It's been a long time since AFL football boasted a hoodoo that caught the public imagination to the extent that it became a popular part of the game's vocabulary.
Nothing, of course, has ever rivalled the infamous "Colliwobbles", the label for the Magpies' miserable record in grand finals, of which they played in nine without winning any between 1958 and 1990.
Essendon had "eliminitis" during the 1970s and early '80s, the Dons losing five elimination finals before finally breaking the ice.
But if the rest of this season plays out the way it's currently shaping, we might be looking for a new label soon enough for the Brisbane Lions.
The Lions' lack of hardness, both physically and psychologically, is becoming a significant concern, particularly for a team already with a pretty big millstone hanging around its neck. And that of course, is its finals record.
It seems premature to start ringing the alarm bells about a team sitting third on the AFL ladder with a 10-4 win-loss record. But after going 2-3 over the last five games, and given the recurring theme of those three losses, you got to start wondering whether once again Brisbane lacks the mettle to turn a successful home and away season into a productive finals campaign, and if we're headed for some more déjà vu with the Lions come this September.
The Lions' lack of hardness, both physically and psychologically, is becoming a significant concern, particularly for a team already with a pretty big millstone hanging around its neck. And that, of course, is its finals record.
Brisbane has finished the home and away rounds in the top four three years in a row for the stark return of just one finals victory and five losses, twice bowing out in straight sets. The Lions simply can't afford another repeat. And if they're to avoid that fate, they need to find a much harder edge sooner than later.
Chris Fagan's team has played some wonderful football over the past four seasons. In 2022, it is for a third time in four years the AFL's top-scoring team, averaging just under 100 points per game. Its midfield has plenty of class and ball-winning ability, the likes of Lachie Neale, Hugh McCluggage, Jarryd Lyons, Dayne Zorko and Jarrod Berry just the leading lights.
But right now, the Lions look like coming up short when it comes to the pointy end of the season yet again.
Last Thursday night's effort against a resurgent Melbourne bordered on insipid, Brisbane smashed by 64 points, and it meant they'd gone two wins three losses across the last five games. And the manner of those defeats should be a big concern to coach Chris Fagan.
The losses to Fremantle, Hawthorn and the Demons had similar themes, difficult conditions like a cold, slippery MCG mid-winter night or windswept Launceston, or a steely, defensive-minded opponent with physical strength like the Dockers or Melbourne.
Are the Lions simply not tough enough? You've got to wonder. Who are their genuine hard nuts beyond Mitch Robinson? They certainly don't leap to mind.
And they remain vulnerable to being scored against; currently only ninth for fewest points conceded.
Is that significant? It is when you consider the fact the last 10 premiership teams have all been ranked in the top six at least for that statistic. And that every other team in the top six on the ladder currently fares significantly better defensively. The Lions struggle on the differential rankings for both clearances and tackles, too.
But mental resilience might be just as big if not an even bigger issue.
It's easy to forget sometimes (particularly given the last two grand finals have been played at the Gabba and Optus Stadium) that flags (in less pandemic-challenged times) still have to be won at the MCG. Ask West Coast or Adelaide, either of which might have had a couple more premierships to their name over the years had they been able to host a grand final. Incredibly, the Lions actually did have that chance in 2020. They will never be better set-up to win a fourth premiership under the Brisbane mantle than a season in which the bulk of the competition was played in the club's own backyard, and it then went straight through to a preliminary final after beating Richmond.
But the Lions blew the playoff joust with Geelong. And, in fact, of those five finals losses from six starts, four have come on their own home ground. That's significant, too, when you contrast it with their home and away Gabba record over the same period, which from the start of 2019 until now is an almost flawless 34-2 or 94 per cent.
A stark difference indeed. One which suggests there's something amiss come the really serious stuff of September.
Of course, Brisbane can still turn it around. But this is a fourth year of trying to find those extra few degrees of hardness of body and mind. The answers don't appear a lot closer, to be frank.
And another similar exit from September this time and the Lions are surely just a pithy headline away from one of those unfortunate tags pertaining to repeated finals failure.