“A FUNNY thing happened at the footy tonight.’’

Lions legend Jonathan Brown can pinpoint the moment he knew Brisbane were on the right track under new coach Chris Fagan.

Brown had been quizzed by wife Kylie on why he was home later than usual from calling a Lions’ game for Fox Footy.

The triple premiership star had made a habit of heading down to the rooms after home games since joining the media but he admits the atmosphere around the club had made it feel like a chore.

The recruitment this year of big-name former Docker Lachie Neale and ex-Sun Jarryd Lyons, and to a lesser extent Marcus Adams and Lincoln McCarthy, have no doubt contributed to the Lions’ climb up the ladder.

But what convinced them to come?

Even the greatest optimist wouldn’t have predicted a home final in their first season, following finishes of 15th, 17th, 18th, 17th and 15th over the past five years.

Brown reckons it was Brisbane’s culture.

They say a happy workforce is a productive one and Brisbane are testament to that.

“What was frustrating in those first couple of years after retirement was all the gripes and the whingeing and the complaining you’d hear when you go down back to the club for a beer after a game,’’ Brown said.

“You are proud of your club and you want to stay connected and show your support but it becomes tiring.

“But early in the reign of the current leadership it changed.

“I came home from a game a bit later than usual one night and I said to Kylie: ‘A funny thing happened at the footy tonight’.

“I clearly remember leading with that and I told her I had walked down to the rooms after the game and stayed for an hour or so and I never heard one gripe or one person whinge to me.

“I thought gee this is a happy place, and you could have been fooled into thinking it wouldn’t have been because they weren’t winning many games in those first couple of years.

“I knew then this club was going into the right direction.’’

AN UNHAPPY CLUB

The review into the football department in late 2016 that led to Justin Leppitsch’s sacking was an eye-opener.

Senior players were consulted during that process and the overarching feedback they delivered on the coach was that the game plan changed too frequently. But hot on the heels of that came their concerns over how Leppitsch communicated.

Some would become anxious about the weekly video reviews for fear a joke would be made at their expense.

Spot quizzes on game day were hell for those who were confused about their role. Leppitsch may have seen it as humour, but many players felt belittled.

Fagan will never divulge his views on what may have been going wrong at the Lions before his time. But there is no doubt he saw a shattered group who needed healing.

He made an instant impact by meeting every single player individually before pre-season began.

The snippets he picked up from a playing group whose confidence was at rock bottom may not have formed his basic coaching philosophy of always empowering his players, but it would certainly have hardened his resolve.

ROCKLIFF ROAD

The departure of the former captain was another pivotal moment for Brisbane.

Rockliff had plenty of admirers because of the way he fought on the field each weekend but it was never a harmonious playing group during under his leadership and many felt picked on by the skipper.

Tempers can flare at footy clubs but it is unusual for a captain to twice have teammates trying to go the biff, which happened with both Ryan Harwood and Rhys Mathieson.

It was no surprise that the immediate increase in confidence among individuals and positivity that followed Fagan’s arrival led to Rockliff narrowly losing the captaincy in a player vote ahead of the 2017 season.

Brisbane didn’t push Rockliff out the door at the end of that season. But the fact they made what the gun midfielder considered a lowball offer and never once considered upping it, speaks volumes.

GROWTH MINDSET

Footy clubs love a catch phrase and at Brisbane it is “growth mindset.” It is all about looking for the positives in everything you do and building on it.

In his first two years of his time Fagan looked for proof of improvement and presented it ad nauseam to the players.

So instead of seeing a nine-game losing streak in his first season – or a 0-8 start to season two – they saw reduced losing margins, then an increase in quarters won until eventually games won.

The ladder suggests it has been an overnight success for the Lions who have climbed from 15th to 2nd at the end of the home-and-away season in a year.

But the confidence and positivity from the playing group stems from the fact they have seen and celebrated improvements from day one.

WEAPONS

Another buzz word that means a lot at Brisbane.

Fagan focuses on strengths. It means the world to Jarryd Lyons who was not rated by the Suns but has become a key contributor in the Lions’ surge up the ladder.

He reckons Fagan cut straight to the point when he drove down the highway to the Coast this time last year to make his pitch.

“Fages talked about the role they wanted me to play inside. They were talking about my weapons, whereas Gold Coast were more about the weaknesses I had,’’ he said.

“Brisbane were happy to grow the weapons and they had a role for me so it’s what I wanted to be part of.”

A TEAM UNITED

The Lions suddenly appear bold with some of their decisions.

Letting Rockliff and Dayne Beams go, two premier midfielders, took some nerve. The in-the-dark-of-the-night recruitment of Lachie Neale was brazen, while CEO Greg Swann still reckons the controversial decision to trade down the draft in 2016 to secure both Hugh McCluggage and Jarrod Berry was a game-changer for the Lions.

PART III: The three wise men of the Lions

PART II: The recruiting masterstroke

PART I: From kings to paupers

Decisions of such magnitude would usually have at least one opponent but Swann said the Lions are all in or they are out.

“Everyone has to agree or we don’t do it,’’ he insists.

“That’s just how it works at our club.’’

There has also been a seismic shift in the coaching panel. Alternate views from assistant coaches which were sometimes derided and always ignored are now encouraged and acted upon.