ANOTHER piece of Brisbane's long-term puzzle is in place, with forward Dan McStay signing a three-year contract extension to tie him to the club until 2022.

McStay has seen just about everything in his six seasons at the Lions and told AFL.com.au after some careful deliberation, it was a straightforward decision.

"Things have changed massively since I got drafted, when we were labelled a place where players didn't want to play," he said.

"The biggest thing for us has been the culture shift and making it a winning culture."

McStay has played 96 games – including all 17 this season – since being drafted in 2013 in the fallout from 'The Go Home Five' when Sam Docherty (Carlton), Elliot Yeo (West Coast), Jared Polec (Port Adelaide/North Melbourne), Billy Longer (St Kilda) and Patrick Karnezis (Collingwood) all departed the club.

The Victorian returned home during Brisbane's bye to think about his future.

"It didn't get to the point where I was seeing if there was any interest from back home, but I sat down with my manager, my parents and had a good chat to them about one, what it would look like if I went home (to play) and two, is the grass greener? 

"I looked at all the clubs I could potentially fit in at, just brain-storming with my parents.

"It didn't get too far until I realised Brissie has one of the best young lists in the competition and can have sustained success in the years to come.

"I'm really excited."

McStay played in just 18 winning teams in his first five seasons (79 games) and said it made 2019's rise into the top four even more special.

After being flipped between defence and attack early in his career, the 24-year-old has found a home in Brisbane's forward half, crashing packs, applying pressure and doing the dirty work.

"I probably don't have the talent of Charlie Cameron or Eric Hipwood, I feel if I can do the grunt work, they can kick the goals and do the fancy things," he said.

"I've got the confidence from the coaching staff each week, who say 'if you do these small things, you'll continue to get selected'.

"We haven't achieved anything yet and we're striving for bigger and better things.

"I've never looked at a final. We're really excited and hungry to prove to everyone that we're a good team."