MICHAEL Voss says the Brisbane Lions have still not earned the respect of their rivals despite notching 10 wins in 2012.

Sunday night's 67-point triumph over the Western Bulldogs netted Voss his second best return in four seasons as a coach following 14 wins, seven and four in his first three years respectively.

But he said there was still a long way to go to be considered an upper echelon team.

"That's (respect) a continual journey, it's never a destination," Voss said.

"The moment you think you have got that, this game has a good way of being able to whack you in the face.

"The biggest thing we need to be able to do is really convince the people of Queensland we are a worthy team to come watch again and that we have a brand of football that you want to come and watch.

"I think that we've gone about doing that."

Voss said one of the most important things the Lions had to achieve in 2013 was to make the Gabba a fortress again.

They had a 6-5 record there this year, but the coach said eight or nine wins from 11 were needed to mix it with the finalists.

The Lions upset then League leaders West Coast in round 10 and also added the scalp of second placed Adelaide in round 21.

"The first thing is make sure that the Gabba is not an enjoyable place for the opposition, that it's really hard for them to come here and win," he said.

Voss was most pleased the Lions did not throw their season away after a poor month leading up to the final hat-trick of victories.

He said the players deserved a lot of credit for sticking to a commitment they made during the pre-season.

"We could have been in the position five weeks ago where we gave our season away and they didn't, [they] stuck at the task and wanted to follow through," he said.

"While we sit here and say that finals is always a measure of success, what you get is a measure of improvement and that progress is being made."

Michael Whiting covers Brisbane Lions news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_mikewhiting

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL