Crucial to the Hawks' surprise win that day were four people who, a decade later, have assumed the responsibility to lead Queensland football back to the glory days when the Lions won three consecutive premierships from 2001-03.

In a fortuitous coincidence for the AFL as they head towards 2018, Stuart Dew is coach and Mark Evans CEO of Gold Coast, and Chris Fagan is coach, and Luke Hodge will soon be a player, for the Lions.

The quartet were part of a combination that defeated Geelong in an upset result just four seasons after Clarkson took over a club that finished 15th in 2004, the same year the Lions fell one win short of four flags in a row.

On-field in 2008 comeback kid Dew turned the game for the Hawks in the third quarter of the grand final, while Hodge won the Norm Smith Medal for best on ground.

Off the field, Evans sat alongside Clarkson as the football manager while Fagan, then in his first season at Hawthorn, was on his way to becoming Clarkson's key lieutenant in the ensuing years as the Hawks won three flags from 2013-15.

That gives those who were around those four in 2008 great hope in the future of the AFL in Queensland.

The foundations exist up north, with total participation in the game up from 229,000 to 250,000 but the elite level has battled with the two Sunshine State teams filling the bottom two spots on the 2017 ladder.

Fagan was the first to arrive in the northern state, charging into his role when appointed late last year with such pace he hardly had a chance initially to survey the city of Brisbane.

Although the Lions stayed on the bottom the whole vibe around the team became positive and Fagan began to understand where AFL sat in Brisbane's sporting landscape.

Fagan believes strong footy clubs rely on relationships, whether based at Waverley Park or Timbuktu, so he focused on building them.

He immediately removed any sense the Lions had inferior facilities or expertise, by reassuring everyone at the Gabba they lost nothing when compared to the Hawks.

He suggested a lick of paint and some windows to give the gym a bit of light and then got on with the job.

Preaching that stability was the cornerstone of success, the Lions went to the draft with a plan and then began the process of constant improvement Clarkson embedded into Hawthorn's DNA.

Fagan stayed cool when inevitable losses happened knowing in a competition that rouses such emotions people often become the opposite of calm.

He likes to say there is no fairy dust that can be sprinkled above a club because hard work and good planning is what brings success.

No greater endorsement could be given to Fagan's ability to create the right environment than Hodge's decision to delay retirement and join him as an on-field teacher to the Lions' cubs.

Hodge's former teammates think he will love the challenge while the greater football community in Brisbane is buzzing at the prospect of having the Hawks' champion in their midst.

Hodge, 33, is a great leader but he knows it took work and constant learning, a message he can convey to his teammates.

The Gold Coast is in a slightly different spot, needing a bounce under Dew to build a sense of purpose among the players.

Dew has already said Evans' presence gave him the confidence to take the job while Evans has stated that he doesn't expect the sort of miracle Dew conjured in the 2008 grand final to be repeated in 2018.

Their mantra is to learn and learn some more.

Already Dew has shown his positive outlook saying he sees the impact of the Commonwealth Games kicking Dew (and his team) off the ground as a positive, the dislocation forcing the club to work together more.

Dew's reputation for emotional intelligence and empathy is strong and former Hawk teammates say he is the sort of character people gravitate towards.

The Suns need a team builder with a bright outlook because no one has described the club as beautiful one day, perfect the next for a while now.

Evans will benefit from having someone alongside him who he has shared success with because 2017 must have been hard at times for someone with such presence in the game as he reviewed in relative isolation what was needed and brought the board along with him to make change.

The lessons learned at the best clubs are now being put in place up north as four Hawks that shared a special day in 2008 lead the way a decade later.

Once again, Queensland footy is in the hands of Hawks.