Brisbane Lions midfielder Josh Dunkley said Fremantle's Wharfie Time activation backfired in Saturday's AFL grand final, inspiring the Lions to a stunning late comeback and a third consecutive premiership.
The Dockers led by 17 points with barely four minutes to play when the bells rang out around the MCG. Immediately afterwards, the Lions scored four late goals to pull off an improbable victory in one of the great AFL grand finals.
Wharfie Time becomes a rallying cry
Dunkley said the Lions had prepared themselves for just this kind of situation, and seeing the purple wave go on the big screen steeled them for the match-winning finish. "We talked about Wharfie Time and making that our energy," he said.
"When I looked around at centre bounce and Wharfie Time came on we all looked at each other and we connected and we grew a leg and then got it done, it's unbelievable."
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir played down the impact of the now-notorious activation. "I don't think that has any impact. Like, did Charlie [Cameron]'s Country Road [post-goal music] celebration have any impact on the game? Probably not," he said.
"I don't think we can put it down to that, I just think we can put it down to one of the better teams of all time, [with their] backs against the wall, they found something and we just didn't have the answer for that."
Norm Smith medal goes to losing side
The almost inconceivable finish was underscored by the awarding of the Norm Smith medal. Fremantle's Shai Bolton was surprised and appeared reluctant to walk on to the stage to receive it or give a speech. It is the first time since West Coast's Chris Judd in 2005 that the Norm Smith had been awarded to a player on the losing side.
Dockers midfielder Caleb Serong said the finish was "horrific" but the experience would "galvanise" the side. "[Longmuir] just said he was so proud of us, we held ourselves up today aside from that last two or three minutes, which we didn't get right," he told Channel Seven.
"Aside from that, we showed up today and played Fremantle footy and we've got to be proud of that."
Lions coach praises Dockers
Lions coach Chris Fagan complimented the Dockers afterwards. "I know you'll be feeling tremendously disappointed right now, but if I was being completely honest you guys probably deserved to win the game today," he said.
"But my boys, they've got a stack of heart and they know how to fight their way right to the end, and we've been able to do that two weeks in a row, and now we've got three premierships in a row to show for it."
The Lions were only in the grand final after their last-minute comeback win over Hawthorn in the preliminary final last week. Dunkley said Wharfie Time was the turning point. "When you talk about it and it arises, I mean there's only one choice and it's the go at the game," he said.
Fagan said it was the "most amazing" comeback he had seen, but he played down his influence on the decisive period. "It looks fortuitous and it looks genius and all that sort of stuff," he said. "We're just lucky, I think."
He confirmed Wharfie Time was the subject of a team meeting on Friday. "We hadn't heard it before so I wanted the players to hear it first of all, and understand what it meant to Fremantle, then just just to say to them, 'well, if they do play it, then maybe we can use it as a sign for us to get cracking'," he said.
"It just so happened that it turned out that way. That's a little bit of a fluke, but I'm not taking the credit for that idea because the bloke who suggested it to me was our backline coach Dale Morris."
The veteran coach said he would meet club officials in coming days about whether he would continue in the role, but also that he was considering retirement. "I'm, you know, 65. That's what you do, isn it? Just enjoy life," he said. "If I didn't coach on, I'd like to do something in footy, but not at the level of intensity that's required to be a senior coach, because it is a lifestyle."
