ON GRAND Final day, the Wordle solution couldn't have been more appropriate for the eventual premier Brisbane.

It was ADAPT.

Adapt is what Brisbane has done all year. Adapt to player turnover. Adapt to injury. Adapt to whatever tricky situation presented itself.

Adapting led the Lions to their second ever NAB AFLW premiership.

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"We had to do that," Brisbane forward line coach Phil Lovett told AFL.com.au.

"Not just today, but through the whole year. They're all amazing. They all had their own journey and played their role throughout the year."

During preseason, and even as the season itself progressed, Brisbane couldn't escape the storyline that three former All-Australians had left the club during the Trade Period. Emily Bates and Greta Bodey to Hawthorn, Jesse Wardlaw to St Kilda. Another, Lulu Pullar, moved to North Melbourne where she became a staple member of the first-choice side.

They weren't the only players no longer at the Lions. 2021 Grand Final best-on-ground winner Kate Lutkins was listed as inactive after falling pregnant, giving birth to her first child mere months before this year's decider.

Prodigious young forward Zimmorlei Farquharson was also moved to the inactive list, as was Luka Yoshida-Martin due to an ACL injury. And inaugural Lion Sharni Webb hung up the boots on the eve of the season.

Not for the first time, Brisbane was challenged to find a new way of doing things. To continue to challenge until the final day. To adapt.

It wasn't smooth sailing for the club throughout the season. A loss to Richmond in round one at the Lions' home ground was a less than ideal way to start a season that was already externally shrouded in doubt.

Wins over recent expansion sides Port Adelaide and Sydney followed, but the legitimacy of Brisbane's finals tilt was born out of a narrow, hard-fought win over the Kangaroos in round four, as it became the first team in AFLW history to beat the Roos in Tasmania.

But the Lions faltered against Collingwood, at home once again, and backed up an impressive win over a then-undefeated Adelaide side in round eight with a disastrous loss to St Kilda – the club's biggest loss since round one of season six.

"I guess you would call them doubts," Lovett said.

"(Thinking) 'are we good enough?' Then you work through that, one week yes, the next week no. We had a couple of those inconsistent weeks. So, doubts without feeling negative, if I can put it that way."

Lovett notes that the St Kilda loss, while not a turning point per se, gave the group a "steely resolve" heading into its huge round 10 clash with Melbourne, a Grand Final rematch that was held over until the final round of the home and away season.

"It was where we just really locked into what we needed to do, and those dividends showed. And that focus kept going after those games," Lovett said.

The Lions didn't lose another game after that round nine disappointment.

"It was obviously a tough year with all the ups and downs we've had to deal with and different players and working out the team, where players are, their best spots, and that was hard," Brisbane midfield coach Daniel Webster said.

"We obviously worked it out toward the back end of the year, especially after that St Kilda performance, because our last four weeks have been rock solid. I think you learn through adversity and having to work through those tough games … and they have responded to it."

With this premiership comes the pride of having to do it the hard way. Finding different personnel to fill the gaps. Instilling confidence in young players that allows them to front up again after a hard loss. Not letting the distractions get in the way of the task at hand.

"For me as a forwards coach, you don't know what you're going to get when you turn up round one with a new team. You're not sure if different players will play the roles," Lovett said.

"The fact that I basically had 'Chuck' (Charlotte Mullins) and 'Lil' (Lily Postlethwaite) who are essentially kids playing forward for the first time, and their ability to learn and take in what they need to do, but to also let them have their flair. That's what's been really pleasing.

"Then, 'Daks' (Dakota Davidson) has had an amazing year, let's be real, but then Taylor Smith's marking numbers have also increased, which has really helped Daks."

Amid all the change, the off-season addition of Ellie Hampson from Gold Coast as a big-bodied midfielder added some unexpected versatility to the list.

Hampson kicked two important goals in the Grand Final win, taking her season tally to five and doubling her career total.

"Halfway through the year we started playing Ellie as a sort of half key forward and that's been tricky. She's not played there before and it's been a week-by-week thing, but it's amazing when you put faith in someone and on a big day, they play a very key role," Lovett said.

To nab that second flag from five Grand Final appearances, it took everyone buying into the word of the day. It took that willingness to adapt. And adapt they did.