LUKE Hodge has warned his Brisbane teammates to not believe the hype and keep their heads down ahead of this season.

Despite winning just five games in 2018, the off-season acquisitions of Lachie Neale and Jarryd Lyons, along with the expected development of its 22-and-under crop has seen the Lions widely tipped to jump up the ladder.

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But Hodge says they can't afford to look ahead.

"We can't get caught up in what people are saying outside because as soon as you start believing the hype, you drop away," he said.

"For a team that's finished 18th (in 2017) and 15th last year, we're not in a situation to start believing what people externally are saying.

"We need to keep an eye on each other, keep each other accountable to get better and better each day.

"Until we get further up the ladder and have some success, that's going to be our mindset."

Hodge, who is non-committal on his future but likely playing his last season, said Brisbane is not at a stage where counting wins and losses would determine its success this year.

He said one area that needed addressing was its performance in close matches, after losing five games by seven points or fewer last season.

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"Our job is to learn from our mistakes," Hodge said.

"The expectation on players in those pressure situations is to be reliable to your teammates, do what he expects in those tough situations."

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After playing 19 games in his first year for the Lions, Hodge said he wanted to contribute just as heavily in 2019.

"I'll put my hand up to play as many games as I can," he said.

"I've always been a competitive person and I don't like getting dropped, but I know at some stage Fages is going to say 'you're too old, you're too slow and there's better blokes for that position'.

"If that happens, I'm happy with that because that means we've taken the next step up."