Brisbane coach Chris Fagan has lauded one of the great AFL finals performances from Lachie Neale as the Lions showed the grit required to keep their season alive.
The midfielder and Brownlow Medal favourite had 39 touches and 15 clearances in a two-point defeat of Richmond in an elimination final at the Gabba that had 17 lead changes.
The last came with 64 seconds to play, Joe Daniher making up for some costly moments earlier in the night to toe home a loose ball for the winning goal.
The 16.10 (106) to 16.8 (104) win was Fagan’s second from seven finals games in the last four seasons, a dubious record that’s proved a lingering sore point at the club this year.
“We want to win more finals, so we won’t get carried away with ourselves tonight, or give ourselves a pat on the back,” Fagan said.
“But if ever there was a way for us to show you’re made of the right stuff, I think tonight we showed that.”
The Lions went in without midfielder Jarryd Lyons (groin), defender Marcus Adams (concussion) and suspended pair Cam Rayner and Noah Answerth.
And when they lost ruckman Oscar McInerney in the third minute, there were flashbacks to a year earlier when Dan McStay’s early exit paved the way for a straight-sets finals exit.
It was McStay who deputised in the ruck on Thursday night, the forward holding his own to play a crucial role as they rallied from 16 points down in the third term.
“We were probably gone a few times and our players could easily have got disappointed with the Oscar injury sub so early – it was a massive blow,” Fagan said.
“We lost Dan McStay early in our first final (last year) and felt that affected us mentally.
“We talked about that in pre-season and tonight that didn’t affect us mentally; the boys kept playing.
“Finals comes down to what’s going on in your mind to hand in there, even when things aren’t going well.”
Fagan was in awe of Neale’s clean hands and composure in a fast-paced final.
“It was one of the great finals games you’ll ever see,” Fagan said.
Brisbane won’t have McInerney or Adams for next week’s semi-final, against the loser of Melbourne and Sydney.
But after 18-year-old debutant Darcy Wilmot and Deven Robertson’s performances he will have some welcome headaches trying to welcome back Answerth, Rayner and potentially Lyons.
Darcy Fort, named captain of the Lions’ VFL side in his first season at the club, is a capable replacement for McInerney in the ruck.
“The manner of the win should do a fair bit for the confidence … it should give us a bit of momentum because we sort of lost it (in a heavy last-round loss to Melbourne),” Fagan said.
“So it’s good to get it back, hopefully we can ride it.”
© AAP 2022
