AFL: Lions CEO Greg Swann urges Queenslanders to get behind Brisbane’s AFL premiership bid

The Brisbane Lions want a Queensland sporting public desperate for success to get behind them in their push for the AFL flag.

Lions CEO Greg Swann has urged success-starved Queensland sporting fans to jump on the Brisbane bandwagon and be part of a “once in a lifetime opportunity” to win an AFL Grand Final at the Gabba.

A COVID—19 reduced capacity crowd of 25,000 will be on hand for Friday night’s Brisbane-Richmond qualifying final at the Gabba, with the Lions just three victories away from winning their first premiership since 2003.

Along with rugby union’s Reds, the Lions have set the standard for Queensland club teams across the football codes this year.

The Broncos finished with the NRL wooden spoon, while the Cowboys and the Titans also missed the top eight.

Brisbane Roar made the A-League finals but were knocked out on the first weekend of the playoffs.

“We’re the only team left,” Swann said.

“We’d like to see the whole of Brisbane and Queensland get behind us.

“We’re the last man standing, so hopefully we can keep that going through to the 24th of October (grand final day).”

Friday’s game is a sell-out already as an indication of how much support the Lions, who lost both finals last year but bounced back to finish second on the ladder, already have.

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“We probably could have sold out about three or four times over,” he said.

“To have that support is fantastic for the club, and we just hope that we can replicate that by going all the way.

“It’s a great challenge for us but we’re up for it.”

Swann was confident the Lions would embrace the pressure of winning a premiership on home soil.

“We’ve earnt the right to get two home finals and if we’re lucky enough to get to the grand final, that’s here as well,” he said.

“That’s obviously a once in a lifetime opportunity, but ... we’ve got to earn it and that starts on Friday night.”

Lions’ flags are flying high on Multiplex cranes at the Queen’s Wharf Brisbane construction site.

“It’s been great to see Brisbane business get behind us in 2020 and the flags at the Queen’s Wharf site are a great show of support at what will become an iconic Brisbane site,” Swann said.

Swann said the Lions would post a financial loss this year due to COVID-19 but not as worse as first feared.

“To everyone’s great credit, including our members, everyone’s stuck with us,” he said.

“At the start of the pandemic, we looked like we were going to lose a lot of money ... we’ll lose a little bit but (it’s) not too bad.

“We’ve actually ended up quite good on the back what looked like might have been a disaster at the start.”

Originally published as AFL: Lions CEO Greg Swann urges Queenslanders to get behind Brisbane’s AFL premiership bid