The Lions players were jumping around the MCG, their true colours having finally emerged in the glorious climax of a famous AFL preliminary final. There was Kai Lohmann and his blonde mullet, hurling himself at Cam Rayner in delight, Eric Hipwood lurching to join in the celebrations.
Players in Fitzroy red scurrying this way and that, arms aloft or high-fiving fans on the boundary. A beaming coach Chris Fagan, walking out to share the joy, shaking hands and sharing hugs.
Rewind 12 months and it was a different story. On the same ground, against another team with not dissimilar stripes, the image could not have offered greater contrast. The Lions had the AFL premiership cup within reach against Collingwood. Twenty minutes into the final term, they had the Pies right where they wanted them, as a Charlie Cameron goal took the surging northerners into the lead. But back then it was their opponents who found a way, making the Lions losers.
Ahead of this season, Fagan said of the grand final pain the club had “milked that for all it was worth”. That the players “were so honest” in their debrief. They were seemingly all the right noises, but the story of these Lions – much like the narrative of Saturday’s game – has more than one meander.
This season began, and the highly fancied Lions lost their first three matches. It was a horror start that prompted some to call time on Fagan’s tenure. “We were obviously disappointed about what happened in the grand final last year, as close as it was,” Fagan said after the game on Saturday. “And that was driving us coming into this season, but it was probably, in a way, driving us too hard, I felt like we were trying too hard.”
The Lions steadied, and a run of nine victories launched them back up the table. Against Sydney at the Gabba in July they provided a glimpse of what they might become. They kicked four goals to two in the final term to claim victory over the ladder leaders and cement their own place in the top eight.
The results had returned despite the squad being decimated by injury. Lincoln McCarthy, Darcy Gardiner, Keidean Coleman, Tom Doedee and Will Ashcroft have all torn their ACLs and have been unavailable for long parts of the season. “It’s enabled us to uncover depth we didn’t know that we had,” Fagan said. “A lot of young players have come into our team and given us an enormous amount of energy.”
Despite the late season promise, it was again one step forward, two steps back. Two consecutive defeats late in the season cost the Lions a double chance in the finals, and forced a rethink from Fagan. He wanted his players to enjoy themselves. Success was reframed, and the club’s finals motto was born: if you’re walking on thin ice, you might as well dance.
They took that attitude into the semi-final against GWS Giants a week ago. Two goals from Joe Daniher in the last four minutes capped off a comeback from as much as 44 points down. And then finally against Geelong on Saturday. Down by 25 points and a ruckman, the Lions found a way back into the contest. The ice was thin, but – following the words that adorned the Lions’ banner at the MCG – dance they did.
Suddenly, it was the fourth quarter and they had a lead. Then, with just three minutes to go, more adversity. The proud Victorian outfit with strands of success embedded in its DNA appeared to have snuffed out of the Lions’ charge. Ollie Henry had just kicked a goal from the pocket, and the Cats – who were overwhelming the Lions with quantity of inside 50s, if not quality – looked like they had done enough. The lights of the MCG in September, seemingly too bright for Brisbane.
But then, the Lions proved their mettle. Up the other end, it was their small forward Cameron with a deft entry to the screaming Callum Ah Chee who marked and goaled to take back the lead. There was Cam Rayner, hoofing it through from 50m and wheeling around with his arms outstretched. Four bays of maroon behind the goals, exploding with movement and noise. Jack Payne, running down Mitch Duncan, to protect the lead.
“We were in a pretty dicey situation at the halfway mark of the season, with four wins and six losses and a draw,” Fagan said. “The way those boys have gone about it and just stuck to their guns … they got their reward tonight.”
It was a miraculous victory secured, a challenger finally dispelled, a monkey off the Lions’ back and – most potently – a side’s true nature revealed. After stumbling when it mattered most 12 months ago, the narrative has been rewritten. The competition’s fast finishers now have a chance at grand final redemption.
