ON HIS 18th birthday, Cam Rayner had two things on his to-do list – a driver's licence test, and a 3km time trial in front of AFL club recruiters that would go a long way towards shaping his footballing future.

The next day, Brisbane officials visited Rayner and his family, and told them exactly what they thought of the prospective No.1 pick's fitness.

In episode three of Return of the Pride, a new six-part podcast series on AFL.com.au that tracks the Lions' rise back to the top of the AFL, hosts Josh Gabelich and Michael Whiting explore the crucial 2016 and 2017 drafts that ignited Brisbane's rebuild. 

>> LISTEN TO EPISODE THREE OF RETURN OF THE PRIDE BELOW

Rayner, who has gone on to become a key part of the Lions' two-time premiership teams, recalled the two days in late 2017 that left him believing there was no chance he would be heading to Queensland.

"It was me, Charlie Constable and Darcy Fogarty. We had a 3k at Etihad. And it was like three of the worst runners you could put out there, just shocking," Rayner said with a laugh on episode three of Return of the Pride.

"And then I remember Brisbane came the next day after that and gave me a full spray, full bake in front of the family and everything about how ordinary it was. And then, yeah, I was kind of looking at Dad after going 'oh, shit, we're not going to Brisbane'. Like, that's not happening.

"Mum was a Carlton supporter, so they were in the top three (of the draft order), so I think she was pretty excited after that conversation."

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Despite the Lions' concerns, Rayner says he had held no concerns about going north to begin his career.  

"I grew up watching a lot of footy so they were in a pretty ordinary spot at the time ...  it was strange but I just kind of backed 'Fages' (coach Chris Fagan) in, really.

"I remember he told our family as well that he reckoned the club would be playing finals in, I reckon he might have said two years or something like that. I remember it so vividly, I just kicked Dad under the table and going, 'Have a listen to this bloke!'

"Funnily enough, I think it might have been my second or third year that we did play finals, so he was all over it." 

While Rayner and his fellow stars from the '16 and '17 drafts - including Hugh McCluggage, Jarrod Berry and Zac Bailey - have written themselves into the club's history books, Brisbane recruiting boss Steve Conole reminsices about one tantalising prospect who never made it onto a Lions list, and instead became a superstar in another code. 

Kalyn Ponga, who now captains the Newcastle Knights in the NRL on a multi-million dollar contract, was a member of the Brisbane Lions Academy from 2013-16. At one stage in 2016, the Lions thought they'd secured the talented multi-code athlete amid strong interest from rugby league and rugby union. 

"Ashley Drake, who works up in our corporate division now, he has done a power of work in our recruiting team for many years, and he was tasked with a really difficult job of trying to get in there and find some alternative athletes," Conole recalled.

"And he popped up with Kalyn because just through school, he'd seen him play union. He goes, 'I've seen this kid who plays union, who's just a freakish sort of talent'. So he got him down to play footy and he really hadn't played much footy. He had no idea (but) within a really short period of time (we were) watching him play and going, 'wow, this kid can seriously play'.

Conole knew the Lions were facing a challenge to sign Ponga, and they believed they had their man at one point.

"He had three legitimate options and we put our head in there. We were quite confident at one stage. And then I think the league offers came (in) and yeah, he hasn't looked back. He's been an amazing player.

"I think it's probably a good decision by him in the end. But yeah, it would have been nice to see where he could have got to in the footy area. But I think with his skill set and his background, I think he took the safest option and it's probably been the best option for him."

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