Brisbane chief executive Greg Swann believes Saturday’s qualifying final against Richmond is one step in the Lions becoming an AFL powerhouse.
The clash with the Tigers at a sold-out Gabba is the first time the Lions have played in a final for a decade but Swann expects it to become the norm in years ahead.
Brisbane’s list only has four senior players over the age of 30 while several youngsters are now established AFL players.
Teenage forward Cam Rayner (44 games), 20-year-old Alex Witherden (51) as well as 21-year-olds Hugh McCluggage (61), Jarrod Berry (55) and Eric Hipwood (73) are all mainstays of the Lions first-choice 22.
Hipwood’s decision to sign a new deal with the club until the end of 2023 despite already being under contract for next year shows the Lions’ struggles to retain their best talent are largely behind them.
The ability to attract top quality talent such as midfielder Lachie Neale is another reason Swann is optimistic 2019 won’t be a one-off for the Lions.
“We’ve tried to build for this to be sustainable,” Swann told AAP.
“There’s no guarantees that’ll happen but even from people wanting to come to the club as in players and even other staff from other clubs – we’ve got a good position there as well.
“It wasn’t that long ago people were leaving here but now we’ve become, I wouldn’t say a destination club, but we’ve become more attractive for people to come and play their footy here or come and work here which is another great bonus for us.”
The Lions are also eagerly awaiting the development of a $70m stadium and training facility development in Springfield, south-west of Brisbane which Swann has long championed as necessary for the club’s future.
“We’ve cleared the land at Springfield, it’s being cleared as we speak, so the building will commence in the new year,” Swann said.
“That’ll come on stream in 2022.”