Seiler said the pair set up similar decorations – including a balloon arch, banners, and branded bunting – for the team on Wednesday last week, ahead of their departure for the final.
“They’re really nice approachable guys,” she said, adding the team hadn’t seemed particularly nervous when leaving last week.
Fans flocked to meet the Brisbane Lions after they touched down at Brisbane Airport on Sunday.Credit: Catherine Strohfeldt
The Brisbane Lions turned the tide on southern opponents the Geelong Cats on Saturday night, securing the premiership for the second year in a row.
The Brisbane team has won the AFL Grand Final five times, with the team hopeful to again return strong next season.
McColl said she and her family were “very nervous” following the final on Saturday, but following the halftime deadlock between the Lions and southern competitors the Geelong Cats were “cheering [the Lions] on right to the end”.
McColl said it was the second time the family were visiting the team after a Grand Final win, having come out last year to collect signatures from the team at the gate, and later at baggage claim.
The McColl family brought memorabilia to sign for the second year in a row.Credit: Catherine Strohfeldt
“We did quite well last year [in collecting signatures] as well, so we’ll get a nice collection of them, but my daughter made some bunting, so we decided to come and get this something a bit different,” she said.
“We’ve got a whole heap of them so far, so [we’re] just trying to find them all.”
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Other fans used AFL balls, posters, or the shirts off their backs to collect signatures for the homecoming players.
Airport information desk worker Maggie said she’d been impressed by the team’s reaction to the fans waiting to welcome them both this year and in 2024.
“They were so generous with their time, they signed everything for the children took photos for everybody… and they’d be on such a high,” she said.
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