has thrown up fresh challenges once more. Smarting after another Grand Final loss and bidding goodbye to three former All-Australians, the Lions must regroup and enter a new era for the club. But that's not to say they'll be taking a step backward.

"If there's any hint that people might be thinking we're going to dip, there's a resolve to prove people wrong, which is where a lot of our group are at their best," Starcevich told womens.afl.

"We've been through it before, and some of those players like Belle (Dawes) and Nat (Grider), and a few of those were young kids when it happened. When the Gold Coast expansion came along, we lost a lot of players in that hit, we lost 11 that time around. This time around it's only been three or four, so a little bit easier to deal with.

"But now those kids that went through it four years ago, are not six-game players anymore, they're now nearly 50-game players. So, our ability to absorb a few losses is much, much better than it was a few years ago."

In one of the biggest stories across the AFLW this recent summer, premiership trio Emily Bates, Greta Bodey and Jesse Wardlaw all made the switch to Victorian clubs: Bates and Bodey to Hawthorn, Wardlaw to St Kilda.

On field, the loss of such key players is one thing, but finding ways to replace key cogs like that trio is part of the challenge and creativity of coaching. Where it gets harder is balancing personal relationships that have been nurtured over years.

Starcevich, who spends his AFLW off-seasons in Switzerland where his wife is based for work, even hosts various players as they holiday through Europe.

"They're slowly starting to drift in, it's just so nice. I think most of the time they don't come to visit me, they just come to do their washing on the way," he quickly adds with a laugh.

Bates, in particular, leaves a significant legacy at the Lions. The club's first-ever draft selection, taken with pick No.2 in 2016, the midfielder has played every game since the club began. A three-time All-Australian, AFLW best and fairest winner, four-time Brisbane best and fairest winner and premiership player.

"It's tough at the time, and there's no other way to say it. It's really, really difficult and right up until the last minute you're scrambling and begging and whatever, 'please stay'. So, it is really difficult," Starcevich admitted.

But now with the benefit of time, and some distance, he can see a bigger picture. A greater good.

"Give it a few days, or a few weeks, or a month or two, however long it takes to actually process the whole thing, then you look at the big picture and think this is actually fantastic for our competition," he said. 

What the club is also taking as a compliment now, despite the hurt of the loss, is that other clubs see great value in how the Lions are developing talent, enough to come calling every off-season.

"To have people that have come through our club now being an influence at other clubs and helping them with what they're doing. It's a huge nod to our program that we seem to be the club that, if you want some decent players to bring good culture and good training ethics, or whatever it is to your group, see if you can get your hands on a Lions player," Starcevich said.

"I'd prefer that not to happen, but the fact that it has is probably a bit of a compliment to what we're doing in a lot of ways."

The greater good of the development of AFLW, and footy in general, is something always kicking around in Starcevich's head.

Before the AFLW came to be, he was working at AFL Queensland as the high-performance manager of female football, alongside now-Brisbane head of women's football Breeanna Brock to develop talent in the non-traditional footy state. Prior to Brock and Starcevich, cricketing great Julia Price had a key role in the organisation, and Starcevich is keen to point out the latter's important groundwork.

Although, given the part-time nature of AFLW and the state-based draft system, the strength of Queensland's talent pool directly aids the Lions, and cross-town rivals Gold Coast.

"A lot of the groundwork in terms of the strength of the QAFLW and the Queensland talent pathway was done prior to me arriving in that role and Bree arriving into her role as general female participation manager at AFLQ," Starcevich explained.

"So, we did that 2014, 2015 around there, but in the previous five to 10 years before that, Julia Price is a name that gets thrown up at someone who set the foundation for all of that very strongly at AFLQ. So, we were the recipients of her hard work and are the beneficiaries, and we sort of grew it from that point onwards."

One of the players whom Starcevich had only really heard about in his days at AFLQ was Jade Pregelj who, after three years and four seasons with Gold Coast, is now one of his charges.

"When Bree and I first came into the space there was this mythical figure, Jade Pregelj. She was playing footy around the same time as Aasta O'Connor and Katie Brennan," Starcevich said.

Pregelj stepped away from footy because there simply wasn't a pathway for women and girls at the time, joined the military and got on with her life. She was brought back to the game by Lions premiership defender Kate Lutkins and ultimately signed to Gold Coast's inaugural list.

In a full circle moment, Pregelj was brought to the Lions to replace Lutkins on the list, who will miss the 2023 season due to pregnancy.

Queensland talent is now considered some of the best in the country, and the QAFLW one of the strongest state leagues, so it is no surprise that players originating in the northern state are spread across the AFLW.

"My thought is looking across the different state leagues around Australia, we're right in the mix as one of the strongest ones," Starcevich said.

The other benefit he sees of developing talent in the Sunshine State is, unsurprisingly, the weather. Noting that it isn't just more pleasant to train in – although some people would disagree – but it actually helps to create a more attractive style of footy.

"If you're playing in winter in the QAFLW you get that most weekends, big grounds, dry conditions, ball flips around. If you're a skilful runner, you're probably going to stand out in any competition, but you're probably going to get more chance to stand out or do those sorts of things in Queensland, so I think the style of footy actually transfers over really well to AFLW," Starcevich said.

And the spectacle, the entertainment value of AFLW is important to Starcevich, as the competition continues to develop. It's something that has stuck with him since November's Grand Final loss.

"On the day, we didn't play well enough, and the opposition just played well enough … I just thought that the two goals each is sort of like, okay, sad that we lost the game but also sad for the spectacle a little bit," Starcevich said.

"That's a side note, but it's still something that I'm wary of, because we still need people to watch our game. That's something that's sort of hit me around that time as well."

Not for the first time, the build-up to the game was littered with conversations around venue. In 2017 the Lions earned a home Grand Final but were pushed to play at Carrara rather than their first choice of the Gabba.

This time around, both the Gabba and Carrara were off the table, so it was a race against the clock to get the club's new facility, Brighton Homes Arena in Springfield, ready to go.

"My first thing is to blame myself in terms of, was our preparation right that week, we're playing at a brand-new venue, did the hullabaloo about being here affect our focus, all those sorts of bits and pieces," Starcevich explained.

But it wasn't only the distractions in the lead up that he believes were a factor. The fresh surface itself is something Starcevich believes contributed to the quality of the game.

"Because the track was brand new and a bit slow, we both found it hard to score, but we both found it okay to defend. I think that kept the score line pretty low."

Starcevich has also noted that the Springfield deck has since quickened up, having hosted plenty of training sessions and state-league games since, so there's no concerns about future games at the venue.

"That's just the way it worked out. Would the game have been better on a Gabba or a Marvel or (Heritage Bank Arena) or wherever else we could get hold of a stadium (with a) fast track?" Starcevich questioned.

"I know there's an argument for staying at the smaller venues to not have the cost involved with stadiums and making the ground look full and all those sorts of things. I get that. But the actual quality of footy on the stadium on the good fast deck makes the footy attractive and allows for scoring and better highlights and just better footy."

"That's my little soapbox … I'm not sure how many others agree with me on that one, but that's just the way it looks for me," he said with a shrug.

But Starcevich and his Lions have now brushed off the disappointment of that game and the off season losses, instead choosing to focus on who has stuck fat, and the fresh faces at the club.

"We've got a stack of talent under 23 years of age, or 23 or younger … they're all young kids still and they're still growing and learning, so they become key players for us," he said.

"Ally (Anderson), Bre (Koenen) and Shannon (Campbell)… they've got a stack of experience that they've brought through the competition."

Among it all, it's easy to forget that Anderson is the reigning AFLW best and fairest winner, Koenen was last season's All-Australian vice-captain and Campbell won the Grand Final best-on-ground medal.

"For our older players to still be achieving the way they are just shows that there's still probably a little bit more growth left in them as well. I think it's a super exciting phase," Starcevich said.

"There's a few puzzles to be solved and there's a few burning hoops to jump through, to work out how it's all going to look, but (the) first two and a half weeks of training have filled me with even more confidence than I had around sign and trade to be honest."

"So yeah, looking forward to it."

Throughout this bonus episode of Credit to the Girls, Starcevich also discusses his off seasons in Switzerland, footy in Europe, the coming talent in Queensland, the visibility of women's sport and more.