On a day when 27 of the 28 Lions players to play in their 2001, '02 and '03 premierships celebrated in front of a crowd of 1200 people, Akermanis took centre stage at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Since being axed by the club at the end of the 2006 season, the 2001 Brownlow medallist has made a sport of getting former teammates off side.
But on Thursday it was different as he shared jokes with Michael Voss, Justin Leppitsch, Brad Scott, Jamie Charman, Simon Black and anyone else within his vicinity.
The three premiership cups sat proudly on display as every premiership player was introduced.
With video montages to celebrate each individual premiership, three players were brought on stage to discuss each flag, before coach Leigh Matthews and captain Michael Voss rounded out the day with their thoughts.
Leppitsch – who Akermanis previously claimed he had never been close with – was the first to make light-hearted jokes about his former teammate.
He recalled a time when Matthews was questioning Akermanis' ability to win the hard ball.
"Jason, as only he could, was trying to convince Leigh that he was so fast that he was turning hard ball gets into loose ball gets."
In dissecting the 2003 premiership and explaining how much he loved being around his former teammates again, Akermanis had the crowd in stitches, claiming "it's not all about me".
The irony was lost on no-one, particularly Brad Scott, who sitting alongside him, got just as many laughs with this quip: "I've been waiting 15 years to hear that."
Even Matthews had a broad smile when he said Akermanis was "interesting" to coach.
"I'm glad he played with us because he helped us win premierships and that's what we're here for."
Daniel Bradshaw made his first return to the Lions since leaving the club in disgruntled fashion after the 2009 season, saying he had put the "grudge" behind him.
Current coach Voss said he hoped the 2013 Lions players could take something from mingling with the past champions.
"Success leaves clues. I think while we might have a few kilos added from the last time we played, there's a few successful people in this room," Voss said.
"Just being able to spend time with them, being able to talk to them, being able to listen to what they do, the values of the group we had, the messages that were there, the way we executed, the roles we played (is all valuable)."
