‘The boos are like cheers for me’: Jeered Lion happy to play the villain

Jeered champion Lion happy to play up to villain tag

Not even Geelong’s high-profile midfielder Bailey Smith attracted more heat from opposition fans in the AFL grand final than Cam Rayner.

The Brisbane Lions’ fire-starter always knew he would be public enemy No.1 and lapped up the extra attention from Cats fans in the 100,000-strong crowd en route to his second premiership.

Rayner first drew the ire of the Geelong faithful in the qualifying final, when he kicked back-to-back goals from contentious free kicks, and leaned into it during the build-up to the season decider.

The former No.1 draft pick had a mixed bag at the MCG on Saturday, tallying just two disposals and giving away four free kicks in a quiet first half.

But he finished with 11 touches, nine contested possessions and a goal in the 18.14 (122) to 11.9 (75) win, kick-starting a run of seven consecutive majors for the Lions as they blew the game wide open in the final term.

“I loved it, I really did. The boos are like cheers for me,” Rayner said with a fresh premiership medal hanging around his neck.

“The grand final parade was awesome, I loved people getting into me. That was fun, and then again today, it was so awesome.

“Anyone that comes to the footy is a supporter and I understand that they’ve got every right. I welcome it all and I loved it. It was good fun.”

Rayner found a spark in the final term, nailing Cats midfielder Smith in a crunching tackle, while later joking he celebrated so hard that he “nearly ripped my bicep” after his goal.

In the Lions’ change-room post-match, Rayner was speaking to reporters when he was embraced by AFL legend Leigh Matthews.

The 25-year-old said former Lions coach Matthews had been a valuable sounding board throughout his career.

“Little Cam Rayner as a kid is actually eating his heart out right now,” Rayner said.

“My dad watched a lot of Leigh’s football, and he absolutely pumps him up through the roof.

“I try to resemble a lot of my play style on him. He was the same sort of player; real explosive and a little bit of a tank.”

Matthews famously guided the Lions to a hat-trick of flags from 2001 to 2003 before losing their fourth straight grand final against Port Adelaide.

Rayner and his teammates endured grand final heartache in 2023 but now have the chance to match the Matthews-led team’s three-peat next year.

“It’s funny: we lost our first one and they lost their last one,” Rayner said.

“Hopefully, history repeats, and we can get another one and go again.”

AAP

Elusive flag joy for Lion entrusted with nullifying Cameron

Darcy Gardiner could have been playing for a different club the past three years.

The finals had already started in 2022 when Brisbane’s perennially underrated key defender rejected interest from several Victorian clubs to become one of that year’s last free agents to re-sign.

The Lions played in three grand finals since – and Gardiner on Saturday finally won the elusive premiership he craved so much after missing last year’s flag because of an ACL rupture. It was a late birthday present, after turning 30 on Monday.

“It’s pretty special,” Gardiner told this masthead.

“Don’t get me wrong – it was pretty special last year watching my teammates win it, knowing what they had done to get there because it isn’t easy to do.

“I was able to get a photo out there [on the MCG] last year with the boys, but to get one in the kit this year will be pretty special to look back on.”

Gardiner insists he was never going to leave – even joking that the rival interest was “negotiation tactics” – but he has more than earned his keep, including dousing Jeremy Cameron’s fire after a hot start in the clubs’ qualifying final clash before repeating the dose in the grand final.

Cameron racked up five scoring shots before quarter-time on Gardiner’s defensive mate Ryan Lester three weeks ago, but none thereafter on his second opponent.

It was little wonder that coach Chris Fagan entrusted Gardiner with the job from the get-go this time.

Saturday’s grand final will be remembered mostly for the Lions’ devastating second half that blew Geelong away, but also Cameron finishing the match with a broken right arm after an accidental second-quarter clash with teammate Patrick Dangerfield.

Cameron did very little outside an inspirational, one-handed tackle on Jaspa Fletcher that led to a rare second-half goal for the Cats – and that was the case even before his injury.

The Coleman medallist’s half-time statistics were four scoreless disposals and two marks playing almost exclusively on Gardiner.

“He’s a great player. I think he broke his arm, and no one’s going to have fun out there with a broken arm,” Gardiner said.

“It certainly made it easier [for me], but I knew I had the role, and I played on him a few times before, so I just tried to minimise his impact as much as possible, and hoped the other boys did their job. I get a lot of help down there, so I certainly wasn’t on my own.”

Gardiner started this season in the VFL and took until round seven to force his way into the senior side, but most of his opportunities came as a forward initially as Brisbane searched for solutions post Joe Daniher’s retirement.

He even kicked four goals in a loss to Melbourne a few weeks later. But Gardiner’s position was also an indication of his tenuous hold on a spot.

Gardiner’s injury misfortune last season opened the door for others to step up, and this year it was him benefiting in that situation. Jack Payne’s season-ending patellar tendon rupture in June meant there was a key defensive spot again for Gardiner.

“You’ve got to do the work, but there’s a lot of luck – good and bad – along the way. It happens every year,” Gardiner said.

“I gave myself my best shot. You do all the work, and if it falls my way, or it doesn’t, I’ll know I’ve done the work, and so be it. I couldn’t be happier here. Whether I’m playing or not; it’s a great place to be.”

McCluggage proves his mettle with finals redemption

Hugh McCluggage had more than the usual pre-grand final jitters this week.

The All-Australian is one of the game’s best and most consistent midfielders, but won a paltry 14 disposals while dealing with Oisin Mullin’s close tag in the Lions’ comprehensive qualifying final loss to Geelong three weeks ago.

McCluggage played like a man on a mission in his next two finals – gathering 33 disposals in the Lions’ semi-final win over Gold Coast, then 37 more as they overcame Collingwood last week.

All that was left was to exact revenge against Mullin and the Cats in Saturday’s grand final.

It wasn’t instant, but that is precisely what McCluggage and his teammates eventually enjoyed, piling on 13 goals to six after half-time to break a deadlock and score a runaway 47-point triumph.

McCluggage ensured there was no Geelong comeback with 12 of his 26 disposals and three of his four goals in a dominant final quarter that helped earn him a Norm Smith Medal vote off former teammate Luke Hodge.

“It was something that I was pretty nervous about because I wanted to bounce back and do a better job,” McCluggage told this masthead. “We had to plan for a few different things. We weren’t even sure whether [Mullin] was actually going to come to me or not.”

Mullin did not do it alone, with Tom Atkins spending almost 20 minutes on McCluggage throughout the match, but the Irishman was the star Lion’s main opponent.

In 66 minutes against one another, McCluggage won 10 disposals to Mullin’s four. Per Champion Data, the Brisbane vice captain’s opponents combined tally for the afternoon was only 15 to his 26.

“There was a little bit of stat padding [at the end], and it was nice to get off the chain a little bit, but I was proud of the work I did before that to get that opportunity,” McCluggage said.

“I wanted to be a better teammate today and open up space for my teammates, like Will Ashcroft, and I was trying to be physical, put pressure on and do my part. I had to have a better mindset, to be honest. I let it get to me a little bit last time, whereas this time I was trying to stay in the game, and stay in the moment.”

McCluggage said there was no one “magic formula” that explained the Lions’ tremendous success under coach Chris Fagan – but he did have one theory.

“Probably the most important thing for us is we’re a really tight-knit group,” he said.

“We’ve got a lot of love for each other, and it sounds a little bit ridiculous, but we speak about being really together when we go away, enjoying each other’s company and being ourselves.

“Our away record this year was crazy – we maybe lost two games, or something, for the whole year. That shows how tight our group is, and that means when you get challenged, and you’re in front of opposition crowds, or big crowds, we stick together.”

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