Brisbane is adamant they have learnt their lesson from its 54-point hiding to GWS in Round 7, with wingman Jaspa Fletcher saying the club won't be caught "off-guard" as they prepare for the Orange Tsunami this week.
Ironically, the loss to the Giants was the catalyst to the Lions' 2024 revival, with Fletcher and his teammates winning 11 out of the next 13 clashes, one being a draw against Adelaide.
Surprisingly, Brisbane now sits two points off ladder leaders Sydney and with a genuine chance to claim a home qualifying final, as long as they continue their winning ways.
However, the resurgence of the Giants, who have won their past five clashes, poses no easy beat, especially with recent history on their side as the two clubs prepare for Saturday's clash at the Gabba.
"Yeah, it's never great when you lose but to get thumped like that โฆ we were pretty slow that night,โ Fletcher said.
โIt's not great, but for us, it's probably our turning point of our season. We had a pretty harsh review after that one and started to get going after that, so we're looking forward to (Saturday).โ
โThey move the ball quite well and are quite fast too, so they can catch you off-guard.
โThey've done it to a lot of teams this year. They did it to us early on in the season, so if they can get that ball movement going, they're pretty hard to stop, so for us it's all about our defence.โ
When probed with the potential of finishing the round in first position (pending the result between Sydney and Collingwood), Fletcher was modest about the possibility of the club's premiership chances, maintaining the mantra of taking the season week by week.
"I don't think too many people thought that could happen," Fletcher said.
"With how tight the competition is this year and with how many quality sides there are anything can happen.
"Ever since we've started winning games, we'd review the game and move on pretty quick and focus on our next opponent.
"Nowadays, that's what you have to do."
The Lions will welcome back key defender Darragh Joyce from a broken jaw into the side, while fresh face Bruce Reville will be sidelined for the remainder of the home and away season with a stress fracture in his shin.
Brisbane coach Chris Fagan also opted not to rush back Eric Hipwood, who has been given a second week off to manage groin soreness.
โHe's been close with the physios for the past couple of weeks, and with how his body's feeling, it's probably the right decision to let his body rest a little bit more and see if we can get him cherry ripe for the end of the season,โ Fletcher said of Hipwood.
