Chris Fagan says the lessons from Brisbane's finals despair in recent seasons are coming back to drive the Lions' premiership quest this year after his side dispatched reigning premier Melbourne in Friday night's semi-final.
The Lions booked a preliminary final clash with Geelong next Friday night at the MCG with an amazing 13-point win over Melbourne, dumping the Dees out of the flag race.
Making it more remarkable was it being the Lions' first win at the ground since 2014 and the fact they lost star goalkicker Joe Daniher on the day of the game for him to be with his partner as she gave birth.
And then there was the 28-point deficit, which came late in the second quarter, before the Lions booted 11 goals to five after half-time to clinch the memorable win.
The Lions had lost five of their six finals under Fagan in the past three seasons and not made it past the preliminary final, but are now one win away from a Grand Final berth for the first time since 2004.
"I always think you need to go through a process. All the lessons that we've learned in finals over the last few years are starting to come to fruition," Fagan said. "We were getting a bad rap for our finals record and the truth is we lost one game by a point and another game by three points [in finals]. We were a whisker away from two more prelims.
"I don't see those as bad losses. Sometimes it's the bounce of the ball or a decision or a skill error here or there.
"So I always had faith in this group that we could find a way and, the way I coach, we talk about having a growth mindset and everything that happens to us there's a reason for it and as long as you learn from it and make progress then all those mistakes are OK. That's how we've approached it and that's how we'll continue to approach it."
A key shift in the game occurred when Lions midfielder Jarrod Berry was moved to Clayton Oliver at half-time after the champion Demon had collected 12 disposals and six clearances in the opening half. Oliver managed just nine more disposals as Berry stood up in the critical and fiery battle, although the Lion could come under Match Review Officer scrutiny for a scuffle with Oliver.
"That was a very, very important move and I won't take the credit for that one. Cam Bruce, who has joined our coaching group this year, suggested it at half-time forcefully and I took his advice and it ended up being a great move. Berry was fantastic for us," Fagan said.
"He sent me a text on the weekend asking if he could do the role this weekend and I thought 'No, we'll give Dev (Robertson) a go at it first up' and as it's turned out he ended up with the role and did it particularly well."
The Lions will regain Daniher for the preliminary final against the Cats, with Eric Hipwood (four goals) and Dan McStay (two goals) standing up in his absence, while Oscar McInerney (concussion) will also be available.
"Joey got to get home and he's got a little daughter. It's been a win-win for us. We've got a fresh Joey Daniher next week and we got a win tonight, so you couldn't get a better day than that," Fagan said.
