"Beyond compare": Whateley praises Lions' raw courage in thriller

As the AFL world basks in the maroon, blue and gold lights of Brisbane following another flag, Gerard Whateley believes the courage shown by the side has eclipsed that of the Lions’ during the three-peat of 2001-03.

For the second time this century, the Queensland club has claimed three premierships in a row with Chris Fagan’s men getting the job done with a seven-point win despite being down as much as 17 points late in the final quarter.

Whilst this Grand Final victory was the most astounding of the three, this year’s trajectory to the last Saturday in September has followed a similar path.

Across their successful finals campaigns, Brisbane had to go the long way in order to reach the final match of the season and lift the premiership.

Whilst 2024 saw them win all four matches from fifth place, the last two have seen them bounce back from a qualifying final loss and run the table.

With their place in footballing history firmly secured as one of the great dynasties, the esteemed broadcaster thinks the raw courage shown by this iteration of Brisbane cannot be compared with any other Lions side during Leigh Matthews’ tenure at the club.

“If we take a step back…so the golden era's team will remain the greatest because it's got iconic characters, but this team has played the long way round all three,” Whateley said post-game on SEN.

“27 games, unprecedented. Teams have never been asked to play 27 games. They've played four finals three years in a row.

“The first premiership was marked by the preposterous comebacks of 44 points against the Giants and 28 points against Geelong.

“The following year they'd get whacked by Geelong and then come back through Geelong and whack them.

“And then this one in that grand final is from a position that's lost. For the brilliance of the Leigh Matthews era, the raw courage of this team that has been demonstrated across these three seasons is beyond compare.”

The Lions will enter next season with the chance to become the second V/AFL side to ever win four premierships in a row.