Jonathan Brown probably appreciates on-field success more now than he did at the beginning of his AFL journey.

Brown joined the Lions as a father/son selection at the end of 1999 when the Club was on the verge of greatness.

He went on to play in a total of 15 Finals matches throughout his first five seasons - including four Grand Finals - and became a three-time premiership player just two weeks before his 22nd birthday.

But time has since proven how difficult it can be to maintain that level of success in the AFL competition.

Brown has since played in just two Finals over the past 11 seasons, and it’s looking likely that his side will again fall short of experiencing September action in 2012.

The Lions Captain, however, has seen some genuine improvements in his team over the past couple of months and is excited about the Club’s future.

“I’ve been enjoying my footy a bit more over the last five or six weeks,” Brown told SEN on Wednesday morning.

“We look like having a pretty good future at the Lions, and I can definitely see the improvement coming through.”

“6-8 weeks ago we were scratching our heads a little bit to be honest, but there’s a lot more confidence among the playing group about the direction we’re heading in now.”

“Even though we didn’t win against St Kilda (last week), it was probably one of our best games for the year.”

“We know St Kilda have been in some good form and are a very good contested side, and we really feel as though we matched them for most of the game.”

Brown said it was important for the Club to get back on the winners’ list this Saturday night against local rivals Gold Coast and continue to build some momentum heading into the off-season.

“I expect there will be a pretty good crowd down there on Saturday given it’s the first time we’ve played them down there (at Metricon Stadium),” Brown said.

“We certainly want to beat them. (The rivalry) is a big thing for us up here and means a lot to the players. We want to control the AFL territory in Queensland.”