PROGRESSING its gameplan in 2025 got off to a rocky start for Brisbane, but vice-captain Nat Grider said there was no panic from the two-time premiers.

Following a heavy loss in last year’s Grand Final to North Melbourne, the Lions knew they had to “evolve with the competition” to put themselves in contention again this year.

That meant diversifying the way they moved the ball.

But after a pre-season of implementing new options, things got off to a rocky start, with losses to Hawthorn, Carlton and the Kangaroos inside the first five rounds making Brisbane vulnerable to missing a position in the top eight, let alone top four.

Since that 2-3 beginning, Craig Starcevich’s team has rattled off eight consecutive wins to charge into a home preliminary final against Carlton on Saturday.

Grider told womens.afl there was not a moment of hesitation they had decided to make the right changes, despite the early wobble.

“I trust the coaching staff and the leaders at the club,” she said.

“We look at our previous seasons when we haven’t won the flag, and we want to learn from it.

“For us it was adding more strings to the bow, trying to evolve our game and still rely on our pillars of what we’ve done in previous years to compete at the high level.

“For us it’s a matter of constantly evolving with the competition.

“You start pre-season trying to add a few things to your game plan and of course it’s not going to be perfect from day one.

“We knew it was all about building and working out when to pull certain levers or play a certain way.

“Obviously, it’s going to take time, but you want to peak at the right time of the year, and that’s finals.”

Brisbane has traditionally overwhelmed opponents with its outside run, moving the ball swiftly at all costs, but this season it has added some nuance.

Whether it’s a shorter chip-mark style of movement from the back half, or generating some overlap run with handball, the Lions have added options to the way they move the ball.

Grider said when the going got tough, there was plenty of players to turn to for a calming voice.

“I look up to players like Cathy (Svarc) and (captain) Bre (Koenen), I think they’re really level-headed and provide that calm around the group.

“They’re really experienced and they know what to say and when to say it.

“Those two are big drivers, and not getting hung up on finer details, but looking at more of a process-based approach, and I think that helped us earlier in the year.”

Saturday’s match will be the sixth straight season Brisbane has played in the penultimate weekend, including flags in 2021 and 2023.

Grider, 25, says she cherishes the business end of the season more than ever.

“I know how hard it is to get here now,” she said.

“Earlier in my career we were making finals frequently, but I never really appreciated what it took to get there.

“I was a member of the 21, did my job each week, but now I know how hard it is to win finals and you appreciate this position more.

“I think it’ll be a great contest on Saturday.”