THIS season could elevate Chris Fagan to the game's coaching immortals – if he's not there already.
With back-to-back premierships secured in 2024 and 2025, Fagan and his Lions have the chance to join just six other teams in VFL/AFL history to win a hat-trick of flags.
And he's done so after 'winning' the wooden spoon in his first year at the helm in 2017.
Another premiership would see Fagan join his great friend and mentor, Leigh Matthews, as the only coaches to achieve the feat from outside Victoria.
Jack Worrall (Carlton), Jock McHale (Collingwood), Frank Hughes (Melbourne), Norm Smith (Melbourne) and Alastair Clarkson (Hawthorn) are the others.
A slightly lesser carrot, but historical nonetheless, for the 64-year-old, is the opportunity to pass Matthews as the winningest coach in Brisbane's merged history.
Fagan has 129 wins from his 216 games to date – needing a 14-win season to pass Matthews' tally of 142. Both have a 60 per cent winning record.
On the surface, the Lions are set up magnificently to contend again.
Fagan does have some tricky selection waters to navigate, though, including having some new faces to integrate, some old faces itching to win their spots back and some young faces pressing for increased midfield minutes.
In the past three seasons, Brisbane has played a whopping 80 games – more than any team in history over the same span.
Will the accumulative fatigue over seven straight finals appearances, and three straight Grand Finals, take a toll?
The veteran coach is confident it won't.
"I learned after my first year you've got to manage fatigue and be more aware of it when you're an interstate club than a Melbourne-based club," Fagan told AFL.com.au.
"We've always adjusted our training program accordingly to energy level of players. We pay close attention to that.
"I think that's my most important job as a coach, to make sure there's always energy."
Where he used to see the shorter break between the end of one season and the start of another as a potential disadvantage, Fagan now believes his mature list, despite its heavy emphasis on youth, can handle it comfortably.
"Pre-seasons used to begin a lot earlier than what they do now," he said.
"Our gap between playing and the start of pre-season is not as big as the other teams.
"In a funny sort of way we don't have to train as hard as they do when they come back.
"We've already got a good base underneath us and we just have to build on that. Our players have been very good at coming back in great shape. That helps for sure.
"So, I think in a way, it's been an advantage. You constantly have to watch the group.
"(High performance manager) Damien Austin does a brilliant job with that. He's always monitoring energy levels and we adjust training accordingly.
"We probably give our players more days off than they have to, but again, time away from the club when you're travelling a lot is a good thing, not a bad thing.
"As much as anything, it's an attitude, keep the fun around the place and it doesn't feel anywhere near as hard … and that includes the way you handle losses."
The team chasing glory this year will look different from the one that had success in the past two.
Brandon Starcevich (West Coast) and Cal Ah Chee (Adelaide) both took up offers elsewhere, while popular ruck Oscar McInerney has retired.
But the Lions have rebooted, acquiring athletic ruckman Sam Draper from Essendon, along with former West Coast skipper Oscar Allen.
The Lions proved last year they didn't need a proven tall forward to succeed, with youngsters Logan Morris and Ty Gallop partnering McInerney and Darcy Fort in the forward line.
But following the retirement of Joe Daniher in 2024, Fagan is excited about his recruit.
"Oscar's been great," he said.
"He's had a few years in the wilderness due to his own injuries and the demise of his own club in some ways. It's been unfortunate the way it's unfolded for West Coast over the last few years.
"I think everyone has forgotten what a good player he is."
Fagan said Allen's leadership had been notable during his first pre-season in Brisbane.
"He's one of those blokes that imposes himself wherever he is, in a good sort of way. He's bright and bubbly and fitted in like a glove," he said.
"We're pretty happy to have him.
"We've got our fingers crossed about his body. He's feeling the best he's felt in ages.
"Hopefully it translates to on-field performance, because not so long ago he looked like one of the real bright stars of AFL footy.
"We think he can get back to that level but also provide some great leadership as well. He's the package if he can get going on field."
Then there's a couple of forgotten men – Keidean Coleman and Lincoln McCarthy – desperately trying to press their cases for a return to the 23.
McCarthy has endured back-to-back ruptured ACLs, not playing since round eight in 2024, and has now been moved to the backline to add another string to his bow.
Coleman suffered the same injury in the Opening Round of 2024 before playing just one game last year as he dealt with persistent knee and quad problems.
Fagan said Coleman had now realised the level of work he needed to produce to get his body right.
"He is in the best shape I've ever seen him in," he said.
"He's given himself the best chance physically to not only come back, but improve on what he was doing before he got injured, which was some pretty good stuff, runner-up in a Norm Smith Medal (in 2023).
"I think he knew last year that he was probably out of the game longer than he should have been because he didn't do his rehab as well as he could have.
"He's learned that lesson and really applied himself over the past 12 months to be the athlete he is now.
"He clearly looks fitter, stronger, leaner, all of those things. Good on him. It's exciting what he might be able to do."
And then there's a problem every coach would love to have – a surplus of talent to play in the middle of the ground.
Lachie Neale, Hugh McCluggage, Josh Dunkley and Will Ashcroft speak for themselves as regular midfield rotations. Then there's Cam Rayner and Zac Bailey who routinely burst through the centre square.
But should Fagan be trying to find minutes for Levi Ashcroft? Or Jaspa Fletcher? Or even Darcy Wilmot, who he could not rate higher? Sam Marshall also falls into that category.
"The bottom line is the younger players are going to have to do their apprenticeships and learn to play other positions," Fagan said.
"We'll still give them time in the midfield, but it's probably not going to be the amount they'd call ideal from their personal perspectives.
"We're a team, and we have a great role model in Jarrod Berry who is a terrific inside midfielder in his own right who's learned to be one of the best wingmen in the AFL and play an important role for the team.
"Jaspa Fletcher could play in the midfield, but he's one of the gun half-back flankers in the comp now.
"I think it's to their advantage to learn other positions so that when they do eventually get in there, if they're not having a good day they can influence the team performance somewhere else on the field.
"It's a team sport. You've got to play your role. If you want to be in the team, play your role."