The ascension of Hugh McCluggage and Cam Rayner leaves Lions poised to strike in September

The Lions are on the verge of doing what the last two premiers couldn’t, make the finals when defending the crown. Garry Lyon writes, the fate of the premiership defence lies with two men.

The Brisbane Lions are on the verge of achieving what the previous two premiers were unable to do: make the finals following the year you won the flag.

Geelong ended up 12th after being crowned champions in 2022, and Collingwood, after tasting the ultimate success in 2023, finished ninth.

The Lions are currently second on the ladder and will almost certainly take their place in September. All that remains to be seen is from which position they will attempt to defend their title.

That achievement is to be acknowledged, given the challenges facing defending champions.

To put yourself in contention again, lost of things have to go right. A little luck with injury, pinching a win when not expected and the accelerated development of younger players among them.

The Lions are in a strong position to defend their crown. Picture :Michael Klein

But you also need your stars to come back with a mindset that ‘once is never enough’. The celebrated teams over the years are the ones that keep coming back for more. That are able to maintain the hunger that pushes your mind and body to places that only a premiership medallion satisfies.

Not ever having had that challenge, it is to be admired almost above any other quality. The temptation to sit back and enjoy the view from the top of the mountain would be overwhelming. To start again the next year, from the bottom, knowing all of the hardship and toil required to just get back with a chance to summit, has proven too great for even the strongest and most committed minds.

So, as the Lions set out from base camp this year, the eyes of the football world were on high alert for any sign that the premiership celebrations may have sated the appetite of this Chris Fagan-led team from Queensland.

And maybe there is part of the answer that we are looking for, if there was one man who would not allow satisfaction with success to get in the way of defending their title it would be Fagan. But would his players return with a similar hunger?

After 17 games of footy, the signs are good. 12 wins and a draw and the Lions are well placed with six games to play. But the fact remains if they are to repeat, they all need to be even better than they were last year.

And the man set to play game number 200 this Friday night, Hugh McCluggage, has helped set a standard that defies complacency. His year has been simply brilliant and his standing and reputation in the game reflects that.

Hugh McCluggage’s stocks continue to soar. Picture: Mark Stewart

With a top four finish in the best and fairest and a magnificent finals series to his name, McCluggage is the poster boy for why the Lions are once again in this premiership race up to their eyeballs. He wants more.

When was the last time you can remember McCluggage playing a poor game? When can you remember him fumbling a ball under pressure, or missing a target by foot or not kicking a clutch goal when it is needed most.

He is one of those players that, unless you are paying attention, you can take for granted. He never hesitates in his attack on the ball, he rarely loses his feet and, and this is the ultimate compliment, almost always leaves the Lions in a better position as result of him having won possession.

He puts the absolute highest premium on his possessions, a joy to watch in an era of players amassing huge numbers with little impact to show for it.

For players that have played 200 games or more, he sits ninth for all time score assists.

It’s not surprising that seven of the other eight were premiership players, only Robbie Gray didn’t taste that ultimate success.

But the fact Gray sits at No.1 on the list suggests he couldn’t have done more from his end.

It also includes four of Geelong’s premiership heroes in Matthew Stokes, Joel Selwood, Stevie Johnson and Gary Ablett.

And Hawthorn’s Cyril Rioli and Luke Breust as well as Christian Petracca from the Demons. It is a badge of honour to be worn proudly. The selflessness of the great Geelong teams was a feature of the way they played, the magic and creativity of Rioli and Gray, the longevity of Breust and the rampaging Petracca at his very best.

It is elite company to be keeping and it underlines just how highly rated McCluggage should be, and increasingly is.

McCluggage has backed up his premiership year and come back an even better player. He is enjoying career high numbers in disposals, contested possessions, clearances and score involvements.

It is exactly the kind of statement that the Lions were looking for from one its very best leaders. It would appear there is unfinished business for McCluggage, and he only needs to walk past the honour board to understand that legendary greatness for this Lions organisation is not achieved with a single premiership.

And while McCluggage coming back as an even better player this year is probably no great surprise, given the standard he has been at for a number of years, the continued steps taken to potential greatness by Cam Rayner has been confirmation of his arrival as a star of this game.

Rayner has been a slow burn since being taken at pick No.1 in the 2017 draft. He caught fire last year and deserved his spot in the All Australian squad of 40.

But anyone watching him going about his work this season can see a young man who has arrived at that point in his career where he arrogantly, in a good way, understands that at his best he is nigh on unstoppable.

There are few of that calibre in the competition. We saw it with Dustin Martin, Marcus Bontempelli is peerless when he’s rolling, Petracca had it going at his absolute peak and is rediscovering it, Pat Dangerfield still has it, Patrick Cripps can’t be stopped when he’s in full flight and Matt Rowell is a wrecking ball.

Cam Rayner needs to have another big September. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images

Rayner has this capability and is just now understanding how to use it. He is not at the level of the above mentioned, but in his moments he is destructive. You can see it in his eyes. Where once he would have attempted to go around, he now goes through. He was never an apologetic tackler, but now he has weaponised that side of his game and young Matt Carroll from Carlton was the poor recipient of his power last Thursday night. He is a nightmare match up for the opposition, for while he may be short of the exalted company I’ve just listed, he has them all covered when it comes to the aerial side of things. He can genuinely jump on heads and doesn’t lose his shape in the heaviest of marking packs.

He is finding more of the ball than he ever has and is having career high impact on the score board. With confidence in his own game growing be is becoming more adventurous, and having greater impact all over the ground. In fact, the last six weeks he has won more of his footy in the back half than he has anywhere else.

Like McCluggage, Rayner has backed up his outstanding year and is arguably at the peak of his powers.

The success or otherwise doesn’t simply lie with the old campaigners like Lachie Neale, Harris Andrews and Dayne Zorko. Their best has helped carry this side so far, but along with Josh Dunkley, the Ashcroft boys, Logan Morris, Darcy Wilmot, Jaspa Fletcher and Kai Lohmann, McCluggage and Rayner are leading this group back towards the promised land.

This is no time to rest. There is work to be done. And this Lions group still appear to have a healthy appetite.

Originally published as The ascension of Hugh McCluggage and Cam Rayner leaves Lions poised to strike in September