Forty-eight hours on and I still feel sick for Fremantle fans.

Because if you’re a Freo player or supporter, that’s about as brutal a way as you could possibly lose a Grand Final.

Watch every match of AFLW LIVE and ad-break free during play on FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.

WHAT’S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.

It’s left the fan base beyond distraught and completely ravaged. I sensed that when I hosted talkback radio on 6PR for two hours in the immediate aftermath of the game

Seventy per cent were Freo fans who were shattered, their disappointment mixed with pride for their team. There were stories about people in the last years of their life, or stories about people they’ve lost in the past. It was deeply emotional.

Twenty per cent were West Coast fans showing classy respect and sympathy.

Ten per cent were West Coast fans who brought an attitude I still don’t understand. “Sucked in, Freo. You should be embarrassed. You choked.” I found that pretty disgusting.

Fremantle fans at South Terrace. Picture: Janelle St Pierre/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

For anyone who’s ever achieved anything in their life in any realm, it takes a lot of hard work to achieve anything. Imagine having that ripped away from you in four minutes and how gut-wrenching that would be?

But I can’t look at that game and feel anything other than pure empathy for a group of players who’d just put their football lives on the line after an incredible year – and just didn’t quite get it done.

So I felt for Josh Treacy after the miss from point-blank range. I felt for the skipper, Alex Pearce, when he was lying on the turf – it would’ve felt like an eternity for him – in the middle of the MCG. I felt for Justin Longmuir, who had the most brutal look of devastation on his face.

At this point in time, I don’t know how you come back from it.

FAGAN … THE GOAT

But let’s take a moment to acknowledge Brisbane. What an incredible team. And what an incredible coach.

Brisbane won this Grand Final. Fremantle didn’t lose it.

Trailing by a game-high 17 points and seemingly out of the fight with four minutes to go, almost every AFL team in history would’ve lost that Grand Final. But Brisbane’s brand is just “find a way to win”. And they did it again on the biggest stage to claim a three-peat.

Lions stars & Fagan speak out at parade | 23:59

I don’t think any other team could have possibly pulled it off.

Chris Fagan’s got to go down as the best coach of all time – because of how the Lions have claimed these three flags. They’ve never done it the easy way. They haven’t finished on top of the ladder and qualified for a Grand Final after winning consecutive home finals. They’ve won flags after early Gabba finals wins and away prelim triumphs. Yes they’ve done it with a highly talented side, but Fagan has got the very best out of some players, especially role players.

I think the speculation on Fagan’s future has been a bit disrespectful. I know it’s an interesting story, but Fagan can do as he pleases. He’ll know when the time is right. He can coach for another 10 years if he likes or ride off into the sunset.

THE ULTIMATE ‘MASTERCLASS’

Adding to the Fagan legacy was how he instructed his team to deal with Wharfie Time.

What Brisbane did, mentally as a collective, in that last four minutes has got to come down to coaching.

Individual players lifted, most notably Will Ashcroft. The group, overall, was clean and hard, having the touch and wisdom to know what to do in the big moments. The experience of playing four Grand Finals in a row came through, too.

But Fagan’s idea to not only play Wharfie Time to his players in the last team meeting the day before the Grand Final, but also empowering them to use it as energy when it inevitably gets played? That was a coaching and mindset masterclass.

Almost every Brisbane player in post-game interviews voluntarily referenced Fagan’s move. They felt the energy completely flip when Fagan told them to use Wharfie Time like it was their own activation.

Dockers suffer Wharfie time HORROR! | 00:29

The closest experience I’ve had to countering something like Wharfie Time is Port Adelaide’s ‘Never Tear Us Apart’ tradition. They’d play the song at Adelaide Oval and time it so when the final beat finished the umpires would bounce the ball. Next thing you know, there’d be a huge stream of Power energy and they’d kick the first three or four goals of the game.

But between 2015 and 2018, the Eagles came up with a plan, driven by Adam Simpson, to combat it. While the song was being played, us as a defensive group would stand in the back pocket in a huddle. Even when the final note was played, we’d still be in a huddle. Then we’d walk to our positions … and you know what? The umpires never balled the ball up without everyone being ready. The umpires would be blowing their whistle telling us to hurry up. But in the end, it completely killed the atmosphere in Adelaide.

We used that for ourselves. When that final beat of the song hits, it’s then about us.

That is what Brisbane did.

IS WHARFIE TIME DEAD?

Lots of people are talking about Wharfie Time and whether it should continue next year. Some reckon it should never be seen again because it’s now cursed. If the bells rang next year, it’d bring back brutal memories for fans and players.

But I think Freo must bring Wharfie Time back. Not doing it next year would be like the double kill. It’d be giving credit to what’s happened in the 2026 Grand Final then shying away from it.

The Dockers enable Wharfie Time. Picture: Mark StewartSource: News Corp Australia

It’s worth mentioning that when it was played – after a Fremantle goal when the team was up by 17 points – it wasn’t when it’s usually played. The Dockers normally use it when they’re down, when the game is close and they need a lift. On Saturday, it was played almost in celebration.

I don’t think it was the reason why Fremantle lost the game. But it might’ve been a reason why the Lions won it – because they were waiting for it and mentally ready for it.

Grand Finals aren’t separated by talent. They aren’t separated by the year you’ve had leading into them.

They’re separated by moments and mentality.

The Dockers didn’t choke. They didn’t throw it away. There was a big risk they’d get overawed, but they absolutely played their guts out.

Instead, the premiership came down to four minutes in which Brisbane handled the moment better and pulled off massive plays.

THE PAIN OF LOSING

There are moments from losing Grand Finals that you never forget.

We lost the 2015 Grand Final convincingly to Hawthorn. I don’t remember the parade the day before. I don’t remember the game itself or the post-game stuff. I don’t remember the flights to and from Melbourne and the ‘welcome home’ in Perth.

Will Schofield of the Eagles during the 2015 AFL Grand Final. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

All I remember is moments from the game I wish I had back. Outside of feeling like I had concrete boots on before the game, I remember four instances from 2015:

– Being on my back watching Luke Hodge shrug me then kick a goal.

– Having the ball right at the junction of the 50m arc, looking inside for a kick that was on, missing a teammate by about 10cm – a kick I would’ve hit 1000 times before in my career – and handing Hawthorn a goal off my turnover.

– Overshooting a contest on the wing, which allowed the Hawks to get out the back and score

– Seeing the ball get handballed over my head after getting a press badly wrong, leading to another Hawks goal.

Those moments all feel like it was yesterday. They’ll never, ever leave me.

And there’ll be moments from Saturday’s game that’ll haunt Fremantle players forever – even if they do bounce back and win a premiership, which is no guarantee.

Treacy will never forget that missed goal from the goalsquare. It’s not the reason Freo lost – Pat Voss still kicked a goal shortly afterwards – but Treacy will never forget the behind.

Oscar McDonald will never forget losing that one-on-one contest with Logan Morris. McDonald didn’t do much wrong, but it’ll still never leave him.

Caleb Serong will never, ever forget getting stripped by Zac Bailey in a one-on-one contest inside defensive 50. Serong might be the best in the AFL in that type of situation, but in that moment at that time of a Grand Final, Bailey ripped it away from him and kicked a goal in one second.

Longmuir emotional following GF defeat | 11:56

For Matty Johnson, the lasting image will be him chasing the back of Hugh McCluggage’s Brisbane jumper through the middle of the ground after initially being on the wrong side of him, even though he was just a metre off.

And Judd McVee will have to live with putting one step wrong as Charlie Cameron whipped around, took the footy as clean as you’d like and snapped the goal.

Those moments in a losing Grand Final? You never get them back.

WHERE TO NOW FOR FREO?

There’d be a temptation for the Dockers to not watch the Grand Final back, considering how competitive they were and torturous nature of the loss.

But I almost guarantee you they’ll watch it. I think they’ll do a match review either Monday or Tuesday, get it done early and learn.

The Monday after we lost the 2015 Grand Final, coach Adam Simpson started the team review with vision of Jeremy McGovern helping Luke Hodge off the ground. Hodge was on his back after a big contest before ‘Gov’ walked over and helped him to his feet.

‘Simmo’, who’d come to the Eagles from Hawthorn, was filthy. He said in essence: Don’t ever let me see a player help an opposition player in a Grand Final ever again. Remember, this was just a couple of days after a Grand Final loss.

‘Doesn’t get much worse than that’ | 00:59

It was an interesting coaching piece on mindset. It was about trying to get that edge of needing to be more ruthless than the opposition. The question was: Would Hodge have helped Gov off the ground? I can tell you right now, no. Would Sam Mitchell run over and help Luke Shuey or Matt Priddis off the ground in that instance? No, he wouldn’t.

So the Dockers should definitely review the Brisbane loss.

On top of those moments players will never forget, I also thought a few players lost their feet far too often, which has probably gone unnoticed in the aftermath. It’s ingrained into my skull that you can’t lose your feet, especially as a backman. A few players also weren’t as tough and hard as they would’ve liked in moments where they could’ve stopped goals. And there’s moments where they could’ve kicked goals and didn’t.

MOST PRESSING LIST ISSUE

The Dockers will have movement between now and the opening round. No Grand Final team usually lines up the same in Round 1 the next year.

Their backline is the biggest area to watch. Pearce may not be there, Brennan Cox’s body hasn’t held up, Luke Ryan is getting older, McDonald is a role player and McVee was in and out of the side despite playing well in the Grand Final. For a team that was arguably the best defensive side in the competition, there are some obvious questions to answer down back.

They’ll also lose Sam Switkowski, as well as other list changes.

Justin Longmuir, Senior Coach of the Dockers. Picture: Robert Cianflone/AFL Photos/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

But Fremantle’s path to redemption all comes down to mindset. The players need to find a way to turn the shattering disappointment into motivation to become a better team.

Not too much needs to happen to their game plan. A big mistake we made at the Eagles in 2016 after losing the 2015 decider was trying to get 50 per cent bigger, 50 per cent better, 50 per cent fitter and 50 per cent stronger. We’d just played in the Grand Final and were second best team in 2015, so we didn’t need to go to that extreme. The biggest mistake teams can make is taking a ‘we have to be 10 times better’ attitude.

Freo just needs to be the same team it was this year. Do that and the Dockers have every chance to be back on the same stage in 2027.

The challenge is keeping themselves mentally in it – and not letting a devastating loss rip future seasons apart.