Lions Roar to Three-Peat Premiership in Thrilling Comeback

A dramatic comeback victory has secured a historic three-peat premiership for the Brisbane Lions, with players overcome with emotion as they celebrated the team's remarkable achievement.

Sam Draper, who ruptured his Achilles tendon and feared he may never play again, was reduced to tears as he spoke about the premiership win. "I can't believe it. I got overawed with emotion at the end there. The tears started flowing. A lot of work's gone in to get to this point, so mate, I'm just so happy," Draper said in the rooms post-win.

Draper, who joined the Lions via free agency after leaving Essendon, revealed the dark moments he faced last year after his injury. "I had the darkest moments of my life last year, and then to come out of that, and here I am today [winning a premiership]. It's just mental."

He also expressed his gratitude to the team's high-performance team, list manager Dom Ambrogio, and football manager Danny Daly for believing in him. "It doesn't feel real. I got really emotional at the end when I saw the high-performance team and just thanked them and the list manager Dom Ambrogio and Danny Daly [Lions football manager] just for believing in me and believing that I'll be back to my best," Draper said.

Kai Lohmann, a key player for the Lions, attributed the team's success to their strong bond and connection. "We're all really close friends and brothers, and even the staff as well. We have such a great connection, and yeah, it means a lot," Lohmann said. "[It's] the brotherhood, how we are all one, and we just want to play for each other and we want to play for Fages [head coach Chris Fagan]. It's special."

Lohmann also reflected on the team's incredible comeback, saying three premierships was "unbelievable". "I was nervous as but it was a pretty cool [final] minute," he said. "I think we tried to reverse card it and make it our own thing … So, Wharfie Time didn't really work."

Teammate Ryan Lester echoed Lohmann's sentiments, saying the win looked "very unlikely" at one point. "But then Logan kicked that goal to put us seven points up and someone said there was only 10 seconds to go, and it was a bit of party time there," Lester said. "It's just unbelievable to think that we're a three-time premiership team. You know, growing up, I looked at the Brisbane Lions and Hawthorn and those teams as just like immortal. It's unbelievable, and for us to join them is pretty cool."