As emotions spilled out in the bowels of the MCG on Saturday night, Lions coach Chris Fagan revealed his group had embraced a famous Nelson Mandela quote as part of their journey to claiming back-to-back premierships and becoming the competition’s benchmark.
The Lions are again the toast of the AFL, having strode to a 47-point win over Geelong before a crowd of 100,022 at the home of football on Saturday.
Lions coach Chris Fagan cops a Gatorade shower.Credit: Joe Armao
The Cats led by a point when midfielder Max Holmes drilled a long bomb less than 14 minutes into the third term, but the uncompromising Lions booted 12 of the next 17 goals, including the final three of the third, to take charge.
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This victory added to their success against Sydney in last year’s grand final, and was the club’s fifth flag this century – the most in the competition.
A beaming but damp Fagan, having had a Gatorade bucket tipped on him by Dayne Zorko, said a quote from Mandela, the former president of South Africa and anti-apartheid activist, had been crucial to the Lions’ rise – the club having been mired in mediocrity when Fagan took charge in 2016.
“I have got a saying that’s up on our wall – it’s a famous Nelson Mandela quote. We never win. We never lose. We either win or we learn, and that’s the attitude we have tried to take,” Fagan said.