For all their achievements over the past 18 months, the big question mark hanging over Brisbane remains their big game mentality.
The Lions were the feel good story of 2019, surging to their first finals in a decade on the back of a stellar 16-win regular season.
But they flopped in the finals, falling to eventual premiers Richmond and then Greater Western Sydney to end their campaign with back-to-back defeats.
In 2020, Brisbane have again been one of the teams to beat and remain firmly on track for a top-two finish with 10 wins and three defeats so far.
Those losses have, however, raised concerns about the Lions’ ability to deliver in big matches.
Geelong blew Chris Fagan’s team away in one quarter in Sydney in round six, while bogey team Richmond extended their winning streak over the Lions to 15 matches earlier this month.
The Lions welcome Collingwood to the Gabba on Friday, with Rich set to make his first appearance since the round 11 win over the Western Bulldogs.
It’s another chance for Brisbane to show they are the real deal heading into a post-season where speculation grows by the day that the Gabba will be hosting this year’s grand final.
Brisbane haven’t beaten the Magpies since 2014 and in a highly-anticipated Easter Thursday clash at the Gabba last year, the Lions fell to a disappointing 62-point loss.
Rich believes his less-experienced teammates have been taking lessons from every big game they’ve played and are more prepared for centre stage than they were last year.
“That’s a really big strength of our group is the guys, they learn from any situation whether it’s good or bad and really take that into what’s next,” he said.
“Such a young group and group that’s emerging together, they really thrive off those learning opportunities and hopefully we can take that into to what’s to come.
“A lot of it’s to do with the moments and flows of the game and just being able to adapt in certain situations, during a game, where in the past, it’s probably taken a little bit longer than it might have.
“Learning to pull the trigger on certain things a bit earlier, is one of the things.”