KAI LOHMANN'S hanger last Saturday evening jogged the memory of AFL recruiters.

They had seen something similar before, when a teenage Lohmann leapt on the backs of his Bendigo Pioneers opponents, landed like a cat, sprinted forward, took three bounces, and delivered the ball inside-50.

For the scouts in attendance, that slice of individual brilliance in Lohmann's draft year was evidence enough of the young Greater Western Victoria Rebels forward's extraordinary talent.

Even back then, recruiters had labelled Lohmann as "a September player". It was a sign of things to come, with the youngster's infectious attacking flair inspiring Brisbane through its finals series across the last month.

Lohmann had been a somewhat polarising player throughout his draft year. Some clubs didn't consider him among their top 40 picks, others – like the Lions – thought of the high-flying 185cm goalkicker as a first-round talent.

Brisbane was ultimately the club that took the leap, though Richmond and North Melbourne were among the others monitoring his progress and hoping he fell a few spots deeper in the draft order.

Essendon, Hawthorn and the Western Bulldogs had also seen something in Lohmann they liked, reason for why the rival trio spent so long attempting to convince the Victorian to leave Queensland last season.

The varying opinions on Lohmann's potential perhaps stemmed from a trait that has since become his biggest strength, that being his ability to hit the scoreboard consistently and impact games in the forward half.

Lohmann kicked just five goals from nine games at Coates Talent League level throughout his draft year, a slender return for someone who was predominantly camped deep inside the Rebels' forward line.

But that, in part, can be explained by a Rebels plan for Lohmann that was never able to come to fruition due to his 2021 draft year being cut short because of the pandemic.

The Rebels, aware of Lohmann's incredible individual ability, had put it on the youngster to round out his game through the first parts of the year. His focus was therefore squarely placed on improving the defensive side of his performance.

But then Covid-19 struck, Victoria was placed into another lockdown, and Lohmann never got the opportunity to show clubs his significant strengths as a goalkicker capable of impacting games both aerially and on ground level.

However, the Lions had seen enough. Having tracked him from Vic Country's under-16s campaign, where he played on a wing and across half-back in a series of games at the Gabba, they were convinced of Lohmann's ability to do things others couldn't.

Brisbane was also won over by the entire Lohmann package. There were the highlights, of course, but also the discipline he displayed at the Rebels, not to mention the immense appeal of his confidence and personality.

"He was personality plus," one rival recruiter said. "He had a nice, loveable confidence."

Ultimately, once Brisbane convinced Lohmann to ignore the rival interest last September and re-sign on a two-year deal, the goals and the genius he had always wanted to be renowned for arrived in droves.

Lohmann has kicked 32 goals across the season, third at the Lions behind only Joe Daniher and Charlie Cameron, while he's had an impact across all of the club's finals matches to this point.

There were the two goals against Carlton in the elimination final, another two against Greater Western Sydney in the semi-final, and who could forget the grab against Geelong in the preliminary final last Saturday?

Given that sort of record – and given the personality, the confidence and the sublime talent recruiters have long associated with Lohmann – there's every chance he produces something similar again on the game's biggest stage.