Return of the Pride

Welcome to Return of the Pride. Josh Gabelich and Michael Whiting from AFL.com.au, have explored how Brisbane hit rock bottom on-field and off-field, how they recovered from the disaster that was the…

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6. The Promised Land
From the "go-home five" to the early years under Chris Fagan and then into missed finals opportunities, the Brisbane Lions tasted the ultimate success in 2024 and then backed that up in 2025. The Lions are on track for a 3-peat with seemingly little in their way in 2026. This is the final install…
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5. The Finals
Before the Lions reached the pinnacle in 2024 and 2025 they featured in September and fell short every season between 2019 - 2023. The build up of finals losses, a mounting injury list and the Hawthorn saga in the background almost became too much for Chris Fagan as he considered walking away duri…
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4. The Trades
The Brisbane Lions threw many darts at the board and missed during Trade Periods when Michael Voss and Justin Leppitsch were at the helm as senior coaches. Then, a simple text from Chris Fagan to Luke Hodge asking whether he'd like to stay retired or join the Lions changed the trajectory of the c…
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3. The Drafts
Previous to 2016 Brisbane had a horror run at the draft table, but from the selection of Hugh McCluggage and Jarrod Berry the tables have turned. Cam Rayner then joined the club with pick 1 in 2017, and the Lions have made every post a winner with their academy selections as well. These are the p…
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2. The Coach
While the AFL placed Greg Swann inside the Lions as the CEO, he was charged with finding the next senior coach for the football club after sacking club legends Justin Leppitsch and Michael Voss. A man with over 2-decades of experience in various roles stuck out from the rest, that man was Chris Fa…
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1. The Boss
Welcome to Return of the Pride. Josh Gabelich and Micheal Whiting have spoken to more than 50 people inside the Brisbane Lions and across the AFL industry about how the Lions hit rock bottom before returning to the promised land in 2024 and again in 2025. Sacking coaches Justin Leppitsch, and Mic…
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Coming soon to AFL.com.au: Return of the Pride
Welcome to Return of the Pride. A six-part podcast series on how the Brisbane Lions hit rock bottom and how they recovered from the disaster that was the 'Go-Home Five' to climb off the canvas and go back-to-back under the oldest coach in VFL/AFL history. Coming soon to AFL.com.au
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