Milestone games for premiership teammates Dayne Zorko and Charlie Cameron have compounded the magnitude of Brisbane's season-shaping clash with Hawthorn this weekend.
Zorko, a five-time Merrett-Murray medallist as the Lions' best and fairest player, will run out in Lions colours for the 300th time this Sunday night, in front of an adoring, and presumably packed, Gabba crowd.
Cameron, a two-time All-Australian, plays game 250 in the same fixture, and Lions faithful will be hoping John Denver's biggest hit will be played ad nauseam, come their final home and away game of the season.
Premiership defender, and fan favourite Ryan Lester, said that the milestones mean the Lions have a lot to play for, outside of the obvious top four berth that comes with a victory over a resurgent Hawthorn outfit.
"We wanna put on a pretty good show for our fans this week, and for the guys playing their milestones," he said.
"With how tight the ladder is, from last week (onwards), there was no room for error. It was great the way we played last week. We've gotta try and do it again. We clearly wanna be playing good footy, and we are also chasing a result to get us a top-four spot.
"Most of our stuff comes down to effort and attitude; throughout the year, the games we've lost, we feel like we haven't turned up mentally. You'd like to think this close to finals that won't be the case, and obviously, we've got a lot to play for with Zork's' 300th and Charlie's 250th. It's a very exciting week."
Hardly naive to the threat Hawthorn poses, Lester is looking forward to seeing how his side play, given their form against fellow finals fancies this season.
"We tend to get up more for games against good teams. We know we've gotta play well, and we need to carry some form into September - the premiership last year showed that.
"They (Hawthorn) play a very exciting, attacking sort of game, so it should be a really good contest."
Rather uncharacteristically, strong home form hasn't been a factor in Brisbane's quest for a top-four finish and a second consecutive premiership, but 'Froggy' maintains that unconvincing home results aren't affecting the group.
"It (Gabba form) doesn't weigh on us - we're such an experienced team and we've been through so many of these things, (like the) MCG hoodoo and the finals hoodoo. Not that the Gabba (form) is quite to that extreme, but certainly we haven't played that well there (this year). We've shown over the course of the year that we're a good side, and (we're) very confident the ground doesn't have anything to do with it," he said.
Zorko joins Simon Black and Marcus Ashcroft as the only men to play 300 games in Brisbane colours, and Lester was full of praise for his fellow backman, and family member.
"He's gonna go down as one of the legends of this club...(it's been an) amazing career considering he also started a couple years later.
"The last couple of years, it's been a real pleasure having him in the backline. I didn't know, when he moved there, if it would work out, but his attacking weapon and his kicking is just phenomenal. His ability to make a quick decision and hit a kick - it's lots of fun to play with. All credit to him - he's been an amazing player for a long time," he said.
The former skipper is defying age, claiming an All-Australian blazer in the Lions' premiership season last year, and in the mix for another nod this season. Lester credits Zorko's passion, and energy, for his longevity.
"His passion is his biggest strength. Despite his age, he fits in really well with the group. He gets on really well with all the young guys, and brings lots of energy, (which is) probably why he's been able to play so long."
"He does it his way, and has a lot of self-belief."
Longevity must be in the water in the River City, with Lester himself about to finish season 15 at the Den.
"It's probably a cultural thing for us. We're playing in a good team, which helps; it's just lots of fun around here," he said.
The ritual of a Tuesday coffee catch-up, attended by Lester, Zorko, Harris Andrews, Josh Dunkley and Lincoln McCarthy has also kept the veterans fresh. Lester says he and Zorko take a keen interest in staying in lockstep with the leaders, taking pride in helping to disperse the leaders' messaging amongst the playing group.
Lester is looking forward to potentially renewing hostilities with former Lion Jack Gunston when the crafty veteran returns to the Gabba on the weekend.
"He's had an amazing year. He was great around the group; it just didn't quite work out for him up here. He's clearly a very smart forward, and uses all of his experience - you don't kick over 500 goals without that craft. He seems to be playing deeper to goal at the moment."
A famously team-first operator and a stay-at-home defender, Lester broke through for a rare goal in his side's most recent victory, over Fremantle. His son, Romeo, asks him to kick a goal every week, and Lester took great pleasure in talking to him about it after it finally happened.
"We practice quite extravagant celebrations in the backyard, but that's not quite my personality," he said. "He also kicked one at Auskick that day, so it was nice to share that with him."
Injuries, like the most recent one to forward Eric Hipwood, are threatening to derail the Lions' premiership defence, but Lester alluded to a faith in their entire list.
"It's a real shame for Eric. You'd like all your best players out there, and hopefully come finals we get a few back, (but) we've got a lot of confidence in the 45 guys on our list," he said, while also highlighting the roles of youngsters Bruce Reville and Sam Marshall in the weekend's win in the West.
The Lions welcome Hawthorn to the Gabba on a season-shaping Sunday, after the Dockers and Dogs do battle for the last top-eight spot.
