Brisbane will once again need to do it the hard way if they are to go back-to-back.
The 2024 premiership flag was won from outside the top four, among a host of serious injuries to key players throughout the campaign.
And 12 months down the track, history has simply repeated itself.
The Lions are preparing to face Collingwood in Saturday's preliminary final, and they are largely different from the team that celebrated victory by lifting the cup against Sydney last year.
For starters, first-year draftees Levi Ashcroft, Sam Marshall and Ty Gallop have held their place in the senior side amid a litany of injuries.
Bruce Reville regained his spot under Chris Fagan following Lachie Neale's calf injury.
Oscar McInerney and Darcy Gardiner were absent last year through injury, but featured in the club's heartbreaking loss to the Pies in the 2023 decider.
"We saw with Oscar coming back into the team (against the Suns), not just for him, but for the group, it provided a lot of energy," Brisbane midfielder Hugh McCluggage said.
"It's a little bit of extra motivation to go all the way for those boys.
"They'll be on edge, as the rest of us are, that although we won it last year, it just doesn't seem like it's enough.
"You always want to go again and keep chasing.
"We've been hunted this year as the reigning premiers, and we feel like we've been able to battle through all the adversity we've had this year.
"We've put ourselves in a position to play against the other three final sides, which is really exciting."
McCluggage bounced back after an unusual outing against Geelong a fortnight ago, where he was well-held by Cats tagger Oisin Mullin.
The first-time All-Australian responded like stars do, gathering 33 possessions, 10 clearances and three tackles to lead the Lions to victory over the Suns.
"I was disappointed with the way I played, the team was disappointed with the way we played against the Cats, but full credit to them, they forced us into that," McCluggage added.
"Mullin did a really good job and put me off my game, but that wasn't the reason we lost.
"They were really good as a team as well. I was happy I could bounce back, but I was more pleased that the team could bounce back.
"We brought that pressure that probably the Cats brought to us against the Gold Coast and really flipped the script."
