Grant Birchall became the latest player to find a new lease on life at Brisbane in 2020.
The four-time premiership Hawk had managed just eight games in the previous three years at Hawthorn due to a string of knee, hamstring and calf injuries.
He joined the Lions as a restricted free agent and, like Lincoln McCarthy before him, was able to overcome his injury at his new home.
He missed the round one clash against his old club due to hamstring tightness but when the competition resumed after the Covid 19 lay off he was in Chris Fagan’s side and remained a permanent fixture across half back for the rest of the season, including the Club’s two finals.
He was rested twice throughout the season, both times after four-day breaks in the middle of tight clusters of games, and managed to remain injury free until the preliminary final where he suffered a hamstring injury.
His best game came in round four where he collected the maximum 25 votes from the coaches for his efforts against Adelaide.
He was also prominent in matches against GWS where he collected a season high 18 possessions, North Melbourne (17) and in the Friday night footy win over Essendon.
He passed the 250 game milestone in 2020 and after activating the clause for an extra year will be looking to add to his tally in 2021.
