Hidden in the euphoria of the Lions’ premiership success last year was a wonderful story of personal retribution.

Outwardly, as Callum Ah Chee walked to the stage to collect his premiership medallion he looked like any other Lions player. He was beaming after a brilliant finals series iced in the sweetest possible way. But inwardly it meant even more to him.

In the grand final Ah Chee had 14 possessions, kicked a game-high four goals and had an equal game-high two goal assists to rank third in voting for the Norm Smith Medal. It was Will Ashcroft (14) from Lachie Neale (8), Ah Chee (7) and Kai Lohmann (1).

Voting panel chairman Jack Riewoldt rated Ah Chee behind Ashcroft and ahead of Neale. Rory Sloane voted Ashcroft from Ah Chee and Lohmann, and Shaun Burgoyne and AAP writer Anna Harrington went Ashcroft, Neale, Ah Chee, and the AFL website’s Riley Beveridge preferred Neale over Ashcroft and Ah Chee.

In the Merrett/Murray Medal vote count revealed the following week the Lions coaching panel awarded Ashcroft, Neale and Brandon Starcevich four votes in the grand final, with Ah Chee one of 15 players who received three votes.

Across the four finals Ashcroft, Neale and Starcevich polled 12 votes, and Ah Chee, Dayne Zorko, Josh Dunkley, Hugh McCluggage and Noah Answerth polled 11 votes, but such was the consistency and impact of Ah Chee’s September campaign the ‘Best Finals Player Award’ was split four ways between Ashcroft, Neale, Starcevich and Ah Chee.

For the always understated and often underrated Ah Chee it was job done. Because for 12 months he’d carried a heavy personal disappointment from the four-point loss to Collingwood in the 2023 grand final more than most.

He was subbed out of the ’23 premiership decider against Collingwood with just six possessions, having played 61% game time.

For 363 days he lived with it. But after he led the Lions for goals (10) and goal assists (5) through the 2024 finals, and from Round 10 was outpolled in the club championship by only Neale, Zorko, Dunkley, McCluggage, Darcy Wilmot and Joe Daniher, he could put it all behind him.

On Sunday, as the Lions unfurl the 2024 premiership before the Round 2 game against West Coast at the Gabba, Ah Chee, now in his 10^th season in the AFL, will add another line to his CV.

After 45 games at the Gold Coast from 2016-19 he’ll play his 100^th Brisbane game.

He’ll be the club’s 64^th 100-gamer and, with a win over West Coast in his milestone game, will boast a 100-game win/loss record better than all but ex-captain Jonathan Brown.

From 99 games in the Lions #4 jumper Ah Chee has a 73-1-25 win/loss record at 73.7%, behind Brown (75.0%) and ahead of Mal Michael (73.7%), Martin Pike (72.7%), Tim Notting (71.7%) and Simon Black (70.0%).

Lincoln McCarthy (69/0%) is next best from Clark Keating (68.4%), Luke Power (67.7%), Brandon Starcevich and Neale (67.0%) complete the top 10.

Ah Chee, not often seen in the public eye, boasts one of football’s most fascinating backgrounds. Born in Derby in the Kimberley’s region of Western Australia to an Indigenous/Dutch mother and an Indigenous/Chinese father, he is one of six boys who from age three grew up in suburban Armadale in Perth.

A product of WAFL club South Fremantle, which also delivered Hardie, Ash McGrath, Peter Worsfold, Matthew Moody and Troy Johnson to Brisbane, Ah Chee was the first West Australian drafted in 2015 when snapped up by the Gold Coast at #8.

It was a draft in which the Lions took Josh Schache at #2, Eric Hipwood at #14, Ben Keays at #25, Rhys Mathieson at #39 and Sam Skinner at #47, and Reuben William in the rookie draft.

Dunkley and ex-Lion Marcus Adams went to the Western Bulldogs at #25 and #35 respectively, and soon-to-play Lion Tom Doedee went to Adelaide at #17.

The top 12 in the 2015 draft was:- #1 Jacob Weitering (Carl), #2 Schache (Bris), #3 Callum Mills (Syd), #4 Clayton Oliver (Melb), #5 Darcy Parish (Ess), #6 Aaron Francis (Ess), #7 Jacob Hopper (GWS), #8 Callum Ah Chee (GC), #9 Sam Weideman (Melb), #10 Harry McKay (Carl), #11 Wayne Milera (Adel), #12 Charlie Curnow.

Ah Chee, married to the daughter of Tasmanian and Queensland Hall of Famer Ricky Hanlon, who has played a giant in the code’s development in North Queensland, was drafted to the Suns by Dom Ambrogio, now the Lions list manager.

The pair had built up a close relationship, and when Ah Chee was looking for a fresh start after quad and ankle injuries restricted him to just one AFL game with the Suns in 2019 Ambrogio traded the Lions’ second-round pick to the Suns for Ah Chee and a fourth-round pick.

At the time it was not exactly big news, but Ambrogio knew the full story of Ah Chee and what the now 27-year-old utility was capable of. It was a key part of the club’s premiership list build.

The full story of Callum Ah Chee’s fascinating background and his journey to the AFL was captured in 2015 in an excellent article for the AFL website by Callum Twomey. Click HERE to read it.