Lester's Thriving in 2023

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It's easy to see why we surpassed Ryan Lester as the most universally beloved Lion on Saturday. You only have watch his team-mates' reaction to his first final goal against Carlton understand that 'Froggy' is the heart and soul of Brisbane. He was dropped 17 times in 13 seasons. When the 'Come Home Five' split up at the end of 2013, Lester remained. And in five of last six seasons, 192 cm defender has played on edge of football abyss, maintaining one-year contract after one-year contract. And against all odds, Lester not only survived into 2023, but thrived, playing arguably the best football of his 179-game career. His roller-coaster ride since being drafted 28th overall in 2010 can best be summed up with this quote. "I didn't realize how bad it was to lose every week compared to winning every week," Lester told AFL.au. "Our biggest games were always against the bottom four five teams, whereas this year we've played eight or nine games on Thursday Friday night, two finals, and now we're going into the biggest game of them all." After Daniel Rich, he is longest-serving Lion on the list and joined club 12 months before his future brother-in-law, Dayne Zorko, who will make his 250th appearance against Collingwood. Lester has seen it all and, along with the aforementioned duo, forms the connective tissue from Brisbane's premiership era to their current Grand Final team. Before joining the team, Chris Fagan was coached by Michael Voss Justin Leppitsch and played alongside Simon Black, Jonathan Brown, Luke Power Ash McGrath. “We weren't terrible, but it didn't work,” he said. "They were role models for me; not only great actors, but also people." It's something Lester learned and carries with him through the toughest of times at the Gabba. Jared Polec, Patrick Karnezis, Billy Longer, Sam Docherty and Elliot Yeo were drafted either with Lester or a year later, and they all left in the same disastrous trade period for the Lions following Voss' departure in 2013. "I wasn't a key player so in some ways was fighting for my position, so I didn't think was going to go to a club and the grass would necessarily be greener," he said. “Loyalty is a personal value for me. "I always felt very comfortable at the club. I probably always contributed to the camaraderie and camaraderie that football clubs bring." Playing as a forward, midfielder and eventually defender, Lester was rarely a pick-and-stick player. He played 38 matches in three seasons under Voss and 42 matches in three seasons under Leppitsch. He will play his 100th game under Fagan on Saturday. Lester admitted that club "lost its way a bit" in middle of his career, but does not blame Leppitsch and said that in a full rebuilding mode coach was torn between playing with youth and keeping mid-table happy, although not always. I'm giving them a game. Fagan arrived and things changed. In his first season charge 2017, when Lester played all 22 games for only time h