This was published 1 year ago
Grand final ratings: Fagan’s perfect 10 while one Swan was awarded a 0.5
Updated ,first published
In a lopsided AFL grand final, the stand-out players were far easier to spot for the triumphant Brisbane Lions. Sydney’s influential players were few and far between.
Dual-AFLW premiership player Libby Birch rates every Swans player, while former Western Bulldogs coach Brendan McCartney rates every Lion.
Click on each player to reveal their mark out of 10, along with Birch and McCartney’s analysis.
THE COACHES:
John Longmire (Sydney)
Where did the brilliance of the ladder leaders go? He was unable to change the game from the coach’s box in the second term when the game was slipping away from them. The decision to play McDonald was another question mark. Rating: 3.5
Chris Fagan (Brisbane Lions)
The culmination of years of planning, relationship building and leading a club. Fagan’s balanced game plan gave the Lions ground shape early and contest dominance after quarter-time. Rating: 10
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Previously
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From crisis to glory: How the Lions stormed back from the brink
Chris Fagan insisted the crisis his men found themselves in earlier in the season because of injury and poor form had emboldened them and helped them to a breakthrough premiership.
Libby Birch is a four-time AFLW premiership player.
Brendan McCartney is a former AFL coach.