Not since the Brisbane Lions made it through to the 2007 AFL NAB Cup Grand Final has the Club had such a positive start to the pre-season competition.

In fact, consecutive wins against Hawthorn and Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium on the weekend has the Lions sitting atop the pre-season ladder.

The Lions were one of only four teams to win both of their triangular series of matches, but have a far superior percentage compared to Carlton, Collingwood and North Melbourne.

Should the Lions finish inside the top two at the end of the four-game NAB Cup series, they will qualify for the Grand Final and have an opportunity to secure the Club’s first pre-season premiership since the 1997 merger.

However, the Lions’ opponents in their two remaining matches have also shown promising pre-season form.

New kids on the block, Greater Western Sydney, will host the Lions in Wagga Wagga this Saturday night fresh from comfortably accounting for reigning Premiers Sydney.

The Giants currently sit seventh on the ladder, and could easily be higher if not for a late fade-out against Carlton in their first match.

The Lions also have a scheduled date with AFL heavyweights Collingwood in Round 4 of the NAB Cup (Saturday 9 March) in Melbourne – the night before the Club’s Victorian Family Fun Day.  

The Magpies, who currently sit in third place, have already proven why they are among the AFL premiership favourites by defeating Essendon and the Western Bulldogs.

So while the Lions find themselves in a promising position halfway through the NAB Cup preliminary rounds, their road to a potential Grand Final berth will be a difficult one.

2013 AFL NAB Cup Ladder