Exactly 12 months ago, we wrote about how Josh Dunkley’s move north had become one of the great sliding doors moments of the modern AFL era.

A year on, somehow, the story has only become more remarkable.

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Dunkley entered last year’s Grand Final already a two-time premiership player, a four-time grand finalist and one of the most important pieces in Brisbane’s star-studded side.

He left the MCG that afternoon with another premiership medal around his neck after the Lions conquered Geelong by 47 points — despite remarkably playing with a grade-three syndesmosis injury, with both an ankle and shoulder surgery following in the off-season.

Now, at just 29, the former Western Bulldog is preparing to play in a staggering sixth Grand Final and his fourth in as many seasons since arriving at Brisbane.

For context, Dunkley will be reaching uncharted territory when he runs through the Lions’ banner on Saturday afternoon. No current player has played half a dozen grand finals, with his sixth seeing him surpass Luke Parker and Scott Pendlebury, as well as the now-retired Steele Sidebottom on five.

It is a remarkable strike rate for a player whose career could have taken a vastly different path when a requested move to Essendon fell through at the end of 2020. But perhaps the more revealing story is not simply that Dunkley keeps finding himself in successful teams.

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Three-time Brisbane premiership spearhead Alastair Lynch revealed to foxfooty.com.au’s Courtney Walsh just how quickly the Sale product’s influence was felt after arriving at the Lions at the end of 2022.

“Someone told me, whether it was Fages or someone else in the coaching group, that if he had been there longer than two months, he would be captain now. That was just the acknowledgment of his great leadership and respect around the group,” Lynch said.

“I suppose he shows that week in, week out, in the jobs he does. If there’s a big task to do, he’s the one that puts his hand up and says, ‘I want that’, and he gets it done more often than not.

“He has been a superstar.”

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Unsurprisingly, it’s a reputation that extends well beyond what Dunkley does around the football.

Lions great Jonathan Brown believes the midfielder has become one of the most respected figures inside Brisbane’s four walls, and sees a common denominator across a career increasingly defined by team success.

“He’s revered within the locker room, and obviously from the outside as well,” Brown told foxfooty.com.au.

“He’s one of those players that, wherever he goes, the team succeeds because he’s a great team man and a great person as well.

“He’s unusual in his abilities to defend opposition players, but still contribute offensively.”

And the numbers increasingly support Brown’s assessment.

Dunkley (centre) celebrates with Hugh McCluggage (left) and Ryan Lester (right) on qualifying for his sixth AFL Grand Final, thanks to a dramatic preliminary final win over Hawthorn.Source: Getty Images

Saturday’s decider against Fremantle will be Dunkley’s sixth Grand Final in just 11 AFL seasons, having reached the decider with two different clubs.

He won one in his first season at the Western Bulldogs in 2016, returned with the Dogs in a losing cause during 2021, and has now reached four consecutive deciders since crossing to Brisbane at the end of 2022.

There was the heartbreak of the Lions’ four-point loss to Collingwood in 2023, before consecutive premierships followed — first against Sydney in 2024, then Geelong last September.

Yet ask Dunkley about that extraordinary personal record, and his mind quickly turns elsewhere.

“When you sit back and think about… In the moment, it’s process, process, process. Last year we win, and you get into the pre-season and you’re thinking about the next one,” Dunkley told Fox Footy’s AFL 360 on Thursday night.

“The feeling of winning a grand final is so contagious. You just want to be there, and you don’t want anyone else to have that feeling. Even sitting here now, I don’t want Freo to have that feeling come Saturday, so you do everything in your power to make sure it doesn’t happen.

Dunkley (left) celebrates his first AFL flag alongside former Wester Bulldogs teammates Luke Dahlhaus (centre) and Tom Liberatore (right) after winning the 2016 AFL Grand Final against the Sydney Swans.Source: Getty Images

“My record is a selfish sort of thing. You’ve got to think about the players that are around you, and the footy clubs that have given you the opportunity — Brisbane and the Western Bulldogs; all those guys that have supported me along the way.”

That team-first mentality has taken on another dimension in 2026, with Dunkley now one of Brisbane’s three captains tasked with helping guide a group containing players yet to experience football’s biggest stage.

Having become a premiership player before his 20th birthday himself, Dunkley knows better than most what some of Brisbane’s younger players have experienced in recent years. But the significance of where his own career has since taken him is not lost.

“It’s pretty special. I do sometimes check myself, and realise that I’m obviously captain of a football club. As a young kid growing up, I never thought I’d be in this position,” Dunkley said.

“It’s been an incredible journey, but now it’s time to put all that work into action. We know these games are tough to win; the Collingwood lesson (2023 Grand Final) a few years ago, everyone learned from that.

“We’ve got guys that have come into our team that haven’t played in a grand final before, and haven’t played finals footy before. It’s about educating them on what we’ve learned, and helping them out there on the day and make sure they’re enjoying themselves too.”

Dunkley’s journey to a sixth decider is made all the more fascinating by how differently his career might have unfolded.

By the end of 2020, four years after becoming a premiership player in his debut season, the midfielder wanted out of the Western Bulldogs and nominated Essendon as his preferred destination. The Bombers believed Dunkley was worth one top-10 draft pick as a 23-year-old, rather than the two the Bulldogs sought, and no deal was struck.

Exactly 12 months ago, we wrote about how Josh Dunkley’s move north had become one of the great sliding doors moments of the modern AFL era.

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Essendon ultimately took picks No.6, 7 and 8 to that year’s national draft, selecting Nik Cox, Archie Perkins and Zach Reid respectively. Dunkley remained at Whitten Oval, played in another Grand Final the following season and, two years after the failed Essendon move, again requested a trade.

This time, Brisbane came calling.

The eventual deal centred on pick No.21 in the 2022 draft as well as Brisbane’s future first, second and fourth-round selections, with two future third-round picks heading back to the Lions.

Four years later, it’s difficult to imagine the Lions without him. He has become one of Chris Fagan’s most trusted options whenever a game demands an unglamorous job.

As he prepares to lead the Lions onto the MCG against Fremantle, Dunkley says the motivation to keep winning extends far beyond adding another medal to his collection.

“I think it comes down to the want and the will to win,” Dunkley said.

“You see Fages, and that’s motivation in itself: doing it for him and doing it as a group. We also do it for the guys that haven’t been involved in one before; there’s so many factors out there that bring us together.

“Being challenged by the media is one of those too … you see those people say we may not be a chance anymore. But that is motivating within itself and I feel like our group responds to that really well.”

Twelve months ago, Dunkley’s career already looked like one of football’s great success stories.

And another year, another premiership and another Grand Final later, Jonathan Brown put it best. Wherever Dunkley goes, success has simply followed.