Brisbane Lions List 2002

GRAND FINAL

Brisbane LIONS vs. Collingwood

at MCG, Saturday afternoon, September 28th, 2.30 pm AEST

Possible Selected Team for the GRAND FINAL

Backs:	2. Johnson	15. Michael	33. White
Half Backs:	22. C. Scott	23. Leppitsch	10. Ashcroft
Centres:	5. B. Scott	3. Voss	13. Pike
Half Forwards:	1. Headland*	16. Brown*	44. Lappin
Full Forwards:	4. McRae	11. Lynch	6. Power
Followers:	Rck: 43. McDonald	Rkr: 20. Black	Rov: 12. Akermanis
Interchange:	27. Keating	32. Hart	8. Notting	34. Shattock

Emergencies: Bolton, Copeland, Charman

* Eligible for the VLSG Best Young Player in Victorian Matches Award

Out from the 2001 Premiership Team for the GRAND FINAL are: Dan. Bradshaw, Copeland,

Ins for the GRAND FINAL: C. Scott

Outs for the GRAND FINAL: Copeland (omit)

Others not selected: Copeland, Charman, Dan. Bradshaw, Morrison, McGrath, Bolton, Dar. Bradshaw, McLaren, Hammond, Hadley, Gram, Cupido, Martin, Clarke, Wright, Mapelstone (r) Raines (r) and Weller (r)

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Brisbane Lions vs. Collingwood

GRAND FINAL Match Preview:

Lions to claim second premiership.

Once again, for the Brisbane Lions it's come down to the last Saturday in September, the day on which the entire season turns upon. For one side ultimate glory, for the other a sense of failure.

For the first time in their history the Brisbane Lions confront Fitzroy's old arch-roval Collingwood, in match that symbolises the new national competition, but also harks back to the old surburan rivalries of the then VFL.

The Lions at time of writing are expected to name important, expereinced defender Chris Scott who was a late withdrawal for the Preliminary Final against Port Adelaide, while Clark Keating is expected to retain his place over young player Jamie Charman. The man to miss out is likely to be Robert Copeland, who was one of the 22 Lions players who took on and defeated Essendon last year to claim the 2001 premiership. The other likely to be missing from that 22, is forward Daniel Bradshaw, who late in the season was horribly out of form. It appears to have cost him a Grand Final place. For the Magpies, Jason Cloke has been suspended for two matches (pending a likely appeal) and the Magpies also have an injury worry in Chris Tarrant who hyperextended his knee in the Preliminary Final against Adelaide.

LAST TIME:
Rd 8 – Collingwood 17-12-114 d Brisbane Lions 16-15-111 – Colonial Stadium

In contrast, the Lions relied primarily on their smaller, running players to kick the majority of their score. Craig McRae, with three goals in the first term, led the scoresheet from Akermanis and Des Headland (two each), while Alastair Lynch, Daniel Bradshaw, Jonathan Brown and Clark Keating, were among nine players who kicked singles. Rocca, Tarrant, Nathan Buckley, Jason Cloke and Shane Wakelin were best for the Magpies, while Voss, Lappin, Craig McRae and Luke Power were best for the visitors.

Lions skipper Michael Voss was as inspirational as ever after being ko’d in the first five minutes, but not even a super-human performance from the champion midfielder could get the Lions home in a contest of fluctuating fortunes and untold ‘what ifs?’. If the game had gone just 30 seconds longer it might have been enough, but the Magpies, under siege for the last 15 minutes, hung on gamely to snatch a 17-12-114 to 16-15-111 win which snapped a six-game post-merger losing streak against the 2001 premiers.

The Lions, with the ball inside their forward 50m zone 21 times to the Pies’ eight in the last quarter, kicked 4-6 to 3-0 in the final stanza. They came from 20 points down at the nine-minute mark of the fourth quarter to almost snatch a win that looked every bit a certainty in the first term, and an altogether improbable outcome through the latter stages of the second and most of the third.
Voss, ko’d by teammate Jonathan Brown at the second centre bounce of the game, did his utmost to inspire his teammates. Indeed, if they’d been able to see footage of their skipper immediately after the brutal collision they would not have dared to loseIt was Voss and an ever-running Nigel Lappin who led the thrilling charge in the closing stages, streaming the ball forward time and again only to see it repelled by a crowded by resilient Collingwood defence.

It was September football in May. Thrilling end-to-end stuff of the highest quality under extreme and relentless pressure, all based around a remarkable capacity of players from both sides to run, run and run again. Just incredible. The skill and the competitiveness of players from both sides was extraordinary. And with a near sell-out crowd of 46,276 to match the occasion – the biggest non-finals attendance for a Brisbane Lions match.

The Lions had the last seven scoring shots of the match after Chris Tarrant had put Collingwood 20 points clear with his fifth goal. And several other forward thrusts that could and perhaps should have resulted in a scoring opportunity. But they were unable to finish off their work. In the end it was the superiority of the Collingwood big men that got them home. Tarrant and Anthony Rocca took 20 marks (six contested) and kicked eight goals between them. Tarrant, who posted his last two majors from free kicks, booted 5-3 from 18 possessions and was a constant headache for the Lions defence, while the powerful Rocca, supreme in the air and in career-best form, finished with 3-1 from 16 ‘touches’

.

ROUND EIGHTthird term and led by 20-odd points midway through the final term before a Brisbane revival took them to the brink of victory.
TACTICS: Shut down the Lions’ ‘Fab Four’ – Voss, Lappin, Akermanis and Black – and move the ball quickly to Chris Tarrant on the lead or bomb long to Rocca.
KEY MATCH-UPS: Mark McGough/Michael Voss – the Brisbane skipper was concussed early but had 29 touches, many of which came after McGough limped off with a thigh injury midway through the third term. Jason Cloke/Jonathan Brown – the young Magpie was simply heroic, particularly in the dying minutes when he repelled a couple of promising forward moves.
STANDOUTS: Nathan Buckley had 31 touches and kicked 2.0, while Chris Tarrant produced one of the best performances of his career as he alternated between full-forward and centre half-forward with Anthony Rocca, who was also superb. Between them, they managed 28 kicks, 20 marks and 8.4. Rupert Betheras (22 touches) also kicked three crucial goals in the match-winning third term.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS: The Lions were without ruckman Beau McDonald, All-Australian back pocket Chris Johnson and Aaron Shattock from their current side.
WHAT IT MEANT: The Pies were finals material and had the belief to beat anyone in the competition.

The problem for Mick Malthouse will be how to quell the Lions' rampaging midfield. Last time it was Mark McGough who played on Voss, but this time the Collingwood coach might employ Nathan Buckley to try and match Voss in the middle, while McGough takes Simon Black. It's virtuallya certainity that Paul Licuria will be tagging Jason Akermanis, but as this might come at the cost of some drive for the Magpies through the midfield. Matthews may employ Shaun Hart to run with Licuria and attempt to free Akermanis up. Simon Black will also be in the clinches and he may find himself with Licuria as a tag or perhaps on former team-mate O'Bree.Lappin and Leon Davis are also expected to match-up, while the newest member of the Fab Four (Five, Des Headland) may be running with Scott Burns.

The Lions' defence may come under some heavy pressure from Collingwood's forward line. Defenders Mal Michael and All Australian Justin Leppitsch are in good defensive form. The matchup of the game will be undoubtedly Justin Leppitsch's clash with Anthony Rocca. Even if Rocca plays full forward, Leppitsch will probably follow him. Mal Michael will most likely line up on Josh Fraser or perhaps one of his best friends at the Magpies, Chris Tarrant. Expect dashing runs out of the backline from the slightyl quicker Leppitsch, while the taller and heavier Rocca can mark and kick long goals. The defence will be strengthened by the return of Chris Scott, who may line up on Tarrant, while Matin Pike may find himself against his old Fitzroy team-mate Jarrod Molloy, who is likely to come in for the suspended Jason Cloke. Expect Chris Johnson or Ashcroft top be matched up against Betheras and Didak.

Alistair Lynch and Jonathan Brown will of course again be the ofcus of the Lion's forward thrusts. Lynch has been in excellent form with 7 and 5 goals in his last two outings. Lynch was tipped to match up on Daryl Wakelin in the match against Port Adelaide last week and it will be no surprise if Lynch is this week matches up on his brother Shane Wakelin.Lynch was well held last time they met, kicking only one goal in the 3 point loss, so he will be keen to atone in the biggest match of the year. Voss, Headland, McRae, White, Power as well as Notting will be expected to provide some of the Lions' scoring options. Expect Voss to perhaps operate out of a forward pocket for some of the match, especially if tagged by Licuria or matched up on Buckley, while Headland and/or Power are thrown into the midfield. While Molloy is likely to return for Jason Cloke, who well held Jonathan Brown in their last meeting, Malthouse needs to find a match-up for the young Lions forward who is starting to return to some of his better form, and Mark Richardson, may be promoted in Molloy's place, as a possible match-up. James Clement or perhaps more likely the solid, reliable Simon Prestigiacomo may be another possibility to take Brown.

Beau McDonald and Clark Keating are likely to again share ruck duties this week and were last week united for the first time since early in the year. While it's desperately hard luck for youngster Jamie Charman, Matthew would be confident that whoever plays can match Collingwood ruckmen Steve McKee and Josh Fraser. Matthews has at his disposal three fit and skilled ruckmen to choose from the one who misses out will be desperately unlucky.

WHEN & WHERE:
Saturday September 28th

At the Melbourne Cricket Ground

Game starts: 2.30pm (local time)

ON THE TUBE:
Saturday
Brisbane Lions v Collingwood, live coverage from the ground starts on Channel 10 in Brisbane and Melbourne from 1pm

ON THE AIRWAVES:
Radio 4AAA (98.9FM) in Brisbane and the National Indigenous Radio Service has broadcast each of the Lions games this season.
NIRS football broadcasts:

Thursday
8-9pm Teams Time

Friday
2-3pm Marngrook Footy Show
6-7pm The Bounce

Saturday
11.30am-12noon Kicking Around the State
12-7pm Brisbane Lions v Collingwood

TRAINING SCHEDULE:
Wednesday September 25 – Skills Training – Gabba – 4pm
Friday September 27 – Skills Training – Albert Oval, Melbourne – 4pm

TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS:
Thursday – Depart Brisbane QF1189 at 4.30pm, Arrive Melbourne 6.50pm
Sunday – Depart Melbourne QF1116 at 12.40pm, Arrive Brisbane 2.45pm

HEAD TO HEAD:
Lions 6, Magpies 1

At the MCG
Lions 1, Magpies 0

FORM GUIDE:
(Round, result, opponent, venue, scores, margin)

Lions:
1,W,Sydney (SCG),17-8-110,12-15-87,+23
2,W,Hawthorn (Gabba),21-22-148,6-10-46,+102
3,W,Essendon (Gabba*),17-15-117,9-13-67,+50
4,W,W/Bulldogs (CS*),14-10-94,12-6,78,+16
5,L,West Coast (SO),10-15-75,18-13-121,-46
6,W,Geelong (Gabba*),21-20-146,13-11-89,+57
7,W,Port Adel (Gabba),19-15-129,11-6-72,+57
8,L,Collingwood (CS*),16-15-111,17-12-114,-3
9,W,Fremantle (Gabba),16-13-109,11-13-79,+30
10,L,Adelaide (FP*),14010-94,15-11-101,-7
11,W,St Kilda (Gabba),16-17-113,7-10-52,+61
12,W,Nth Melb (Gabba*),20-18-138,19-9-123,+15
13,W,Carlton (Gabba*),19-10-124,16-13-109,+15
14,L,Melbourne (Gabba),16-14-110,20-11-131,-21
15,W,Richmond (CS*),18-10-118,7-13-55,+63
16,W,Sydney (Gabba),17-15-117,12-7-79,+38
17,W,Hawthorn (MCG),18-16-124,10-8-68,+58
18,W,Essendon (CS*),16-12-108,11-5-71,+37
19,W,W/Bulldogs (Gabba*),14-21-105,9-13-67,+38
20,W,West Coast (Gabba*),20-16-136,13-11-89,+47
21,W,Geelong (SS),16-14-110,7-13-55,+55
22,L,Port Adel (FP),13-6-84,13-12-90,-6
QF,W,Adelaide (Gabba*),17-13-115,5-14-44,+71
PF,W,Port Adel (Gabba*),21-12-138,12-10-82,+56

Magpies:
1,L,Richmond (MCG),18-10-118,24-11-155,-37
2,W,W/Coast (MCG),17-18-120,18-11-119,+1
3,L,Carlton (MCG*),7-13-55,11-9-75,-20
4,W,Hawthorn (MCG),15-14-104,9-9-63,+41
5,W,Essendon (MCG),9-12-66,4-9-33,+33
6,W,St Kilda (CS*),16-15-111,3-10-28,+87
7,W,W/Bulldogs (CS),11-7-73,8-15-63,+10
8,W,Bris Lions (CS*),17-12-114,16-15-111,+3
9,L,Port Adelaide (FP*),12-14-86,14-7-91,-5
10,W,Sydney (CS*),14-11-95,12-12-84,+11
11,W,Melbourne (MCG),19-12-126,10-15-75,+51
12,L,Fremantle (SO),12-7-79,12-18-90,-11
13,W,Nth Melb (CS*),13-15-93,8-12-60,+33
14,W,Adelaide (FP),21-12-138,17-14-116,+22
15,L,Geelong (MCG),15-9-99,19-13-127,-28
16,W,Richmond (MCG*),13-11-89,7-7-49,+40
17,L,W/Coast (SO),8-8-56,17-12-144,-58
18,W,Carlton (MCG*),21-15-141,4-9-33,+108
19,L,Hawthorn (MCG*),14-13-97,15-15-105,-8
20,L,Essendon (MCG*),10-11-71,19-12-126,-55
21,W,St Kilda (MCG),11-11-77,9-12-66,+11
22,L,W/Bulldogs (MCG),10-13-73,17-12-114,-41
QF,W,Port Adel (FP*),16-12-108,14-11-95,+13
PF,W,Adelaide (MCG),13-13-91,9-9-63,+28

LEADING BALLGETTERS:
(Top 12 from both sides)

561 – Simon Black (Lions), av 23.4
537 – Paul Licuria (Magpies), av 22.4
480 – Brad Scott (Lions), av 20.0
452 – Nathan Buckley (Magpies), av 22.6
444 –Scott Burns (Magpies), av 18.5
441 – Michael Voss (Lions), av 21.0
439 – Tarkyn Lockyer (Magpies), av 18.3
414 – Nigel Lappin (Lions), av 24.4
412 – Martin Pike (Lions), av 17.2
387 – Jason Akermanis (Lions), av 18.4
375 – Des Headland (Lions), av 19.7
371 – Chris Scott (Lions), av 17.7
368 – Luke Power (Lions), av 17.5
366 – Marcus Ashcroft (Lions), av 15.3
337 – James Clement (Magpies), av 14.0
304 – Chris Johnson (Lions), av 14.5
303 – Scott Freeborn (Magpies), av 13.8
301 – Ben Johnson (Magpies), av 13.7
294 – Craig McRae (Lions), av 12.8
294 – Heath Scotland (Magpies), av 16.3
276 – Steven McKee (Magpies), av 13.1
268 – Rupert Betheras (Magpies), av 11.7
267 – Shane O’Bree (Magpies), av 15.7
266 – Anthony Rocca (Magpies), av 11.6

LEADING GOALKICKERS:
(Top 10 from both sides)

70 – Alastair Lynch (Lions), av 3.3
48 – Jason Akermanis (Lions), av 2.3
38 – Daniel Bradshaw (Lions), av 1.9
38 – Chris Tarrant (Magpies), av
35 – Michael Voss (Lions), av 1.7
34 – Des Headland (Lions), av 1.8
34 – Anthony Rocca (Magpies), av
34 – Mark Fraser (Magpies), av
31 – Nick Davis (Magpies), av
31 – Leon Davis (Magpies), av
28 – Craig McRae (Lions), av 1.2
24 – Alan Didak (Magpies), av
19 – Luke Power (Lions), av 0.9
17 – Brodie Holland (Magpies),
16 – Simon Black (Lions), av 0.7
16 – Tarkyn Lockyer (Magpies), av 0.7
14 – Tim Notting (Lions), av 0.7
14 – Martin Pike (Lions), av 0.6
14 – Nathan Buckley (Magpies), av 0.7
14 – Rupert Betheras (Magpies), av 0.6
13 – Jonathan Brown (Lions), av 0.7

TALKING POINTS:
Who will garner most support in Melbourne? Will it be the Magpie Army awakening from its slumber or will it be everybody else’s second favourite team, the Brisbane Lions? How will Simon Black deal with the added pressure of being a Brownlow Medallist? Can the Lions play to their full ability? And can Collingwood match that?

WHY TO WATCH:
Three Brownlow Medallists, three other All-Australians, a 34-year-old full-forward with 12 goals in two finals already, the best emerging young player in the competition – and that’s just on the Lions’ side. Grand Final victories don’t come along every day, or year for that matter. The time is now.

DID YOU KNOW:
Collingwood’s three-point win in Round 8 was their first in seven attempts against the Brisbane Lions since the Bears-Fitzroy merger in 1997.

AFL MILESTONES THIS ROUND:
100 games – Simon Black (Brisbane Lions)

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Results and Match Reports

Lions win second premiership!

Brisbane Lions, 0-4, 4-12, 8-14, 10-15-75
Collingwood, 1-4, 4-4, 8-10, 9-12-66

The biting wind howled in from the north. As Leigh Matthews turned a quizzical eye skywards, he had to blink away the drizzle that fell from a greying sky.

The fleetingly furrowed brow and arching of that easily recognisable moustache said more than any words could.

Grand Final day 2002 was going to be a bunfight. A dogfight. War in the trenches. It was always going to be that way, but now even moreso with the forecast of hail and possibility of the coldest grand final on record.

It did not matter that Matthews’ battle hardened Brisbane Lions were red-hot favourites with the bookies and the media. It counted for little that he had a full strength line-up at his disposal, while the Magpies had fought and bled all week but ultimately lost outstanding young defender Jason Cloke.

The quest for back-to-back premierships was destined to be a fight to the bitter end. Matthews had no doubt.

As he turned on his heel and strode purposely back into Melbourne’s Parkview Hotel to escape the chilly morning air, his one solace was that he knew his men had the willpower to succeed in any conditions.

And so it would be.

The Brisbane Lions etched their names in history on September 28, 2002 as only the sixth side since 1960 to go back-to-back with a grinding, courageous 10-15-75 to 9-12-66 win over Collingwood in front of 91,817 fans at the cavernous MCG.

They did it despite kicking the lowest first term score in the six-year history of the merger club, 0-4. That was two points worse than their 0-6 against St Kilda in the final game of 1998 – ironically the year the club won the wooden spoon – although the Lions came back to win that game, too.

They did it despite kicking their equal lowest total of the season, 75 points matching their score at Subiaco in Round 5 when their 20-game winning streak was ended by West Coast.

And they did it despite kicking the second lowest ever winning score by a Brisbane Lions side.

They trailed by six points at the first break of the grand final, 0-4 to 1-4.

It was the first time they had gone goalless since being held to 0-6 by Melbourne in the third quarter of their Round 10, 2000 clash. That was 63 games or 251 quarters ago.

“Collingwood had only scored one goals themselves so it was just tough conditions,” Matthews said. “Neither side looked like they could score.

“Neither side seemed to be able to set goals up, they sort of happened in a way.”

However, the Lions were looking much better at the main break. They led 4-12 to 4-4 and appeared to have the momentum with them.

“During the second quarter we went into our attacking 50m zone 24 times for 4-8, although a few behinds admittedly were rushed, and they went in eight times and kicked 3-0,” Matthews said.

“So our second quarter was quite dominating without being able to put it a long way on the scoreboard.”

Tension levels were near breaking point, however, at three-quarter-time when the Lions held a pencil-thin four-point margin, 8-14 to 8-10.

“The third quarter – it looked like they were starting to get some ascendancy,” said skipper Michael Voss. “They were running pretty hard. We knew they like to set up the game in the third quarter.

“We just had to keep hanging in there to give ourselves a chance in the last quarter, and that’s what we did.”

At the final siren, there was ecstasy for the Lions and agony for the Magpies, with tears of joy dropping perhaps less freely onto the hallowed MCG turf as the tears of despair from the vanquished. Magpie coach Mick Malthouse and tagger Paul Licuria crying on each other’s shoulder will be one of the lingering visions of this great grand final.

“Two goals to one goal in the last quarter – it was just who could manufacture something or other out of what was incredible pressure,” Matthews concluded.

For a team that works so diligently within the processes laid down by Matthews, the 2002 triumph was a contrast in so many ways to the euphoric 2002 breakthrough against Essendon 12 months earlier.

Last year’s grand final journey was played out in magnificent spring sunshine, the game itself being played in the third hottest conditions recorded. This time around it was 9 degrees mid-morning, raining, and struggling to get to the 14 degree maximum forecast.

Last year the Lions wore the visitors’ white shorts – this year they wore maroon, although Collingwood were somehow allowed to wear dark shorts as well despite having white in their jumper.

In 2001 the Lions used the Richmond rooms on the Members side of the ground, whereas this year they were forced to strip under the Great Southern Stand after Collingwood simply took the rooms of their choice.

And in 2001 the Lions were able to coast to the line for the last 12 minutes of the game after blowing away Essendon with a second half surge, while this time there was absolutely no time to relax against Collingwood.

The Lions chartered their own aircraft to fly to Melbourne on the Thursday evening and even on grand final morning the atmosphere in the team hotel was more similar to just another away game than the anxious build up to a pennant decider.

But the Magpies were equally calm.

Despite having graduated through the first finals series in eight years and their first grand final in 12, coach Mick Malthouse and captain Nathan Buckley were outwardly calm and in control at the pre-grand final press conference after the traditional parade on the Friday afternoon.

It was in stark contrast to the testy demeanour of Essendon leaders Kevin Sheedy and James Hird the previous year, which proved to be an early pointer to the Bombers being shaky.

There was even a respectful and genuine shaking of hands, with Malthouse offering a friendly pat on the back to Voss.

Twenty-four hours later, the Magpies were doing their darndest to crush him into submission.

While the attack on the bodies of the Lions players was fierce, Malthouse opted not to tag Voss, preferring to allow him to go head-to-head with Buckley. Brad Scott tried to pick up Buckley initially, but this left Paul Licuria unattended every time Buckley ran to Voss, so Scott was tagging the Magpies tagger early.

“That was Collingwood’s plan. It didn’t surprise us a great deal,” Matthews said of the Buckley-on-Voss scenario. “We could have let that happen for a while. It wasn’t so much that he was on Vossy, but he just started to get so much of the ball in the second half that we tried to get Brad Scott onto him just to try and nullify his influence.”

Scott Burns reacquainted himself with Simon Black and would spend most of the day shadowing the Brownlow Medallist, while Jason Akermanis started away from the action in a forward pocket in an attacking move designed to produce more goals.

Expert in-form tagger Shaun Hart was sent to a wing to keep an eye on former teammate Shane O’Bree, while Chris Scott was appraised as the best man to tackle agile marking forward Chris Tarrant and lined up in the defensive goalsquare.

That forced regular full-back Mal Michael out to centre-half-back on Anthony Rocca, while All-Australian key defender Justin Leppitsch slipped across to the pocket to mind the taller Josh Fraser. The other defensive surprise was the use of regular forward-midfielder Luke Power at half-back.

How they lined up:

B: Chris Johnson, Chris Scott, Justin Leppitsch
Rupert Betheras, Chris Tarrant, Josh Fraser

HB: Luke Power, Mal Michael, Marcus Ashcroft
Leon Davis, Anthony Rocca, Nick Davis

C: Shaun Hart, Michael Voss, Martin Pike
Shane O’Bree, Nathan Buckley, Glenn Freeborn

HF: Des Headland, Jonathan Brown, Nigel Lappin
Carl Steinfort, Simon Prestigiacomo, Ryan Lonie

F: Jason Akermanis, Alastair Lynch, Darryl White
Ben Johnson, Shane Wakelin, James Clement

R: Clark Keating, Simon Black, Brad Scott
Steve McKee, Scott Burns, Paul Licuria

I/C: Beau McDonald, Craig McRae, Tim Notting, Aaron Shattock
Tarkyn Lockyer, Heath Scotland, Jarrod Molloy, Alan Didak

The Voss-Buckley contest was one of the great grand final match-ups.

The judges’ decision to award the Norm Smith Medal to Buckley caused a huge amount of controversy, despite Buckley collecting 33 possessions to Voss’ 26.

Strangely, several judges said they had Voss in front at halftime but felt Buckley’s 10-kick third term was the clincher, despite Voss imposing himself at the finish with nine last quarter possessions, including five in the match deciding last five minutes.

The most important factor which they all seemed to overlook however, was the impact Voss had in simply willing his side to goals.

He fearlessly smothered a kick off the boot of James Clement in the opening minutes of the second term and a deft left foot pass should have created his side’s first goal but didn’t.

Midway through the term he crashed a pack and was poleaxed by Burns, only to bounce straight to his feet, dive back in and feed out a handball to Black, who produced the side’s second goal.

At the end of the term, while earning a short breather at half-forward, Voss pounced on a Keating thump from the centre and his left-foot pass arrowed on to Lynch’s chest. The goal gave the Lions their halftime lead.

Three minutes into the third term Voss, being held by an opponent at a centre bounce, did not grab a Keating tap but palmed it on to a running Lappin, who goalled in the run from 50m.

It should be pointed out that Voss spent the middle stages of the third term in the forward pocket as another marking option alongside Lynch when Buckley did a lot of his good work.

He went back into the middle at the 21-minute mark of the third term and watched the Magpies slip out to a seven-point lead, but then wrenched back the advantage himself on the stroke of three-quarter-time when Akermanis sharked a centre bounce and fed him, Voss goalling on the run from 55m.

In the last quarter he was everywhere, despite earning the company of the highly-rated Licuria from the opening bounce.

It was Voss who sent the ball long for Power to work some boundary line magic and Lynch earn a free kick in front of goal to regain the lead.

And it was Voss who took a twisting mark on centre wing under extreme pressure from Burns and with Collingwood players running forward to break the Magpies’ hearts.

Then there were the six effective tackles, three clearances, and 12 times he pumped his side inside the attacking zone.

Buckley too was good, great even, but it was Voss who won the battle of wills.

Matthews described Voss’ effort as “fantastic”.

“I guess we were looking at Nathan Buckley to try and stem his flow, so it doesn’t surprise me he won the Norm Smith Medal, he played a really exceptional game,” Matthews said. “But Michael and Nigel Lappin were the midfielders who elevated themselves a little bit.

“Michael’s leadership around the middle of the ground and hard-ball getting – all the things he normally does – was fantastic, as we tend to expect.”

Voss himself was not fazed by missing out on a Norm Smith Medal to add to his Brownlow and premiership collection.

“I’ve got this thing around my neck – I really couldn’t care,” he said of his sparkling gold premiership medallion.

Lappin’s contribution was only marginally behind Voss’. When Collingwood threatened to break out to a handy lead early in the second quarter, it was Lappin whose run constantly provided his side with a target.

Again in the third term when the Magpies had the better of the play, Lappin collected 10 possessions to help stem the flow. He made a team-high eight clearances, which were aided by the outstanding work of Keating.

On the outer for virtually the entire second half of the season, the fact he rucked for entire games in the reserves proved a godsend when Beau McDonald “popped” his shoulder 19 minutes into the opening term when Lonie pushed down on him awkwardly when double-teaming the big Lion at a boundary throw in.

Keating rucked superbly for much of the game, being given short spells by Darryl White, who had started forward.

“I thought Clark played well. We were a bit worried about rucking him for the whole four quarters, so we used Darryl White, which meant we couldn’t use him elsewhere,” Matthews said.

Keating finished with a whopping 39 hit-outs to a combined 20 by McKee and Rocca. It was during Keating’s short stints on the bench that Rocca twice was able to win centre taps and run forward to provide a marking option and goal.

Keating also sent his side into attack six times from his seven possessions.

Veteran Hart, dropped twice mid-season and playing his 228th senior game, continued to forge a reputation as a big match performer with a strong game in the midfield. His 16 kicks and three handballs were only one more possession than O’Bree, but his use of the ball and constant willingness to put his body on the line made him a clear winner.

The oldest man in the team, 34-year-old Alastair Lynch, was outstanding with four goals on the toughest of days for big forwards. His battle with Shane Wakelin was fascinating, with the Magpie also playing particularly well.

In fact, their duel was one of the best of recent years in a grand final, although it was overshadowed by Voss v Buckley.

Lynch’s goals all came at crucial times.

He missed one from the boundary from 20m in the opening term, missed another from the impossible angle by the behind post with a banana kick in the opening minutes of the second quarter, but posted his first on the stroke of halftime.

He booted the Lions’ next two goals in the second half as Collingwood made their charge, and then goalled from 15m directly in front to put the Lions ahead for good at the 13-minute mark of the last after being dragged to the ground and out of a marking contest by Wakelin.

His skipper revealed after the game that Lynch had gone into it with a painful back injury, yet he still managed to take six marks – four of them contested – and boot 4-2 in an invaluable performance.

That gave Lynch 16 goals from his three finals and a club record 74 for the season.

“Lynchy just kept presenting,” Voss said. “He wouldn’t tell you this, but he was struggling a little bit coming into the game, just physically, and he kept coming.

“It was fantastic to be able to look up and see such a presence in the forward line and he took a couple of real good crucial grabs and kicked a couple of real crucial goals, none more than the last one.”

A reluctant Lynch also joined his formerly co-captain Voss on the podium after the game to help raise the premiership cup.

“H said he would only give up the co-captaincy if he could stand on the podium with me if we won a grand final and in all the hysteria of it last year, we didn’t get the chance to do it,” Voss recounted. “So I said ‘mate, you’re coming up with me this time’.”

The timing of the Lions’ goals told a tale.

Their fitness and mental strength were lauded as a huge asset in last year’s premiership drive, but never was it more evident than against the Magpies.

The Lions booted seven goals to three in the time-on periods, and strung together three in last nine minutes of the term in both the second and third quarters. That’s critical in a low-scoring tight affair like the 2002 Grand Final.

Matthews admitted he didn’t have any special offerings for his side at the final break. After all, they have been well prepared from the day he arrived in October 1998 and their trademark hardness has been instilled into them.

“I don’t think my three quarter time advice varies much from week to week,” Matthews said. “The one thing I thought we had to do was, as players get tired and the defensive chasing will drop off a little bit, to use each other in the middle of the ground.

“Collingwood were very much blocking up our forward 50 and hoping to rebound from there – that was their game plan basically – so we had to use that spare guy through the middle of the ground and not keep bombing it in long all the time. We like to do that and it works well for us but as the game evolves you’ve got to use your midfield runners and the freedom that they create.

“Besides that, it was the basics that I was pushing at every three quarter time over the last four years.”

The run of the midfield and the defence was crucial in the last quarter, and the Lions were smarter with their build-ups.

But it was ultimately the overall strong defensive efforts of the side that sent it on the road to greatness. They kept the Magpies to just 9-12, having restricted Port Adelaide to 12-10 in the preliminary final and Adelaide 5-14 in the qualifying final.

Power was outstanding at both half-back and half-forward, initially blanketing Leon Davis and then having a hand in a couple of first half goals. So good was Power early that he was alongside Voss and Lappin as the Lions’ best in the first half.

Ashcroft topped off one his best seasons yet in league football, despite playing his 293rd game, holding Nick Davis scoreless and to eight touches. Ashcroft also took four of his 10 telling marks in the last quarter, none more important than when he showed superior judgement to stop a dangerous Magpie attack and then rebounded the ball forward from which Akermanis kicked the sealing goal at the 23-minute mark.

Johnson kept the dangerous Betheras under wraps, Michael was good on Rocca whenever he was playing forward, and Leppitsch was solid on Fraser although the big man did kick three goals. Playing deep also kept Leppitsch out of the action for long periods.

Scott kept Tarrant goalless, although he too was unable to provide his usual run because of the size of the task in stopping the mobile Magpie.

Michael and Leppitsch produced some brilliant spoils in the crucial last 15 minutes of the game, while Scott took three marks and collected nine possessions after being freed up by White going back into defence at the 10-minute mark.

“That released Scotty a little bit to be the fourth defender instead of running around with Tarrant, and that helped a little bit,” Matthews said. “Chris intercepted the ball a few times because he didn’t have the Tarrant match-up to worry about because he wasn’t a marking target.”

Collingwood’s defensive skills were the equal of the Lions.

The Magpies made a grand final record 73 tackles to the Lions’ 44, with Burns making 11 and ruckman McKee eight. Quite simply, they gave the Lions no time or room to move.

It was their fanatical attack on the ball that kept the scores close in the first half after the Lions had gone forward 35 times to the Magpies’ 19, and won the centre breaks 7-1 in the dominant second quarter.

It was a classic case of the hunter being the hunted, because fierce tackling pressure had been a hallmark of the Lions’ game all season.

“We pride ourselves on the pressure we put on opponents but I thought Collingwood’s pressure was about as good as you can get,” Matthews said. “They were magnificent in terms of their effort to make sure every ball we got was hard earned.”

Buckley aside, they received great run from Ryan Lonie off half-back, while back-pocket James Clement showed why he was rated an All-Australian chance by Malthouse.

The one-time Fremantle Dockers forward forced White a long way down the ground for his kicks early and helped Wakelin destroy many of the long balls aimed at Lynch. But his best work was reserved for the time Voss spent forward, winning several one-on-one contests and ensuring Voss did not become the gamebreaking forward he has been in so many games this season.

Rocca did his best work when rucking and having some freedom to slip away from Michael, but he was still a major player with his 4-1. The solitary miss came eight minutes into the last quarter from the boundary at 50m which Rocca swears was straight, although the goal umpire – and Lions defender Chris Johnson – are adamant it wasn’t.

Burns broke even in his battle with Black, the Lions’ newly crowned Brownlow Medallist, collecting 17 touches to Black’s 22 with both men doing some good things for their teams under immense pressure.

While ruckman McKee was beaten at the bounces, he made life particularly difficult for the Lions by dropping across half-back and constantly blocking up space for the Lions forwards. McKee had 16 possessions and was a constant nuisance.

On several occasions during the game when the Lions looked slightly short of run, they received a spark from the bench.

McRae sat out the first quarter but his zip gave the Lions some life in the second term and it was his clever knock on of a disputed ball that set up Hart to snap the side’s first goal five minutes in.

Tim Notting came off the bench after halftime to have a profound impact.

Notting was the side’s secret weapon last season, providing great run in the second half of the win over Essendon, he did exactly the same against Collingwood.

He finished with five marks, seven kicks and seven handballs for a half of football, including nine possessions in the critical last quarter, to be satisfied he had played an integral part in the win.

Des Headland was well held early by Carl Steinfort and his ballhandling was not as clean as usual in the tricky conditions, but he still produced some clever pieces of play.

First time grand finalist Aaron Shattock, who with Headland were the only changes to last year’s premiership-winning side, spent just 11 minutes on the ground during the day. Not that it mattered.

“I’ve got this thing, that’s all that’s important,” he said, clutching his premiership medal.

While Shattock could have been used in defence if required, the Lions did not have the option of sending the experienced Martin Pike back to help out because of a groin strain received midway through the second term. Pike had collected nine possessions on a wing in the opening term after making a couple of early mistakes.

His departure left the Lions with just 20 fit men for the bulk of the game, although it did not prove to be an issue for Matthews and his side.

Akermanis was quiet by his standards, hurting an already sore groin early in the game. He was given no room to move by Ben Johnson, but stole the limelight – as only he can – by booting the sealer.

He roved a deep kick towards Lynch and Wakelin and snapped the ball with his left foot over his right shoulder from 15m out.

Akermanis has spent most of the day running to the back of packs expecting the slippery ball to slide over the top off hands. But he was sent the message to get to the front of contests literally seconds before the ball came down.

“Someone actually suggested it – it might have been (assistant coach) Gary O’Donnell,” Matthews said. “It was one of those thoughts that seemed very obvious, so it was sent out via the runner.”

Akermanis said three words from Lynch had helped steady him for the goal.

“I’ll never forget those words. He said ‘you’ve got time’, so I was able to steady,” Akermanis remembered.

There was not one more score for the ensuing seven minutes after Akermanis’ goal, which was indicative of the tightness of the contest.

It was just as tough in the coaches box, according to Matthews.

“I would have liked to have gone home to be honest, it wasn’t fun being up there,” he quipped. “The scores were close the whole game. It was fantastic for the football public, though, and the close scores are what make a great game of footy.

“The game ticked on and on but no side was able to break clear and fortunately we were able to be nine points in front at the very end. There’s a lot of ‘whys’, ‘wherefores’ and discussion points, but that’s the bottom line.

“Our guys found a way to win. It wasn’t the manner in which we traditionally win games, you just had to act with grit and perseverance and not get frustrated when the game wasn’t going the way all the pundits had said.”

He harked back to the morning’s glance at the heavens when explaining that he full expected the close, spine-tingling finish.

“I walked out of the hotel on Saturday morning and it was blowing a gale,” he said. “It was windy and cold and wet, and I thought to myself: “It’s going to be a bunfight today.

“One of my little philosophies in footy is never assume and never expect. Don’t expect or assume anything to happen because if it doesn’t you get shocked by it. I thought our guys kept their composure when the game was going nowhere near like they were told it was going to in the press.

“We can look back on it and say ‘we didn’t play great, but we did what great sides do, and that is find a way to win when you don’t play that way’. That’s a pretty important thing in competitive sport.

“When you’re going into the game and you keep reading people saying ‘you will win by eight goals, 10 goals, 15 goals…things like that, you know it doesn’t work that way. You try to keep it out of your psyche because you want that to happen. I love footy where we are 10 goals in front at three-quarter-time, that’s my aim, so you think it would be terrific if it is a big margin and all that kind of stuff but you know it never works out the way you think it’s going to.”

Winning a close one in the most important game of your football life made the victory that little bit sweeter in some ways for the Lions.

They had been criticised for losing a string of close finishes over the past two years, although Matthews was quick to point out that his side’s never-say-die attitude often made games close that shouldn’t have been.

“It is a statistical fact that all the close games we’ve had over the last two or three years, we’ve lost,” he said. “But we also know we’ve made a lot of losing games close because we were six goals behind and almost got up and won. So to actually have a really hard fought game and win it is a great thing for this group because it’s something that hasn’t been experienced by them.”

Matthews agreed that the victory allowed his side to carry the mantle of a “great football team”, but would not be drawn into comparisons with some of the great sides of the past.

“It’s very hard to compare eras,” he said. “Even Essendon of 1999-2001 have probably won as many games as we have this last two years. But our system is about winning the last day of September, it doesn’t really matter what you do up until that really.

“Doing that twice and adding a really high winning ratio in those two seasons has been a great period of time for us.”

There is no doubt that both Matthews and Voss gained enormous satisfaction from the victory.

“To be able to win back-to-back coming from interstate is just a massive effort to do,” Voss said. “West Coast were able to do it in ’92 and ’94. When you realise the travel routine that they have to do week-in, week-out it’s a massive effort, and it’s the same for this group. It’s absolutely massive to come from interstate and do what we’ve done.”

Matthews simply talked of his pride.

“I am really proud of this football club, but I’m really proud of the football team that represents this club because they’ve got a lot of talent and a lot of ability, but they prepare themselves well, they conduct themselves well, and all the things you like about your elite sportsmen this group represent,” he said. “And that’s just as important as being a good football team that wins a lot of games.”

The grand final victory was testament to the hunger and professionalism the Lions had shown all year – a hunger that shows no signs of abating.

“Next year we’ll want to win it again.” Matthews said.” I’d like to win the premiership every year we play. There’s no going out of that desire.”

Scores:
Goals, Lions: Lynch 4, Voss, Black, Hart, Akermanis, Brown, McRae. Magpies: Rocca 4, Fraser 3, Buckley, Lockyer.
Possessions, Lions: Lappin 28, Voss 26, Black 22, Hart 19, C Scott 18, Akermanis 15, Ashcroft 14, Brown 14, Notting 14, Johnson 13, B Scott 13, Headland 13, Power 13. Magpies: Buckley 33, Lonie 21, Clement 18, O’Bree 18, Burns 17, Freeborn 17, McKee 16, Johnson 14, Betheras 14, Licuria 14, Fraser 13.
Best, Lions: Voss, Lappin, Keating, Hart, Lynch, Power, Ashcroft, Black. Magpies: Buckley, Rocca, Clement, Burns, Wakelin, Lonie.
Inside 50: Lions 58, Magpies 46
Clearances: Lions 38, Magpies 34
Tackles: Lions 44, Magpies 73
Free Kicks: Lions 16, Magpies 24.
Umpires: B Allen, M James, S McBurney
Crowd: 91,817
At the Melbourne Cricket Ground

VLSG VOTES - GRAND FINAL

3. Michael Voss: Unlucky not be Norm Smith Medallist

2. Nigel Lappin. A great game for all four quarters.

1. Mal Michael. Solid and at times brilliant all night with some telling possessions and great presence..

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2002 Brisbane Lions Draw and Results.

 

Fitzroy Reds