Coming off a disappointing finals loss and preparing to rebound against the Adelaide Crows at the Gabba to keep the dream of a premiership hat-trick alive, the good news for coach Chris Fagan and his 2026 team is that it’s an astonishing precedent which had a triumphant ending.

The Lions, premiers in 2001-02, had finished third on the 2003 home-and-away ladder with a 14-1-7 record. They played second-placed Collingwood in a qualifying final at the MCG, going down by 15 points after leading at each change.

Worse still, captain Michael Voss had suffered what was thought to be a season-ending knee injury.

It had been a bad year for the champion #3. He’d undergone mid-season knee surgery and battled through the last 10 weeks of the home-and-away season. When he jarred it again against the Pies he left the MCG fearing his season was done.

So, too, did coach Leigh Matthews and the Lions medical staff. But a scan in Melbourne on the Sunday morning and a visit to surgeon Him Fardoulys in Brisbane on the Monday brought good news.

There was no further structural damage. No risk to his long-term future. Just the pain issue. Fardoulys expertly injected some local anaesthetic into Voss’ knee, and after a light run Monday afternoon the skipper pretty much took the rest of the week off.

But, with Fardoulys traveling to each match thereafter to repeat the process, Voss would get through the rest of the gruelling finals campaign.

His mere presence was a lift to the side as they hosted an Adelaide side which had finished sixth in the home-and-away season and thumped seventh-placed West Coast by 56 points in the elimination final at Football Park.

Fate hadn’t been so kind to Lions vice-captain Chris Scott ahead of the 2003 Gabba semi-final against Adelaide, which freakishly was played on Friday 12 September – 23 years to the day before this week’s semi-final.

Scott was ruled unfit with a groin strain as Craig McRae returned from a two-week hamstring injury and coach Matthews made one of the bravest selection calls of his career.

To the surprise of the football world, Matthews dropped 2001-02 premiership player Tim Notting to bring in a 20-year-old second-gamer that many southerners didn’t even know.

Richard Hadley had been drafted from East Fremantle at #22 in 2000 but had battled chronic osteitis pubis for three years. He’d been prolific in the Reserves when available, but aside from his AFL debut in Round 3 2001 hadn’t got a chance at the elite level. Until now.

Voss started on the interchange bench for the first time in as long as he could remember, and was riding an exercise bike to keep warm as hostilities began.

He was injected into the game 20 minutes in when the Crows led 3-2 to 1-1 after a hat-trick of goals from Mark Stevens and turned things around completely.

“I always knew our best was good enough but I didn’t know if we could produce it week after week as you had to do in finals football,” recounts Voss.

“But watching the last quarter against Collingwood I just knew the guys had it. A lot of things weren’t going well for us but they were able to keep going and going and going. I could visibly see them running out of legs but they just keep going. It was sensational … and I knew that day if we could just hold together we were going to be a real chance.”

Voss, superb in the last quarters against Adelaide, defying the medical staff yet again, was the fire-starter as Alastair Lynch kicked six goals and Nigel Lappin was supreme through the midfield.

But more important was how they won. Only 11 points clear at the final change, they kicked 7-4 to 2-3 in an emphatic final term to win 18-16 (124) to 12-10 (82).

Back was the confidence that had been missing. The run out of defence. The total willingness of each player to run and chase, and the total acceptance of team roles. The absolute commitment to the team plan.

The rest, as the saying goes, is history. With Hadley holding his place in the side, they beat Sydney by 44 points in the preliminary final at the Olympic Stadium, again dominating the final term to earn a crack at Collingwood in the grand final and ultimately complete a hat-trick which is widely recognised as the best achievement in football.

The Lions’ powerful 2003 finals bounce back was the start of a trend that has endured for a quarter of a century and provides justifiable hope for Lions fans this week  – even if it means that for the third year in a row they will  have to play four finals to win the flag.

Since the introduction in 2000 of a finals a system which split the top eight in half, the Lions, embarrassed by Sydney last Saturday, became the 13^th team to lose a qualifying final by 50 points.

The good news for Fagan and his team is that each of the other 12 won the following week. Eleven of those 12 made the grand final and eight went on to win the flag.

Brisbane also beat Adelaide at the Gabba on their way to the 2002 premiership, prevailing by 71 points in the qualifying final without the injured Voss and on the back of seven goals from Lynch and masterful midfield efforts from Lappin, Simon Black and Jason Akermanis.

The Crows have lost their last six games at the Gabba, including a 2020 Covid game against West Coast, and are 1-1-8 against Brisbane since 2019. Their only joy against Fagan’s men in that time was a draw at Adelaide Oval in 2024 and a five-point win at Adelaide Oval in 2025.