THE one man in Brisbane's team with premiership experience says he's getting a similar feel to the only time he's held the cup aloft.
Josh Dunkley will run out for the fourth time in a Grand Final on Saturday and is hoping the Lions can emulate the Western Bulldogs' feat of 2016 when they ran the September gauntlet from outside the top four.
Since the current finals system was introduced in 2000, the Bulldogs are the only side to win the flag from outside the top four.
Brisbane is three quarters of the way there following sudden death wins over Carlton, Greater Western Sydney and Geelong.
Speaking on Tuesday morning ahead of the team's open training session at Brighton Homes Arena, Dunkley said it was hard to not think about the Dogs' historic run eight years ago.
"You dare to dream," Dunkley said.
"There's a lot of similarities, but we all know you've got to go out and do the job still.
"For us, it's all about the preparation and looking forward to what's to come.
"I feel like we're on a bit of a wave at the moment and hopefully we can ride it all the way home."
Dunkley was part of the Bulldogs' loss to Melbourne in 2021 as well as the Lions' team that suffered a heartbreaking four-point defeat at the hands of Collingwood last year.
He said the memory of that match is driving him and his teammates ahead of facing Sydney.
"With Grand Finals, you can always play them in your head over and over before you actually get out there," he said.
"Last year the experience against Collingwood is definitely in the back of your mind and fresh in the memory, so there's a lot of things we're doing this week that we learnt from last year.
"It's either the best day of your life or the worst day.
"Last year we had opportunities to win the game ... and me individually, there's moments out there you want to take back.
"All you can do is focus on the process and really play out those moments well."
Brisbane's session was the last in front of its home fans before flying to Melbourne on Wednesday afternoon.
Co-captain Lachie Neale made a brief appearance in front of the 3000 fans before heading back inside to complete his light session as he continues to deal with a foot injury.
Like most Tuesdays, there were plenty of players doing very little as they prepare for Thursday's main session, including Hugh McCluggage, Jack Payne, Eric Hipwood and Will Ashcroft, who all did modified sessions.
"If you're out there on Grand Final day and there's 23 players contributing, it's going to be a very hard team to beat," Dunkley said.
"That's what we had in 2016.
"You're not going to win a Grand Final without a team, so you can't rely on one or two players to get you over the line. You've all got to contribute at different times."
