CRAIG Starcevich hopes a round one road trip will help Brisbane break its bizarre trend of starting recent seasons on the wrong foot.

The Lions have lost their past three round one matches, against Hawthorn (2025), North Melbourne (2024) and Richmond (2023) before going on to play in the Grand Final in each of those seasons.

And every time the matches have been played at their Brighton Homes Arena home base at Springfield.

However, 2026 starts in a different manner, with last year’s runners-up off to Windy Hill to face Essendon on Sunday.

Starcevich, who has coached the team since its inaugural 2017 campaign, is hopeful a change of scene will result in a change of outcome.

"It stands out that we haven't had a great record," he said.

"There's a bit about getting on the road in round one and getting the group together and the 'us against the world' mentality, which I like.

"It's at the forefront of our minds.

"To get away together for round one, I really like the feel of that, to be honest."

Brisbane was the last team to beat North Melbourne, when it won the 2023 premiership, but has fallen short in the past two deciders against the Kangaroos.

Starcevich says after tinkering with the gameplan leading into the 2025 season, he had seen significant growth this pre-season.

"Last year we added a few things in which took a while to smooth out. I found this pre-season, a lot of what we did last preseason in terms of game style, has now become second nature to players," he said.

"At the moment, we’re all just hoping it turns out the right way, but there’s enough evidence from the practise matches to give us some confidence that things have improved dramatically from that angle."