Wharfie Time and Fagan’s heroes chime Freo’s doom in one of the greatest grand finals

September 26, 2026 — 8:04pm

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Seemingly beaten with barely four minutes left when trailing by 17 points, the Brisbane Lions have conjured one of the greatest time-on miracles in AFL history to snatch the premiership from a luckless Fremantle in an extraordinary grand final that completed their premiership three-peat under Chris Fagan and stunned a disbelieving Dockers nation.

In a grand final that arguably surpassed even the Hawthorn-Brisbane Lions preliminary final for drama, courage and unexpected twists, the Dockers squandered numerous opportunities and dominance of territory to be swept aside and beaten by an inspired Brisbane. The Lions’ surge was piloted by their young champion Will Ashcroft and mercurial forwards Charlie Cameron, Zac Bailey and 21-year-old Logan Morris, who put the Lions ahead with 64 seconds left and then confirmed the improbable victory with a right foot snap in the final seconds.

It was a game that the Lions should not have won on the numbers – a reality so graciously acknowledged by Fagan in his podium speech.

“You guys probably deserved to win the game today,” said the beloved triple premiership coach, who entered the game saying he did not know if he would continue to coach this astonishing team that he had transformed since his appointment 10 years ago.

The Dockers owned most of the statistical categories, as their midfield – propelled by their hyper-athletic ruckman Luke Jackson – held sway in the clearances and ensured that the ball was in their scoring territory more often.

But they did not nail their chances, a familiar story for teams vanquished in tight finals, and they were badly hurt by the loss of their skipper and anchor in defence, Alex Pearce, who hurt his Achilles early in the third quarter and was on crutches when he took to the stage for a concession speech that was as classy as Fagan’s.

The AFL had permitted the deployment of Fremantle’s “Wharfie Time” for the grand final – a decision that Fremantle might not wish........

© The Age