The Brisbane Lions want for very, very little.
The reigning, defending, back-to-back champs have a clean bill of health and will be well rested for the week off that Wildcard Round granted them. Their path to an historic three-peat is laid out before them. But what about beyond that?
Zac Bailey's free agency leanings are still yet to be revealed, despite confidence some six weeks ago that he'd be remaining in the River City. Lachie Neale appears a moral to opt against adding to the exemplary eight seasons of service he has provided coach Chris Fagan.
So where to next? What are some savvy acquisitions the league's best-run club could feasibly make this off-season to keep their proverbial premiership window jammed open?
Arty Jones
The Western Bulldogs livewire is, like the Lions, still participating in finals footy, and only increased his asking price with a sensational cameo in his side's Wildcard Round victory over the Collingwood Magpies.
Jones has been linked with the Lions, with his flair, goal sense and x-factor earmarking him as the ideal replacement for Zac Bailey, should the latter find the deal tabled to him by the Adelaide Crows just too good to refuse.
Jones is out of contract at season's end, and while the Dogs have a three-year deal in front of their man, the pocket rocket has admitted to feeling slighted by the one-year deal the club granted him this time last year, fuelling speculation he's forging a path out of Footscray.
Zac Williams
The Giant-turned-Blue is nearing the end of the six-year, $5 million deal that brought him to IKON Park ahead of the 2021 season, and clubs are looking at utilising a loophole to acquire the 31-year-old.
With the AFLPA expected to sign off on the extra Category B list spot the AFL wants to introduce specifically for the acquisition of First Nations talent, clubs interested in players like Williams will be hoping Carlton decision-makers deem him surplus to their requirements and delist him.
Should Williams then not be picked up in the next National Draft, clubs will seek to add his wealth of experience to their list, without the use of a traditional list spot.
The Lions should be one such club. It's a win-now move for a club in the most win-now of moods.
Williams would be excellent depth, providing utility, drive and experience, and at this stage of his career, his asking price would be considerably down on what it was when he made his way to Melbourne's inner north as a free agent.
Jordan Ridley
This time last year, Bomber Jordan Ridley appeared destined to make the move to the Sunshine State, citing frustrations with Essendon's high-performance team and their inability to keep the defender on the park as the primary motivation for a move.
He opted against requesting a trade to Brisbane then, after then-coach Brad Scott's insistence that the club hold him to his contract (one that ties him to the club until 2029's end). After only managing a meagre seven appearances this year, taking his rolling three-year total to just 26, it's inconceivable that those frustrations have subsided.
In recent times, coach-elect Mark "Spike" McVeigh has labelled the former Crichton Medallist a "required player", going as far as to say that he will personally pitch to the 27-year-old in hopes of keeping him in the sash.
Should that chat not bear McVeigh's desired fruit, the Lions are primed to swoop. It remains to be seen what would satisfy the Bombers at the trade table, but there's reason to believe the Lions could acquire the defender for unders, such is his recent injury history.
Liam McMahon
Another Bomber who could be forgiven for eyeing an exit is Liam McMahon.
He was one of a few shining lights for Essendon in late 2025, booting 12 goals from seven appearances after being picked up from Carlton's VFL program at the mid-season draft, earning a one-year extension after his initial six-month contract.
Despite that promise, he failed to feature at AFL level in 2026, despite impressive VFL form.
McMahon booted two goals per game for the first seven rounds of the reserves season before injury struck. Upon his return, some eight rounds later, the 24-year-old, first drafted by Collingwood in 2020, notched 19 goals from seven outings.
The Lions got a firsthand glimpse of his craft. McMahon put six of those 19 majors past their twos team, on their own deck.
Eric Hipwood is closer to the end of his career than the start, and McMahon looms as an obvious, and cheap, replacement.
Zane Duursma
Kangaroo Zane Duursma is an interesting watch.
The Roos swooped on the Gippsland Power prospect inside the top five of the 2023 National Draft, while players like Nick Watson were still on the board.
There's an insistence from pundits aplenty that Duursma would excel in a better system, and would match his billing as a top five pick should a better system acquire him. The half-forward role is a thankless one at the best of times, even more so in struggling sides, hence the underwhelming start to what should be a lengthy career.
Melbourne have emerged as a likely landing spot, while linking up with older brother Xavier at Essendon has also been floated as an option, should Duursma forego the two-year deal Arden St power brokers have put before him. The Lions could do a lot worse than have a ping at the stumps for the clean and crafty utility. He's young without being inexperienced, and would only add to the nucleus of young talent being assembled at the Den as their list enters a phase of transition.
