The final siren at the Gabba sounded at 10.16pm on Saturday 22 September 2001. A mixture of exaltation and disbelief engulfed Brisbane Lions fans far and wide as slowly the realisation that a dream had become a reality sunk in …. the Lions were in the grand final.

After 25 years and 340 games the Queensland club would play in the ‘big one’. And for first time since 1944 the proud Lions symbol that had identified Fitzroy for 100 years in the VFL/AFL would take centre stage at the MCG on the last Saturday in September.

Brisbane had beaten Richmond 20-16 (136) to 10-8 (68) in their third preliminary final, having lost the penultimate game of the year to North Melbourne in 1996 and 1999.

For the Fitzroy faithful it was an even sweeter moment –their first preliminary final win since 1923 after consecutive losses in 1943-47-52-60-86.

It was a moment that hardcore Lions fans old and young will never forget.

Brisbane have now played in seven preliminary finals for a 4-3 record. As the 2022 team prepares for PF#8 against Geelong at the MCG on Friday night we look back at the four wins.

2001 – Fifteen in a Row

The Lions had won their last 13 games of the home-and-away season to finish second on the ladder with a 17-5 record, behind 2000 premiers Essendon on percentage. They’d beaten third-placed Port Adelaide by 32 points at the Gabba in the qualifying final, and after a week off took on fourth-placed Richmond, who had copped a 70-point hiding from Essendon in the first week of the finals before bouncing back with an 11-point win over fifth-placed Carlton.

Alastair Lynch missed with suspension, handing club stalwart Matthew Kennedy his 188^th and last game as Brisbane was engulfed in Lions-mania. It was Darryl White’s 200^th AFL game and Craig McRae’s 28^th birthday, and they celebrated in style.

After a high-pressure start the home side led by two goals at quarter time before kicking the next six goals. Two Richmond majors in the last 16 seconds of the second quarter cut the deficit to 38 points, but when Brisbane kicked the first four goals of the third quarter it was over.

Coach Leigh Matthews used Michael Voss and Chris Scott in rotation at full forward to cover for Lynch and was rewarded with five goals and 54 possessions from his midfield duo, who topped the best & fairest votes with Nigel Lappin (29 possessions). A 19-year-old Jonathan Brown kicked four goals, while at the other end Justin Leppitsch shut down Matthew Richardson and Mal Michael did likewise on Brad Ottens. Fifteen wins in a row.

2002 – Headland Heroics

Des Headland was a #1 draft pick who played only 52 games for the Lions from 1999-2002 and left the club having finished fifth in the Brownlow Medal and won a premiership in his last year at 21. A home-sick West Australian, he was traded to the Fremantle Dockers for picks #3 and #19 in the 2002 National Draft.

Through eight years and 114 games with the Dockers he was never quite the player he looked like being after a scintillating performance in his penultimate game in Brisbane colors.

It was the 2002 preliminary final, when Brisbane -played Port Adelaide at the Gabba in a match-up that many had expected would be the grand final.

The same two teams had gone into the last game of the home-and-away season sharing top spot on the ladder with a 17-4 record. The Lions were 5.4% ahead of the Power and needed only a win when they met in Round 22 in Adelaide to secure the minor premiership.

In front of a hostile Football Park crowd the Lions trailed by 28 points at three-quarter time before kicking five unanswered goals to hit the front with seven minutes to play only to lose by a goal.

It was the day when Leigh Matthews, ever the pragmatistic, cast the loss aside with a simple comment that, no matter what the result in Round 22, it was always going to be much more important the next time the teams met. And so it was.

In week one of the finals Brisbane thumped Adelaide by 71 points at the Gabba to book a home preliminary final, but Port suffered a shock home loss to Collingwood and had to get through Essendon in week two just to get to week three.

They did, but because of their loss to the Pies they found themselves on the same side of the draw as Brisbane and headed to the Gabba for the ‘coodabeen’ grand final a week ahead of schedule.

In front of a sell-out Gabba crowd of 33,047 the Lions led by a point at quarter-time and kicked 6-4 to 3-3 in the second quarter to take a 20-point advantage to halftime. The hard work was done and  Brisbane cruised home 21-12 (138) to 12-10 (82).

Showing the way in arguably the best game of his career was Headland. He had a career-best 33 possessions and three goals to three-quarter time and topped the voting in the Merrett/Murray Medal despite spending most of the final quarter on the bench with severe cramp.

Nigel Lappin (29 possessions), Alastair Lynch (five goals), Simon Black (25 possessions, 11 tackles and 12 clearances) and Jonathan Brown (three goals) were other key contributors with a defensive group led by Justin Leppitsch, Mal Michael and Marcus Ashcroft.

Importantly, too, Clark Keating, had a big second half to guarantee his grand final spot. Having returned in the qualifying final after an eight-week injury absence, Keating had won a close selection call over Jamie Charman to partner Beau McDonald in the preliminary final.

2003 – A Fantastic Final Quarter

The Lions were on finals overtime in 2003. Instead of the three-stop trek of 2001-02 – qualifying final, bye, preliminary final, grand final – it was a four-stop trek. A loss to Collingwood in the qualifying final meant they’d had to play a semi-final in week two of September.

With captain Michael Voss walking a fitness tightrope, they got over Adelaide in a Gabba semi-final before travelling to the Olympic Stadium in Sydney to play the Swans in the preliminary final.

The Swans, fourth on the home-and-away ladder, had upset minor premiers Port Adelaide at Football Park in the qualifying final to earn a week off and a home preliminary final.

It was the club’s first visit to the home of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, where Cathy Freeman had captivated the nation with her 400m gold medal win, and they were greeted by a pro-Swans crowd of 71,109.

The Lions wasted opportunities early when they kicked 2-7 in the first quarter, opened up a 26-point lead early the third quarter and then conceded four goals in 11 minutes just prior to the last break. They were three points up but momentum was with the Swans.

The Lions produced a gold medal finish of their own when they kicked 6-6 to 0-1 in the final quarter to win 14-16 (100) to 8-8 (56). With Jamie Charman dominating the last 30 minutes, Martin Pike played a key role on the wing, third-gamer Richard Hadley did enough to guarantee his grand final spot and Ash McGrath kicked one of the goals of the season with a smother and a wobbly 75m torpedo that somehow tumbled over the goal line.

But in the closing minutes, with the win secure, Shaun Hart and Nigel Lappin collided in a marking contest that saw Lappin taken from the ground hunched over in pain. He’d broken two ribs to set up a grand final week story that would go down in AFL folklore.

2004 – Against the Odds

Chasing a premiership quadrella, the Lions had finished second on the home-and-away ladder with a  16-6 record, half a game behind Port Adelaide, level with St.Kilda and half a game ahead of Geelong.

All was going to plan when they thumped St.Kilda by 80 points in a Gabba qualifying final to book what ordinarily would have been a home preliminary against Geelong, who had gone down to Port in week one of the finals before beating Essendon in week two.

But the Lions were caught by a little-known clause in the AFL contract with the MCG whereby one preliminary final each year had to be played at ‘headquarters’. So with Port taking priority courtesy of their higher ranking, the Brisbane v Geelong game was scheduled for the MCG.

But worse was to come. Because Geelong had played their semi-final on the Saturday night the Lions v Cats preliminary final was slotted in on the Saturday – at night. Brisbane’s plea for an afternoon game so they could get home fell on deaf ears,

It was a scrap. All the statistics favoured the Cats but the Lions found a way. With Nigel Lappin (30 possessions) best afield, Mal Michael was a colossus down back, Daniel Bradshaw kicked three crucial goals in the third quarter on his way to a game-high four, and Luke Power, ko’d in the first quarter, bounced back with 13 possessions in the last.

The only sour note in the brave 12-12 (84) to 10-15 (75) win was a sickening collision when Shaun Hart, going back with the flight of the ball, was ko’d. He suffered a double cheekbone fracture that ultimately ended his career.

The Lions were into their fourth consecutive grand final, but by the time they arrived back in Brisbane late Sunday they’d conceded virtually two days to Port in terms of preparation time due to a rule which was eradicated soon after.

WILL THE LIONS ADD TO THIS LIST IN 2022? WE TAKE ON GEELONG THIS FRIDAY NIGHT AT THE MCG. ALL THE INFO HERE.