Last season’s grand final loss to North Melbourne made a heartbroken Brisbane rethink everything.
The Lions’ old game plan went out the window and when they cracked into pre-season, Craig Starcevich’s charges prioritised extra skills sessions to go with the red-hot Kangaroos.
Brisbane will get another chance at redemption when they face unbeaten reigning premiers North Melbourne in Saturday’s grand final at Princes Park.
“We’re so determined. It drives everything,” forward Ruby Svarc said of last season’s defeat.
“So it’s definitely always there in the back of our minds and we’re a really, really determined group.
“So we’re pretty keen to get out there on the weekend and do our best.”
Brisbane’s change-up came with teething issues.
The Lions lost three of their first five matches, including suffering a 29-point defeat to the Kangaroos in round five.
But things clicked into gear and they have won nine on the trot since.
Svarc, who kicked four goals against Carlton in Saturday’s preliminary final win, dismissed the suggestion Brisbane had previously been in a rut.
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“I wouldn’t say that. I would say that we’ve added layers to our game plan, we’ve had different opponents,” Svarc said.
“Maybe it looked like that to people from the outside, but we knew internally what we were doing and I guess by the end of the season, the outside world could probably see that a bit better.
“It’s not a bad thing to lose games because you actually learn so much from it.
“As disappointing and as stressful as it might be to lose those games, we actually took so much from it.
“We really reviewed them, sat in the disappointment a little bit and it kind of gave us more motivation to be better.”
Svarc was unwilling to buy into whether the Kangaroos’ lack of losses could prove a disadvantage when tested.
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“I don’t know if it’s a disadvantage, but potentially it might come into play if they start to be challenged,” she said.
“Maybe it’s a mental thing, I don’t know, we’ll see how they go.”
But she can dare to dream of the city of Brisbane adding the AFLW crown to its AFL, NRL and NRLW titles this year.
“That would be pretty awesome for Brisbane. I’m sure the whole city would love that,” Svarc said.
“I guess we’ve just go to focus on the job at hand for the weekend and hopefully celebrate after.”
AAP
