Victorious Brisbane coach Chris Fagan believes his side plays a brand of football that will stand up in September.
The Lions made it three wins on the trot with an impressive 20-point victory over Greater Western Sydney on Sunday afternoon and now find themselves in fourth place on the AFL ladder with just seven games remaining.
While Fagan knows there is still plenty of work for the Lions to do before they book their place in a first finals series since 2009, he thinks his side has what it takes to make an impact.
"It seems like the brand of footy we are playing is standing up in these sorts of games," Fagan said.
"I feel like and our players believe that our brand stands up.
"It is pretty contested, it's not pretty all the time, but we get there and we find a way to score.
"The way we play is the kind of brand that goes well in finals, but you don't know until you get there."
The Lions got an even contribution against the Giants, with 11 different players scoring goals and the consistent Lachie Neale (31 disposals) and Dayne Zorko (26) receiving plenty of support from their ever-growing midfield group.
But it was the performance of key forward Eric Hipwood that stood out for Fagan, with the Lions coach revealing the adversity the young star overcame just to play a part in the victory.
Hipwood limped from the ground during the first half of a physical contest at Giants Stadium and Fagan said the 21-year-old could have easily sat out the remainder of the match.
"Eric was the special story of the night. He hurt his ankle pretty badly ... he could have come off the ground and not played the rest of the night, but he wanted to stick it out and he did," Fagan said.
"He made himself a target, he was able to kick a goal and took some nice marks and, for me, seeing a young bloke tough it out like that was just so exciting to watch.
"I gave him a pat on the head after the game and said 'That was the best game you have played' and he just laughed at me.
"But it's true in a way. To become a team that can compete against the best you have got to have guys in your team that will play through pain.
"He did that tonight, maybe for the first time in his career and he did it really well."
On current form it would appear the Lions would be a lay down misere to play finals, but Fagan knows just how even the competition is and said he won't be taking anything for granted until he knows his side is guaranteed to feature.
"If someone will give me a crystal ball and tell me how many games you need to win to make the finals then I might talk about it," he said.
"You usually need 12 or 13 (wins) and we have got 10.
"We don't have any easy games (to come). We play some tough teams ... and their seasons are all still alive.
"If we get to 13 wins then maybe I will concede."
