Gryan Miers, Gerard Whateley in hilarious Lionel Messi moment

Gryan Miers’ moment of magic brought back memories of a hilarious viral incident during Saturday’s huge final at the MCG.

Every now and then, the planets manage to align for all the right reasons.

That’s exactly what happened during Geelong’s huge preliminary final clash with the Brisbane Lions at the MCG on Saturday.

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In a tight contest early in the second quarter, a bouncing ball was just kept in on the boundary line by star Cat Gryan Miers.

The 25-year-old then had the time to boot the ball towards the goalsquare in a classic soccer-style cross, with the bending Sherrin sitting up perfectly for Ollie Henry to slot the goal.

While it was a brilliant highlight in a huge match with a grand final on the line, plenty of sharp social media users immediately recalled an incident involving Miers and commentator Gerard Whateley that went viral in July last year.

Gryan Miers’ cross has been compared to Lionel Messi. Photos: Getty Images

A fake tweet attributed to Whateley stated: “Gryan Miers is to AFL what Leo Messi is to soccer. Messi may kick more goals, but Miers scans the field just as well. Maybe even better than Messi does.”

The tweet blew up and gained more traction when the Fox Footy personality failed to see the funny side, slamming social media trolls and posting “I never said this and it should be removed” in response.

Miers stoked the drama by dressing up in Messi’s full Argentina kit for Geelong’s Mad Monday session at the end of the season.

Now, 14 months on, it seems Whateley can finally see the humour in the incident.

“Has anyone ever compared Gryan Miers to Messi?” Whateley said calling the moment on AFL Nation.

It was the perfect remark from the quick-witted Geelong fan and a range of social media users were lapping up the moment.

Miers celebrates a goal during the preliminary final against the Lions. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Journalist Andrew Wu tweeted: “Only fitting Gerard Whateley called Gryan Miers’ Lionel Messi-like cross for Ollie Henry’s goal.”

The official Geelong account crossed out Miers’ name and then wrote: “Messi down the wing GOL GOL GOL GOL.”

A footy fan posted the original fake tweet alongside the caption: “Gerard was right.”

Another fan asked: “Did the VAR check for offside?”

Another quipped: “What was the keeper doing leaving it open like that.”

Sports producer Tim Michell wrote: “OMG GRYAN IS ACTUALLY MESSI.”

Over a year later Whateley can now see the funny side. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/AFL Photos/Getty Images)

Miers also kicked an audacious goal from the boundary line late in the second term as the Cats took a 19-point lead into halftime.

Whateley didn’t find the issue quite so funny last year when the tweet was posted along with an AFL360 publicity shot of the veteran caller.

Whateley replied to the Twitter account that posted the image, asking for the fake post to be taken down.

In a separate reply, Whateley said: “Hey James… I’m worried about you… you there?

“Delete the fake tweet. It’s simple.”

Speaking to his SEN audience, Whateley pleaded with them to help track down the culprit and remove the post from Twitter.

Messi is one of the greatest footballers of all time. (Photo by Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP)

“The post must be good for clicks,” he said.

“It’s an odd world and I’m not sure how you would guard against it, but that quote is being peddled around with my image but those are not my words.

“Maybe you could take it up for me, maybe you could reply to those who are posting it and tell them that is just a fake quote.

“And if you know anything about it, you might enlighten me. Those are not my words and those who are posting it should immediately delete it.”

#AFLCatsLionspic.twitter.com/CwUmGijCZX

— Tim Michell (@tim_michell) September 21, 2024

Whateley is SEN’s lead AFL commentator and also hosts Fox Footy’s AFL360 with Mark Robinson.

At the time, Miers was leading the AFL in the category of goal assists and had been nicknamed in some quarters the “goal assist king”.

AFL commentators have long compared players to NBA stars and overseas athletes and Whateley was the latest victim of fans taking the mickey.

During the Socceroos’ 2022 World Cup campaign, former Australian cricketer Simon O’Donnell likened Lionel Messi’s ability to slow the play and direct traffic to Collingwood’s Scott Pendlebury.