In 227 AFL games and three premierships, Justin Leppitsch proved himself as a man who doesn’t lose too many contests.

A fiery red-head who combined toughness and skill as a key defender in Brisbane’s three AFL grand final wins, Leppitsch will need every ounce of his never-say-die spirit to lift the Lions out of their current woes.

When the 37-year-old returns to the Gabba to take on the head coach’s job vacated by another red-headed favourite son in August there’ll be little time for learning on the job.

Everything Leppitsch has soaked up during a seven-year apprenticeship as an assistant coach with the Lions and then in a defensive coaching role with Richmond will have to be called upon as he tries to stop a club in freefall.

Several of the Lions’ youngsters have told the club they want out while the boardroom continues to be split between rival factions headed by Leppitsch’s former coach Leigh Matthews and current chairman Angus Johnson.

It’s a situation Leppitsch is unlikely to have encountered in his two decades in the AFL.

Among the immediate challenges will be convincing wantaway youngsters such as Billy Longer, Elliot Yeo, Sam Docherty and Jared Polec to stay at the club.

He’ll then have to make a call on the future of two of the men he won those three premierships with, Simon Black and Jonathan Brown.

The two veterans have struggled with injury in recent times and their ongoing role within the club’s playing ranks is still very much up for discussion.

The Lions are also financially stricken and asking the AFL commission for a handout to help cover their huge losses in the past three years.

Leppitsch will also be doing it all on his own after the club abandoned a succession plan where former Adelaide coach Neil Craig would have groomed a younger man into the coaching world.

The Lions’ parlous state paints a very different picture to the club Leppitsch helped build following his arrival as a 17-year-old from Victoria in 1992.

He played a key role in the “bad news Bears” becoming the Lions’ back-to-back-to-back premiership legends, going on to pick up three All-Australian selections in the process.

It was a playing career that ran alongside to the man he replaces in the Lions hotseat – Michael Voss.

But as one hometown favourite makes way for another, Leppitsch will be hoping the pair’s career paths can now head down different roads.