They’ve watched their eldest son Will overcome the devastation of missing last year’s AFL grand-final loss to Collingwood.

He’s roared back from his knee reconstruction to be a key member of the Brisbane team that aims to go one better this time against Sydney. It will be his first grand final.

But for all the admiration and love for Will, and for the Lions, the Ashcrofts know better than anyone Saturday is a high-wire act.

Sydney deserve the flag just as much as Brisbane.

While Marcus was a key member of the Lions’ last premiership teams, their iconic 2001-03 three-peat, he also spent a decade running the football department at Gold Coast.

He was there the night Gary Ablett popped his shoulder and with it, went the Suns’ best chance yet of breaking their finals drought.

“It (an AFL premiership) is the ultimate … I don’t take for granted at all what I achieved in my career and I don’t take for granted what our boys and girl are going through,” Ashcroft says of their three footy-mad children.

“We’re going to be so proud. But there’s also going to be a bit of anxiety – they’re there to win the ultimate prize.

“You’re also sitting on the edge of your seat, hoping it all goes to plan.

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“It is so difficult and so challenging – everyone wants to do it.”

Ashcroft has been immersed in AFL life as a player, assistant coach and administrator since he was 17. He is now chief executive as Melbourne suburban club Sandringham.

He notes Bekky, who was a state-level swimmer and hockey player, knows as much as the game as anyone and boasts a mean kick herself.

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Their AFL involvement took a new turn when Will was drafted to the Lions as a father-son pick. Middle son Levi is about to do the same and Lucy, 15, has played in Victorian junior AFL and netball teams.

It is the ultimate sporting high-performance household and they will all be at the grand final.

Will was born after the 2003 premiership and Marcus says their kids don’t know that much about his exploits as a player.

“My kids’ recollection on AFL growing up is at Gold Coast – being in the changerooms after the games, having a kick with Gary Ablett,” he said.

“That’s their memories.”

There are also strong memories of backyard football, where no quarter was sought or given.

“I can certainly say it’s toughened Lucy up and she can mix it with the best of them – she’s a good tackler, she goes hard at the ball,” dad Marcus said.

“The youngest siblings, they’re the ones who need to grow up a bit quicker and find a way to compete.

“Levi has learned a few tricks over the years. He’s well-equipped to be able to come into the AFL and hold his own, I reckon.

“You have to find a way. We know there are rules in playing the game, but when it’s backyard footy, there are no rules … it’s held them in good stead.”

An umpire mixes up Dad and son Ashcroft.

Will may well have been the top Ashcroft in the backyard – and he made a blazing start to the AFL career last season – but reality bit hard when he did his knee, only a few weeks before the finals.

As he went through the rigours of post-reco rehab in Queensland, his parents supported him as best they could from Melbourne.

“It was very difficult for us to be hands-on with him and that was fine, because he’s a young man now,” Marcus said.

“Through this whole difficult time … he’s built so much resilience and been able to cope a lot better with adversity.

“At the time, like any young men, they’re in a hurry to get where they want to get to – Will’s no different.”

Certainly, Will has had to learn all about patience. In the rooms after their preliminary final win over Geelong, he spoke about the “to-and-fro” between his personality and the reality of coming back from a reconstruction.

“That want to be out there, be playing good footy, will always be inside me,” he said.

“But at times you have to be smart. I’m probably not the best at patience – I have to keep working on that.

“At times you need that, to make sure you get the best outcome.”

As much as Marcus and Bekky love and support their kids, he is struck by how different it is for players coming into the AFL and AFLW than when he was their age.

“I truly believe that young boys and girls in this era of football are so well prepared, compared to be when I played it’s chalk and cheese,” he said.

“The way they’re coming through … they’re as well-prepared as anyone to go straight in and have an impact.

“When I started, it was more you come in and you might be making up the numbers.

“You do your thing … but you move on and right now, I get more joy watching my kids play football than probably what I can remember when I played.”