On Saturday the Brisbane Lions will march out for their fourth straight grand final appearance.
From the outside it's yet another chapter for the exciting machine that has taken the league by storm over the past half decade.
Like the Ship of Theseus, the Lions have slowly been transforming as they have sailed the premiership waters.
The Lions will have fielded 35 different players across their four years in the grand final by the time they run out on Saturday — almost enough for two distinct teams of 18.
Just 11 players have hit the field in all four games — less than half of their 23 man side.
Styles change, emerge and alter as the clock ticks.
For example, Brisbane had just 29 players feature over their four straight grand finals at the turn of the century.
Coach Chris Fagan's distinctive style has been key to ensuring that the Lions can both retool and stay in the premiership hunt.
The 2026 Lions remain a force to beat — even if that force is different to that posed in 2023. If they can capture the flag on Saturday they will become the seventh VFL/AFL side to win three premierships in a row.
The Lions kick the ball more than any other side in the competition and have done so since 2024.
The Hawks and Lions handballed the ball just 92 times a piece last weekend, only the fifth time since 2008 that both teams have taken fewer than 100 handballs in a game.