DESPITE dominating the competition in the early part of this decade, the Brisbane Lions are now a club with a core of emerging players yet to face the finals furnace.
Captain Jonathan Brown (three premierships from four grand finals), deputies Simon Black (three from four) and Luke Power (three from four), full-forward Daniel Bradshaw (two from three), utility Tim Notting (two from three), injured ruckman Jamie Charman (one from one) and defender Ash McGrath (one from one) are the remaining members of those Lions sides.
Apart from former Demon Travis Johnstone, backman Joel Macdonald is the only other Lion with September experience - having played in the club's qualifying final win over St Kilda in 2004 as a 19-year-old.
The Lions have not made the top eight since that year's grand final loss to Port Adelaide.
Consider that exciting utility Jared Brennan's first final will also be his 100th game. It's hard to believe he has not seen September action since a stunning debut against Collingwood in 2003 - the third of three successive premiership campaigns.
But Brennan is not the only Lion with at least 50 games' experience who is yet to play in a final.
Vice-captain Jed Adcock has run out for 90, but none of them in the post-season. And his lingering knee injury now puts him in a race with the clock to even be ready for a semi-final, should the Lions advance with a win over Carlton on Saturday night.
Throw in Justin Sherman (95), Michael Rischitelli (87), Daniel Merrett (85), Joel Patfull (76), Troy Selwood (70), Cheynee Stiller (66) and Josh Drummond (64) and there's a surplus of talent itching to be there.
However, Merrett (hamstring) and Drummond (quad) are also fighting to overcome their respective injuries.
Drummond, 26, was drafted at 20 by the Lions and is the oldest of the group.
"I've been here for five or six years and probably in the same group as a lot of guys here. It is very exciting," he said of the club's looming finals return.
"Probably 10 to 12 of us have been here within a year of each other: Rischa (Rischitelli), Jed, Dan Merrett, Joel Patfull.
"There are quite a few of us and it's been very frustrating not playing finals up until now.
"That's definitely one thing that's driven us with the hard work in the past year or two."
Brown said he was proud to lead the emerging players into the finals.
"It's really exciting, I can't wait to see their faces and the excitement in their eyes," he said.
"I'm excited, too. Even Sam Sheldon, he lives with me and (wife) Kylie and seeing his excitement takes me back to what I felt in my first finals series.
"It's why we play footy. You don't dread it. This is the time when you get to cash in on all the hard work you’ve done since October."
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
