By Jon Pierik
He may no longer have been coach, but Michael Voss would have pocketed a financial bonus had Brisbane made the finals under caretaker chief Mark Harvey.
Confirming on Wednesday his interest in returning to the coaching ranks as an assistant next season, Voss said he had wanted his former club to conjure yet another upset against Geelong, and the Brisbane Lions almost did that at Simonds Stadium on Saturday, falling just one point shy, in part after a controversial decision to not award a free kick against Cat Paul Chapman.
The Lions then had to rely on other results, including Carlton losing to Port Adelaide, but that didn't eventuate. But had the Lions reached September, Voss would have found himself in a ''strange'' situation.
''That's an ironic thing in it all,'' Voss said. ''That would have been a bit of a strange one I must admit - but I won't disclose the sum.
''I was genuinely hoping they would win, although seeing the results with Carlton, they would have been a very painful two hours, being able to see yourself win and then see yourself in the finals and then see yourself out of the finals.''
Broadcaster Channel Seven will announce on Thursday that Voss will provide special comments through the finals and be a panellist on Sunday's Game Day, but he says his desire is to return to coaching next season.
Voss, 38, said he and his family would be happy to shift interstate for an assistant coaching role, although there has yet to be an offer.
''Whatever capacity I go in, I want to learn, continue to grow,'' he said. ''I want to stay in footy, whether that eventually will be ending up with a role in the media or becoming an assistant somewhere - I am quite open.
''I have gone on a very steep learning curve. I felt in the last 12 months I was just starting to, really since 2010, I have made it a priority to hone … my coaching. The last 12 months I started to feel pretty settled with it.
''I felt I was growing pretty well as a coach. I would feel if I stepped away from that, I would feel like I wasted a few years.''
Much has been made of whether Voss would have been better off accepting an assistant coaching role with the West Coast Eagles in 2009, rather than jumping straight into the top role with the Lions without any major coaching experience.
Voss, one of the greats of the game and a three-time Lions premiership skipper, said he had been concerned at the time he would not again be given the opportunity to coach his former club.
''There are always things you can do differently, in hindsight. Every year, even at the back end of what happened, you tend to go and write things down and capture things. That is the basis of what you learn from,'' he said.
''Still, at the back end of that, there are no guarantees. I think I picked my path … you think, 'Here's an ideal opportunity, maybe the only opportunity to coach your own football club', so you accelerated that quicker.''
''Five years later, you are not the coach any more, [but] what you have got out of that has been incredible.''
Voss said the internal divisions on the Lions' board since his departure were no longer his fight. Chairman Angus Johnson is under immense pressure, with a rival ticket featuring coaching great Leigh Matthews seeking change.
Voss didn't need to elaborate on who he thought would prevail. ''Leigh Matthews is Leigh Matthews, isn't he?''