Fagan reveals the inspiration behind the Lions’ back-to-back premierships

Brisbane are back-to-back premiers after storming home against Geelong.See all 9 stories .

Loading

As emotions spilled out in the bowels of the MCG on Saturday night, Lions coach Chris Fagan revealed his group had embraced a famous Nelson Mandela quote as part of their journey to claiming back-to-back premierships and becoming the competition’s benchmark.

The Lions are again the toast of the AFL, having strode to a 47-point win over Geelong before a crowd of 100,022 at the home of football on Saturday.

The Cats led by a point when midfielder Max Holmes drilled a long bomb less than 14 minutes into the third term, but the uncompromising Lions booted 12 of the next 17 goals, including the final three of the third, to take charge.

This victory added to their success against Sydney in last year’s grand final, and was the club’s fifth flag this century – the most in the competition.

A beaming but damp Fagan, having had a Gatorade bucket tipped on him by Dayne Zorko, said a quote from Mandela, the former president of South Africa and anti-apartheid activist, had been crucial to the Lions’ rise – the club having been mired in mediocrity when Fagan took charge in 2016.

“I have got a saying that’s up on our wall – it’s a famous Nelson Mandela quote. We never win. We never lose. We either win or we learn, and that’s the attitude we have tried to take,” Fagan said.

“I think everybody has embraced that at the footy club. We don’t get too upset when we lose. Today is probably a good example. We got a lesson from Geelong three weeks ago [and] we went to work on it. We, obviously, had to win three finals to get another chance. Hopefully, today you saw we learnt some things from that game, and did some things better.”

Sitting beside dual Norm Smith medallist Will Ashcroft, Fagan, 64, was not too proud to admit the Lions had “failed” their way to glory after their finals heartache earlier this decade.

“I always talked about failing our way to the top, and that’s what we did. We got into some finals and for the first three years, I think we won one out of six finals and had a few lessons. Since that point in time, we have become a really good finals team,” Fagan said.

It’s been some ride for the Tasmanian product, who has led the Lions into three grand finals after turning 62.

Typically reserved, he stood back while his players celebrated upon hearing the final siren, looked at the crowd, and then embraced his family. He was later awarded the Jock McHale medal by former West Coast Eagles premiership coach Adam Simpson.

This result also capped a stunning finals series for the Lions, who finished third on the ladder and then lost the qualifying final to the Cats, meaning they had to play each week and deal with more travel. Yet again, though, they enjoyed the ultimate success.

“We did it the hard way again, to play four finals, I think that suits us,” Fagan said.

The manner in which the Lions overcame injury and other obstacles this season had Fagan believing it “boded well” for more success.

The decision to use co-captain Lachie Neale as the substitute and not activate him until the start of the third term proved a masterstroke, the dual Brownlow medallist showing no signs of the calf injury that had ruled him out of the past two finals.

Neale, having had to prove his fitness all week, had 17 disposals, seven clearances and a goal in a breathtaking second half.

“I was lying in bed last night thinking I was going to either look like a total idiot or a total genius after today’s game. If we had lost, and he had only played a half, we would probably be bemoaning the fact we went about it in that way,” Fagan said.

“But the bottom line was this: Lachie was fit to play, but how much game time could he play?

“Basically, he had played one game in eight weeks, one game in 56 days. Coming into a grand final, I was a little bit worried about his ability to see the whole game out if he actually started.”

Neale said he had never been more nervous heading into a game.

“I felt like a supporter, riding all the waves – I was probably the most nervous I’ve ever been in a game of football with the scores tied in a grand final... tight in a grand final and limited prep. Yeah, it’s a little bit easier when everyone is tired and you’re fresh. I felt like I covered the ground pretty well,” Neale said.

So, too, did Ashcroft, who had 32 disposals, including 10 clearances, nine inside 50s, and a goal, in a best-on-ground performance.

Fagan was also delighted for Oscar McInerney, the big ruckman savouring his maiden premiership.

He had played in the losing 2023 grand final against Collingwood, but hurt his shoulder in last year’s preliminary final and was ruled out of the decider against Sydney. Defender Darcy Gardiner also missed last year’s grand final, Fagan revealing the two men had been a motivating force.

He said Jarrod Berry’s selfless decision not to play because of a dislocated shoulder had also been an inspiration, all players touching his guernsey in the dressing room before heading out to battle.

The Lions will begin 2026 as premiership favourites, although they may lose the off-contract Brandon Starcevich to West Coast, and forward Callum Ah Chee, through the trade period.

Starcevich, 26, was concussed and subbed off in the third quarter, adding to his growing history of serious head knocks.

While Fagan was all smiles, Cats coach Chris Scott said he would wake at 3am for many weeks ahead, mulling over what went wrong.

Scott was gunning for his third flag in 15 seasons in charge, but his team fell apart late in the third term after the scores had been locked at half-time in a grand final for only the third time in VFL-AFL history.

“It’s, obviously, difficult for us right at the moment, but I think in the fullness of time, when you sit back and think about the quality of team that beat us in this grand final, it will ease the pain a little bit,” Scott said.

He said he was proud of his team, and there were “a lot of things known and unknown that were really challenging for us this year”.

“To be perfectly frank, there were times where it just seemed unlikely that we would be able to overcome those obstacles.”

Scott wouldn’t divulge what those specific obstacles had been, although losing rebounding defender Tom Stewart to concussion for this game had been one.

“You never lose a grand final, I don’t think, especially the way they dominated that patch late in the third quarter and, obviously, early in the fourth, and think one player would have made a difference, but I think Stewart would have a made a difference,” he said.

“But that is one in a number of, I am talking about a number of things, 10 or 12 things, some more impactful than others, but I only bring it up to highlight just how proud we are of the resilience of our group.”

The Cats struggled with Coleman medallist Jeremy Cameron (eight disposals, no goals) hurt with his right arm fractured in a first-half incident with Patrick Dangerfield, who also little impact.

Dangerfield was goalless and had only 10 touches (no clearances), and stood briefly in shock when the final siren blew, before shaking hands with his victorious opponents.

Scott said the Cats had not been able to play in the manner they had over the past couple of months which was a “bitter pill to swallow because we had shown our best footy was going to challenge anyone”.

Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.

Click here to read article