Darcy Gardiner can’t help but swear.
“It’s going to be pretty f**king hard from here,” the Brisbane defender recalls thinking when Pat Voss put Fremantle 17 points up deep into Saturday’s grand final.
The madness that swept over the MCG after that Voss goal triggered a filter-less response from Gardiner.
“It’s hard to believe, full credit to those guys in the midfield and forward, they flicked the switch,” Gardiner said, gripping his medal in one hand and a beer in the other.
The Lions catapulted back into the match with two goals in 30 seconds through Charlie Cameron and Zac Bailey before Logan Morris kicked the final two goals to ice it.
Gardiner was one of the Lions’ feel-good stories of 2025 after missing the 2024 premiership due to injury.
He watched a bittersweet rout of the Swans in ’24 from the stands, but simply couldn’t look when Morris lined up with 90 seconds left on Saturday.
“I don’t think I watched Logan’s set shot, to be honest. I was confident he’d kick it, but I didn’t want to be a part of it – it was so cool,” he said.
“(Morris) was sticking at it (after a quiet first half), as we’ve seen for all of our guys at times down there, you don’t get involved that much in the first half but you keep going and you’ll get your chance.
“The rest is history.”
Gardiner was one of the first to celebrate with the now-legendary coach Chris Fagan on the interchange.
Fagan is weighing up his future after a decade and a trilogy of premierships at the helm.
Gardiner wants more from “Fages” but understands if he wants to call time.
“I hope not because we all love him and he does such a f**king good job,” Gardiner said.
“He’s an amazing coach but an amazing person, he makes you feel so valued. He’s just such an amazing leader and role model for us.
“I hope he doesn’t, but that’s up to him.”
Originally published as AFL: Brisbane Lions defender Darcy Gardiner lifts lid on dramatic grand final comeback win