Gerard Healy suggested in commentary on Sunday that Lincoln McCarthy may have played the best game of his career against the GWS GIANTS in Sydney. And he may just have been right.

McCarthy, who, after a stellar first season with the Lions, is firming at No.2 on the list of famous people from Bordertown, which in the last census in 2016 had a population of 2953.

No.2? He probably has a little way to go to topple former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke!

But McCarthy was outstanding against the GIANTS on Sunday as they posted a 20-point win, which was their first ever at GIANTS Stadium and their first since 2013 against the GIANTS after six consecutive losses.

It was a huge test for the emerging young Lions against the highly-fancied GIANTS, who were looking to bounce back from a six-point loss to Essendon in Melbourne in Round 15, and they passed in excellent fashion.

McCarthy sparked the Lions with a brilliant first quarter and finished with a team-high three goals plus a career-best 22 possessions, a career-best 13 contested possessions and a career-best seven clearances.

Enjoying the decision by coach Chris Fagan to give him a little more midfield time in the last couple of weeks, his seven clearances was up on his previous career best of two.

This year has been an amazing turnaround for the 25-year-old, who was originally drafted from SANFL club Glenelg at #66 in the 2011 National Draft.

Enjoying a run of 15 consecutive games with the Lions this season after 29 games in seven years at Geelong, he has elevated his output in every relevant statistic.

His disposal average is up from 10.93 to 12.80, goal average is up from 0.86 to 1.0, his tackle count is up from 2.48 to 3.40, his clearances count from 0.59 to 1.33 and his contested possessions are up from 4.52 to 6.47 per game.

Significantly, too, among 58 players who have kicked 15 goals or more this season his conversion rate of 77.3% from 17 goals 5 behinds is better than all except North Melbourne’s Nick Larkey (81.0% - 17-4) and Essendon’s Anthony McDonald-Tipungwunti (80.8% - 21-5).

McCarthy, too, celebrated a career first on Sunday with his first win at GIANTS Stadium. But he wasn’t on his own. Indeed, only Allen Christensen and Jarryd Lyons had won at the venue before.

No less than 11 Lions players on Sunday enjoyed their first win over GWS, most notably Stefan Martin after six losses, Harris Andrews and Darcy Gardiner after five losses, and Eric Hipwood four.

It was another first-time ‘kill’ too for coach Fagan, who has now beaten eighth opposition clubs for the first time this year – West Coast, North, Port Adelaide, Sydney, Adelaide, St.Kilda, Melbourne and GWS. Only Collingwood, Geelong, Richmond and the Western Bulldogs remain on his ‘yet to beat’ list.

Lachie Neale celebrated his 150th AFL game with a team-high 31 possessions. It was his ninth 30-possession game of the season, which leaves him only one short of Dayne Beams’ Brisbane record in a season of 10, set last year.

With seven home-and-away games to play, Neale, too, is in a position to challenge the corresponding Fitzroy record of 15 30-possession games set by Lions Hall of Fame legend Garry Wilson in 1979. Wilson also had 13 in 1978 and 1980, and 10 in 1974. John Murphy had 11 in 1977.

Stefan Martin, with a dominant 52 hit-outs against the GIANTS, posted the ninth hit-out half-century  and the equal third-best of his 173-game career. He had 63 against Hawthorn in 2017 and 58 against Sydney last year.

The Lions’ 10th win of the season on Sunday sees them fourth on the AFL ladder at Round 16 for just the fifth time in club history. The only others were in the grand final years of 2001-02-03-04.