Last year's heartbreaking grand-final loss is driving Brisbane's veterans this AFL finals series, which hit an almighty high in western Sydney on Saturday night.
The Lions stormed home to a 15.15 (105) to 15.10 (100) victory over GWS in their semi-final despite trailing by 44 points in the third quarter.
Hugh McCluggage, playing in his 180th game, told AAP it was the greatest win of his career.
Coach Chris Fagan and co-captain Lachie Neale used the same words to describe the dramatic victory, underlining the enormity of the club's achievement.
Brisbane will now meet Geelong in a rematch of the 2022 preliminary final, which the Cats won by 71 points.
The Lions reached last year's grand final, only to suffer a four-point defeat to Collingwood.
Fagan, asked if his players drew on last year's grand-final heartache during the stirring fightback, was frank.
"Probably," Fagan said.
"I know they're desperate to get back there and have another crack.
"There is still a long way to go before we can do that. We play Geelong next week, a pretty damn good football club and side, who gave us a lesson in a preliminary final a couple of years ago.
"But I've got no doubt that drives them.
"I look at Dayne Zorko and it drives him, you know he's 35. He doesn't know how many years he's got left to play the game and he desperately wants to win one.
"I think that drove the group. Joey Daniher is the same. The guys in our team that are a little older, they lifted in that last quarter."
Fagan was still processing the incredible series of events that kept his team's season alive.
"You don't very often have days like that in footy. That'll be one I'll never forget," he said.
"The emotions are high. The parents and families are in the rooms.
"It was just one of the great, great comeback wins. I'm very proud.
"We'll get a lot of confidence out of that."
The Lions are set for a light week on the track, with Fagan urging his side to quickly move on from the emotive scenes in the winners' rooms on Saturday night.
"To let it go on for too long would be a mistake," he said.
"We were in this position before a couple of years ago. Geelong were sitting back waiting for us. We need to do a better job than we did then."
