Brisbane swept to a 60-point win over Sydney in Melbourne on Saturday to clinch the 2024 AFL grand final.
Their 18.12 (120) to 9.6 (60) win over the Swans delivered the Lions their first flag since 2003 as coach Chris Fagan lifted the cup in his eighth season in charge.
At a press conference afterwards, Fagan described the result as a “very special moment”.
He paid tribute to the club’s ability to turn their fortunes around after they were in trouble at the halfway point in the season.
Fagan described last season as “a big disappointment” but said that the club had learnt their lessons from 2023.
The Swans finished the regular season on top of the ladder while the Lions finished in fifth place.
The Lions have become the third team to win four finals on the way to a premiership title.
Lions midfielder Will Ashcroft, 20, became the youngest Norm Smith (man of the match) medallist in his 31st game.
Fagan later labelled the result as the best moment of his nearly 40 years as a coach. The game was played in front of just over 100,000 fans according to AFL reports.
He is the first man to not play at the top level and coach a premiership.
Swans coach John Longmire said his team failed to perform on the day but backed their resilience to come back next season.
The Swans were competitive in the first quarter; they trailed 3.1(19) to 4.3(27) in the points-scoring then were blown away in the second 1.2(8) to 7.4(46) and third 1.1(7) to 5.4(34) quarters. The Swans took the final quarter 4.2(26) to 2.1(13).
According to AFL statistics, the Lions led in disposals (385-305) marks (158-88), possession (53-32), tackles (64-45) and kicks (270-195).
Meanwhile, a decision on the new West Coast head coach could soon be announced after the list of final candidates narrowed to Hayden Skipworth and Andrew McQualter, according to AFL website afl.com.au.
