By Nick Wright
Few men have endured the ill-fated fortunes of Jack Payne when it comes to finals football.
The Lions’ defender watched his side’s September exploits from the sidelines last year, a foot injury preventing the culmination of a childhood dream as he buried his face in his hands while Brisbane hearts were broken by Collingwood.
Even partaking in the grand final parade the day before, soaking in the thousands of spectators who had converged in Melbourne, came with bittersweet emotions.
Jack Payne has been cruelled by injuries in the past two finals campaigns, but at last he will take the field in a grand final.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
“It was a tricky one last year. The parade’s very special, and it’s such a unique experience. I don’t know exactly what the crowd numbers were, but it was just people everywhere,” Payne said before flying out from Brisbane on Wednesday.
“It was definitely tough, to play a whole year and get injured at the pointy end of the season … it was obviously really disappointing and really flattening for myself.”
Payne could have been forgiven for cursing the footy gods fresh from a six-game lay-off following bone-stress issues.
He was taken off at half-time in the elimination final win against Carlton, a knee concern threatening to derail him once again.
But Brisbane’s Chris Fagan has coached this team with faith and trust in his players. That’s why he didn’t hesitate to throw Payne in against Greater Western Sydney star Jesse Hogan a week later, despite limited preparation and game time.
And come the clash with Geelong, Payne responded in kind.
The 24-year-old found something within himself to produce a match-winning play in the preliminary final triumph – one far removed from the Cam Rayner and Callum Ah Chee goals that sent the Lions’ faithful into hysterics.
As the Cats probed deep inside 50, trailing by 11 points with 80 seconds on the clock, Mitch Duncan appeared destined to bring the contest back to within a kick from right in front of the sticks.
But as he braced to fire the shot, Payne brought him down from behind – a full-length diving tackle that earned his side a free kick and all but buried his rivals’ hopes of a last-minute comeback.
The Lions’ head of football, Danny Daly, lauded it as a moment that would instil belief that he was back to his best, the sort of play that would define a tense grand final against the Sydney Swans on Saturday.
“The week coming off being beaten by Hogan last week ... I think that last moment for him has probably given him that much belief, and also just his own internal knowing he can do this, and what he means for this team,” Daly said.
But according to Payne, the surge was simply a byproduct of how he and his fellow Lions had been motivated.
“At the time, I just felt like it had to be done. I’m a big believer in playing until the last second, and that fight-to-win attitude,” he said.
“I feel like in the last three or four minutes in the game, all the boys stood up and had some big moments – Callum and Cam, for example, with their goals were pretty clutch.
“We stood up when the time was there.”
Lion Jack Payne celebrates.Credit: Getty Images
Actions similar to Payne’s against the Cats will dictate how the Lions handle a Swans juggernaut boasting midfield stars Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner and Errol Gulden, who combined for 76 Brownlow Medal votes throughout the season.
When the Lions’ legs start to shake as the match hangs in the balance, they will rely on those small game-defining situations to avenge their defeat 12 months ago.
And it will not just be Payne who reflects on the tackle that earned his side the chance to fight for another flag.
“He should take huge confidence from that. Everyone else knows that whoever comes in is going to play that role and have those moments where they’re going to stand up and deliver,” halfback Darcy Wilmot said.
“You get into a hunting mode, where you’re just so focused on what’s happening, you’re not worrying. All you’re thinking is, just hold on please lads. It’s a surreal feeling.
“For me personally anyway, I’m not worrying about how my legs are feeling or anything like that, I’m just so focused in and eyeing off every contest.”
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