WITHIN the first few minutes of last Thursday's win over Sydney, it was obvious Brisbane was 'on' defensively.

Charlie Cameron spoiled a short outlet kick to force a turnover. Logan Morris desperately lunged to grab the jumper of Callum Mills as he kicked. Players were rushing up to defend the mark. Sydney couldn't get its vaunted handball game going.

It's a trend that has characterised the Lions in 2026. You know when you see it and the numbers back it up.

When they defend well, they're difficult - almost impossible - to beat.

In every one of Brisbane's nine wins this season, they've kept their opponent to less than 90 points.

In each of their six losses, they've conceded more than 100 points.

And although there's plenty of factors that go into keeping an opposition's score low – your own ball movement, defensive structure, winning contests – one that jumps off the page for the two-time premiers is its pressure.

Against the Swans their Pressure Factor of 184 was the highest for the season. Perhaps that was the 11-day break between games over the mid-season bye or Chris Fagan's commitment to defensively pressing without the ball.

Statistics from Champion Data show the Lions are 6-0 when they exceed the opposition in Pressure Factor. They are 3-6 when they lose that metric, with the victories all coming at home against Collingwood, Adelaide and Carlton.

Dig a little deeper and there's a couple of other numbers that give you a good indication of Brisbane's success.

When they win scores from centre bounce clearances, they are 8-1, compared to 1-5 when they get outscored.

Finally, they are 9-2 when they win the scores from turnover statistic and 0-4 when they lose it.

Check the pressure against Geelong on Thursday night and you'll get a reasonable indication of what sort of night you're in for from the Lions.