THE BRISBANE Lions want to emulate Port Adelaide's dramatic rise from AFL basket-case to genuine premiership contender.
On the back of their first win of the season, star midfielder Dayne Beams believes the Lions can track the footsteps of the Power, their opponents at the Gabba this Sunday, though he admits it will take several years.
"From an outsider looking in, it is impressive what they (Port) have been able to do over the last few years," Beams said on Tuesday.
"Hopefully with a few more wins and a few more years under this team's belt we can get there one day.
"We are under no illusions where we're at. We're still a really developing side and hopefully we can develop into something really formidable over the next few years."
Beams was one of the top performers in the Lions’ nine-point victory over Carlton, amassing a game-high 29 possessions.
But the former Collingwood on-baller was less interested in his own game than praising the next generation of Lions, who stood up en masse after they had been savaged by coach Justin Leppitsch for a lack of effort.
Daniel McStay kicked four goals while small forward Lewis Taylor expertly mopped up when the ball came to ground, and third-game academy product Harris Andrews was solid at the back.
"Those guys are where we're going to get our improvement from," Beams said.
"It was spread, and that's what's going to win us games of footy - the workload's got to be spread, and guys stood up.
"It's always a challenge in footy to keep backing up, especially with a young and inexperienced side.
"It's going to be crucial for those guys that played well to continue their form because it's what's going to drive the side onto bigger and better things."
The Power were shock losers last round to West Coast, falling by 10 points at Adelaide Oval to leave them outside the top eight with a 3-3 record.
The Lions remain on the bottom of the ladder, despite their win over Carlton.
"We seem to always get teams on the rebound," Beams said.
"We're going to get a hungry side, we know that - a hard-running, high-pressure side, and we look forward to the challenge and really testing ourselves out against a good opposing side.
"They've got a great midfield, great ruckman and great blokes underneath him.
"It's going to be another challenge for us."
