‘Dicey situation’: Lions roar with pride over grand final berth after dire mid-season plight

Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan says Darcy Fort is likely to have the tough job of replacing heartbreak story Oscar McInerney who almost certainly will miss the grand final after dislocating his shoulder.

And Fagan revealed the Lions will not replicate their grand-final preparation of 2023, this time arriving in Melbourne on Wednesday – a day earlier than last year.

Kallan Dawson of the Kangaroos and Darcy Fort of the Lions wrestle.Credit: AFL Photos

McInerney showed tremendous courage to play on for a quarter and a half after he was seriously hurt in a stoppage contest late in the first term. He was eventually subbed off in pain early in the third term, having dislocated the shoulder again, and taken to hospital.

Fagan said Fort, who has played only two senior games this season, and none since round seven, was under serious condition to replace McInerney.

“I probably reckon when you have double dislocated your shoulder in a preliminary final, you are not going to be playing in a grand final, which is a real pity because he has just been so enormous for us,” Fagan said.

“His [McInerney] growth as a leader, from where he was five or six years ago to where he is now, what he means to the team, is such a real pity. It will give somebody else an opportunity, someone like a Darcy Fort or a Henry Smith. We are lucky our reserves played until last week, they got through to a prelim final and got knocked out.

“We have got players that are ready to come in.”

In an earlier radio interview, Fagan said Fort was McInerney’s likely replacement.

That’s all for tonight everyone.

Thanks for joining us on such an epic day of AFL football.

The Sydney Swans and Brisbane Lions will face off in next Saturday’s grand final.

We will have lots more coverage across our websites this week, so please keep visiting our sports pages.

We will also have our Brownlow Medal blog on Monday and our AFL grand final blog next Saturday - so please join us then.

Bye for now.

Kai Lohmann of the Lions marks the ball.Credit: Getty Images

Lions coach Chris Fagan was also full of praise for defender Jack Payne and his goal-saving tackle on Mitch Duncan late in the game.

In a year when the Lions lost their opening three games, Fagan said his players had not deviated in their belief.

Jack Payne of the Lions, middle, celebrates victory with teammates following the win over Geelong.Credit: Getty Images

“I am feeling very proud of our group, not just for the resilience they showed tonight, but for the resilience they showed throughout the year. We were in a pretty dicey situation at the half-way mark of the season - four wins, six losses and a draw,” Fagan said.

“The way those boys have gone about it and just stuck to their guns. They got a reward tonight. If you had said to me at the halfway mark of the season we were going to be playing in a grand final at the end of the year, I probably would have said you were crazy. Here we are - and we have got an opportunity.”

Fagan said having his team arrive in Melbourne on Wednesday would give it a chance for a second training session at the MCG, and adjust to what awaits heading into a grand final which will not have a Victorian-based representative for the first time since 2006.

Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan says Darcy Fort is likely to have the tough job of replacing heartbreak story Oscar McInerney who almost certainly will miss the grand final after dislocating his shoulder.

And Fagan revealed the Lions will not replicate their grand-final preparation of 2023, this time arriving in Melbourne on Wednesday – a day earlier than last year.

Kallan Dawson of the Kangaroos and Darcy Fort of the Lions wrestle.Credit: AFL Photos

McInerney showed tremendous courage to play on for a quarter and a half after he was seriously hurt in a stoppage contest late in the first term. He was eventually subbed off in pain early in the third term, having dislocated the shoulder again, and taken to hospital.

Fagan said Fort, who has played only two senior games this season, and none since round seven, was under serious condition to replace McInerney.

“I probably reckon when you have double dislocated your shoulder in a preliminary final, you are not going to be playing in a grand final, which is a real pity because he has just been so enormous for us,” Fagan said.

“His [McInerney] growth as a leader, from where he was five or six years ago to where he is now, what he means to the team, is such a real pity. It will give somebody else an opportunity, someone like a Darcy Fort or a Henry Smith. We are lucky our reserves played until last week, they got through to a prelim final and got knocked out.

“We have got players that are ready to come in.”

In an earlier radio interview, Fagan said Fort was McInerney’s likely replacement.

Brisbane forward Charlie Cameron went through all the emotions post game as his Lions won their way back to the grand final.

Teammate Callum Ah Chee praised Cameron for lifting his leadership this season as the club battled so many challenges.

“Chucky is such a good leader on the footy field, you see all the flashy goals but his leadership has gone to another level this year. I just love him,” Ah Chee told Seven.

Charlie Cameron celebrates after the final siren.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images

Charlie Cameron takes in the moment after Brisbane’s win over Geelong.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images

You have to love this tweet celebrating that Warwick Capper played for both the Swans and the Brisbane Bears.

Hard to know who Capper will be supporting in Saturday’s big game.

Geelong coach Chris Scott admits his side didn’t take their chances to build a big lead in the first half.

“I suspect we will look back and think, gee, [not doing] some of the basic things that we are pretty good at cost us a big lead,” Scott said.

Cats coach Chris Scott.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images

Scott said the Cats had a tough week and some tough times this season but still put themselves within minutes of making another grand final.

“It’s harder in a way because we had our challenges this season, we had our challenges this week and we found a way to give ourselves a really good chance,” Scott said.

“We dominated the game for large periods and had our chance to win. The opposition are a really good team and I suspect they will say the same thing.

“If I focus on us for a second, I suspect, even though it doesn’t feel like it at the moment, that we’ll be more proud in a couple of weeks than we are right now.

“But, in a way, that’s the price of admission. You’ve got to risk this feeling to have the chance to do something great.”

Scott said the hamstring injury to Max Holmes was a frustrating situation where both medical staff, player and coaches didn’t know whether he had to be subbed out or could play on .

Holmes tried to play on but was eventually subbed out in the final term.

“There was enough uncertainty there for him to be off the field and enough uncertainty for us to not make our sub,” Scott said.

The MCG will have its first non-Victorian grand final since 2006 when the Brisbane Lions and Sydney Swans take to the field next Saturday. The Lions continued their magical finals run with a heart-stopping 10-point win over Geelong on Saturday night, while the Swans accounted for an undermanned Port Adelaide on Friday.

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Isaac Heeney’s Sydney Swans will play Lachie Neale’s Brisbane Lions for the 2024 AFL premiership.Credit: Artwork: Stephen Kiprillis. Photos: Getty Images

Lions coach Chris Fagan expects ruckman Oscar McInerney won’t be play in next Saturday’s AFL grand final after twice injuring his left shoulder in today’s game.

McInerney, a much loved player for the Lions, was sent to hospital in the final term after again injuring his shoulder after popping it out in the first half.

Fagan said he couldn’t see McInerney playing next week and, while the Lions had yet to do team selection, he expected they would bring in another ruckman such as Darcy Fort or Henry Smith.

Fagan added that the Lions reserves were playing up until the last couple of weeks having made the preliminary finals.

“I reckon that when you double-dislocate your shoulder in a preliminary final, you are probably not going to play in a grand final which is a shame,” Fagan said.

Former Lions star Luke Hodge said on Seven that he expected Darcy Fort would come in for McInerney despite only playing two games this season.

“I feel very proud of our group, not just for the resilience that they showed tonight, but for the resilience that they’ve shown throughout the year,” Fagan said.

“You know, we’re in a pretty dicey situation at the halfway mark of the season, with four wins and six losses and a draw.

“If you had have said to me at the halfway mark of the season, ‘we’re going to be playing in the grand final at the end of the year’, I probably would have said, ‘you’re crazy’.”

Apart from their slow start the Lions also had four players suffer ACL injuries this year - Keidean Coleman, Tom Doedee, Darcy Gardiner and Lincoln McCarthy.

“You are the sum of all your experiences and we were obviously disappointed about what happened in the grand final last year as close as it was,” Fagan said.

“That was driving us coming into this season, but it was probably in a way driving us too hard. I felt like we were trying too hard.

“I think that it manifested itself in our kicking for goal as an example.

“But it has enabled us to uncover depth that we didn’t know that we had. A lot of young players have come into our team and given us an enormous amount of energy.”

It was a pretty special day for the Ashcroft boys.

Younger brother Levi won a third-straight premiership with Sandringham Dragons and then big brother Will was among the best as the Brisbane Lions won their way into the grand final.

Will Ashcroft of the Lions and Jack Henry of the Cats compete for the ball.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images

“It was a pretty good day for the Ashcroft boys,” Will told Seven post game.

Will missed last season’s grand final loss to Collingwood after rupturing his ACL late in the season and he missed the start of this year so the young midfielder couldn’t believe where he was post game.

“It’s unbelievable from a personal standpoint, I can’t believe I’m here,” Will Ashcroft told Seven.

“The boys have stuck at it all year. We have grinded. It’s pretty raw. I can’t believe it.”

When asked about the knee injury, Will said it was a tough recovery.

“It was a 9-12 month injury, I knew I wasn’t going to play right away,” Will told Seven.

“It was tough getting up and doing recovery sessions myself, knowing I couldn’t play but it was about these games and being ready to hit the second half of the season.”

Last year, Ashcroft was stuck in the stands on grand final day, he doesn’t plan to repeat that this year.