Blake Metcalf-Holt
WHAT a way to finish such a tight season.
Righting their wrongs from last year’s tight grand final loss, the Brisbane Lions shocked all football fans by emphatically defeating the minor premiers Sydney Swans to raise their first AFL premiership cup aloft since 2003.
Among the stars for the Lions was Yarram’s Josh Dunkley, who added a second premiership to the one he won with the Western Bulldogs in his 2016 rookie season.
An anticipated grand final to say the least began quite strongly with the two interstate sides trading blows – both out to redeem themselves as losers of the last two grand finals.
It was two goals from the Swans to begin proceedings from the likes of Will Hayward and Bunyip star small forward Tom Papley despite the Lions controlling possession early with a handful of opportunities missed.
The Kai Lohmann show then erupted at the MCG with the Lions young forward booting two goals in quick succession and in spectacular fashion to tie the game back up.
Goals continued to be traded between the two before Lions star Charlie Cameron nailed an around the corner shot from the boundary line to give Brisbane an eight-point lead as quarter-time arrived.
Many in the crowd and watching around the country would have expected the back-and-forth nature of the match to continue between the two top sides of the competition – however, that did not go to plan.
The Lions were on a relentless attack that began to show cracks in the Swans artillery which began with Lohmann kicking his third goal not even halfway through the game.
Sydney would respond quickly from the likes of Robbie Fox, but as far as how the rest of the evening played out, that was the closest it would ever be again.
Brisbane followed with the next seven goals through from the second quarter into the third term ripping the game open and solidifying themselves as premiers of the AFL pretty much there and then.
Photo: Dylan Burns, AFL Photos
Young gun Will Ashcroft was running amuck across the ground and ended up booting an impressive goal through traffic, Callum Ah Chee continued an unexpected finals run booting four goals until the end of the day, and captain and dual-Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale led admirably.
While the Swans pressed late into the fourth quarter with Luke Parker booting three goals in the term, all was too late and the game was well beyond out of reach.
Lions’ players were celebrating and embracing on the ground as the ball was 20-to-30 metres away in play with still a handful of minutes remaining knowing their moment had arrived.
It was a special win given where the club was at and had been following its monumental success at the turn of the century – winning three flags in a row with possibly the best team the game’s ever seen.
Players like former captain Dayne Zorko had seen it all including a wooden spoon in 2017 and a part of a club in dire straits.
Coach Chris Fagan joined the club in 2017 from Hawthorn under Alistair Clarkson and as a key figure in the Hawks’ four premierships from 2008 to 2015. Fagan now becomes the first premiership coach to have never played at football’s top level (AFL/VFL) and is now the oldest to have reached the mountaintop at age 63.
On the opposite spectrum, some have made the come up quickly.
Darcy Wilmot has played in every game for the Lions after debuting in their 2022 elimination final against Richmond and is now the fastest to 10 finals surpassing Wonthaggi’s Jarryd Blair.
Dunkley was seen in the aftermath of the trophy presentations lying on the ground making snow angles in the confetti that had laced the MCG’s surface, basking in the fact he was now a two-time premiership player (firstly with the Bulldogs in 2016 in his first year of AFL).
The lockdown midfielder was a key recruit for the Lions going back to the 2022 trade period and has now played in four grand finals including three out of the past four years. Dunkley finished with 21 disposals and a game-high 11 tackles on the day.
One of the headlining stories heading into the grand final involved Lions’ key forward Joe Daniher and the possibility of a retirement following the big dance.
If it’s true, Daniher can ride off into the sunset proudly, knowing he was a key part of the Lions’ two-year run – possibly Brisbane’s best player in the 2023 grand final loss to Collingwood and booting two goals in their blow-out premiership victory.
There is a question to be ask how he’ll actually go about looking back and reminiscing on his team’s success if he trades in his boots for slippers, given the fact that he doesn’t actually own a TV at his house, near Sydney ironically and strangely.
The Daniher family is a renowned name in the football world most notably with his father Anthony and his three brothers at Essendon.
Joe’s cousin Ben currently plays for Moe in the Gippsland League and is the son of the legendary and ever-inspiring Neale Daniher.
It will be a tough pill to swallow for Sydney, seemingly aware of their fate well before the final siren rung – bowing out in spectacular fashion in two of the past three grand finals.
Coach John Longmire does hold the mantra as 2012 premiership coach but additionally has been on the receiving end of some major grand final blows, losing his last four by an average margin of 56 points.
