It was only 12 months ago, but still it holds a place in the Brisbane Lions’ 33-year history as one of the great wins. Sunday 20 May 2018, Round 9 of last season, when Brisbane hosted Hawthorn at the Gabba for the Luke Hodge Cup.

Not officially the Luke Hodge Cup but it may as well have been as the former Hawthorn champion, in his first season in Brisbane, met his old club for the first time.

After 16 years and 305 games as a Hawk Hodge was now a Lion looking to bring down the jumper in which he’d enjoyed 23 finals, five grand finals, four premierships, two Norm Smith Medals, two best & fairest awards, six top three best & fairest placings, three All-Australian selections and six years as captain.

For the first time he was opposed to Alastair Clarkson, his coach for 260 games.

It was downright weird, for a player who, nearly 34 and in his 313^th game, was almost 10 years and 242 games in advance of the average age and AFL experience of his teammates.

But when the final siren sounded Hodge had a little extra spring in his step and sparkle in his eye as he shook hands with his long-time mates after an unforgettable Brisbane win.

The bottom-of-the-ladder Lions were 0-8 going into Round 9 and against the sixth-placed 5-3 Hawks and desperately trying to avoid equalling the club's all-time worst start to a season of 0-9 in 1991.

It didn’t start well for the home side when they trailed 1-0 to 4-0, after 10 minutes but thereafter they literally blew the Hawks away.

It was 19-9 to 6-7 from that point on in a magnificent team performance which featured sharp, quick ball movement, excellent defensive structures, and fierce tackling and pressure.

Significantly, they dominated contested marks 15-4 and inside 50 marks 14-5.  Two telling statistics for a young side 

The Lions led by 11 points at halftime and 27 points at three-quarter time and then, after letting so many close ones earlier in the 2018 season, they banged on 7-3 to 2-4 in the fourth quarter to win going away.

Eric Hipwood kicked four goals, an equal career-best at the time, to pick up his first three-vote Brownlow Medal recognition, while Dayne Beams received two votes for 28 possessions and two goals, and Dayne Zorko one vote for 30 possessions, 12 tackles and 10 inside 50’s.

Hugh McCluggage, in his 27^th game, had a real breakout day with a then career-best 27 possessions in a pointer to the exhilarating form he has shown in 2019, and Tom Cutler, in his 52^nd game, had 26 possessions and an equal career-best three goals.

And Matt Eagles, in his third game, was rock solid in defence and, much to the delight of his teammates, kicked his first goal with a running snap early in the final term.

The Lions won 20-9 (129) to 11-7 (73). And that despite 46 possessions, including 26 contested possessions, from Hawthorn’s 2018 Brownlow Medallist Tom Mitchell.

After a prolonged on-ground celebration, much to the delight of a crowd of 20,628, the Lions filed down into the locker room to sing the club song with much gusto.

It was a crowded player circle, with six players in the middle celebrating their first Lions win – Eagles, Charlie Cameron, Cam Rayner, Oscar McInerney, Zac Bailey and “young” Hodge, who had celebrated his first AFL win 312 games and more than 16 years earlier, when, they 17, he and a 19-year-old Sam Mitchell had debuted together with Hawthorn.

Watching on, privately delighted but less demonstrative, was Lions coach Chris Fagan. After 10 years working alongside close friend Clarkson in a key development, coaching and football administration role at Hawthorn, he had knocked off the man regarded as the best coach of the modern era.

Fagan and the Lions coaching panel recognised all 22 players in Merrett/Murray Medal voting, with Harris Andrews, superb with 18 possessions and 16 one-percenters in defence, rated best with 20 votes.

McCluggage (19), Zorko (18), Hipwood (17) and Cutler (16) also polled strongly with Beams (13), Stefan Martin  (12), Darcy Gardiner (12), Alex Witherden (12) and Hodge (12).