AS THE Brisbane Lions prepare to pay homage to their Fitzroy history with a special anniversary guernsey, Lions' legend Kevin Murray believes the club is building towards more premiership success.

The 333-game Fitzroy champion, who gave the vibrant red jumper the Lions will wear against Melbourne in round 16 his seal of approval on Friday, said there was light at the end of the tunnel for the current team.  

"They've got a lot of promising young players and it goes in cycles," Murray said at Junction Oval. 

"We had a great run with the three premierships and played in the fourth [Grand Final] and they're building up to something like that in the future. 

"It's just great to see. 

"They will turn the corner, which they did do when they beat Carlton and Port Adelaide, so that's given them a lot of confidence. 

"There's so many young boys in the team, once those young boys get 50 and 60 games under their belt, it will be a different story." 

The anniversary jumper will feature the royal blue yolk and gold FFC monogram on the vibrant red background, which was the last jumper worn by Fitzroy.

The shift from maroon to bright red happened in 1975 to coincide with the launch of colour television.

Murray described the jumper as "magic", while another former club great Garry Wilson said it was "brilliant" that the Lions continued to celebrate Fitzroy's history.   

Midfielder Pearce Hanley said the players had embraced the strip and that there had been more of a Fitzroy feel at the Lions this year.

"There always was but I think this year it's been a lot stronger with Leigh [Matthews] on the board and Justin [Leppitsch] coming in as coach," Hanley said. 

Pearce Hanley (r) joins Kevin Murray and Garry Wilson in the anniversary guernsey. Picture: Brisbane Lions
"We've had a lot of turnover of players over the last few years, a lot of new faces, but the likes of [Tom] Rockliff and [Jed] Adcock and those boys and Daniel Merrett … we're still teaching the younger boys about it. 

"The boys do like to study up on the history and are very appreciative of what they've done for the club." 

Hanley will play his second game after his return hip surgery on Saturday night against the Western Bulldogs, and said he was thrilled to be back after being a "terrible" spectator. 

With the Lions – who endured a shocking run with injury in the first half of the season – starting to assemble a stronger team, with the likes of Adcock, Dan McStay and Jack Redden back this week, he said they could turn things around after the bye. 

"Our intensity at training has been the best I've ever been involved in at a club and while it might not turn on the weekend or this year, we're building towards something special in the next few years," he said.

"We do have a young team and while that's not an excuse for how we played in some games, when you have so many of them on the ground at once, it makes it hard to get that consistency. 

"I'm excited for when we have everyone back. I think we have one of the best midfields in the competition and once we get everyone in there and fit and firing, we'll show that."