The Brisbane Lions posting their first win at the SCG since 2009 wasn't the only feat of the night, with Lachie Neale equalling his own club record of 26 contested possessions.

It is a record originally set by Mitch Robinson in 2016 when he topped Simon Black’s previous mark of 25 set in the 2003 grand final, before Neale equalled it in 2019.

Neale now has eight of the 14 games of 22 or more contested possessions in club history. Tom Rockliff has two and Black, Robinson, Jarryd Lyons and Dayne Zorko one.

It nothing new for the 2019 Brownlow Medallist to figure prominently in this statistic – he led the League in contested possessions in 2019 and 2020.

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Neale with the momentum shifter

Lachie Neale ended Sydney's run of consecutive goals as he snapped through this beauty to keep his Lions ahead.

The all-time AFL record for contested possessions in a game is 32 to the credit of North Melbourne’s Ben Cunnington in 2018.

Neale’s stellar contribution of 37 possessions, 11 clearances, nine tackles, nine score involvements and a goal on Saturday came as he, like most Lions, enjoyed their first win at the SCG.

He took an 0-4 SCG record into the game dating back to his time at Fremantle.

So did skipper Zorko, who joined the Lions in 2012 three years after their last win at the SCG in Round 22 2009.

Daniel Rich, who played his 253rd game yesterday, was the only ‘survivor’ from the side that beat the Swans by eight points under Michael Voss that day thanks chiefly to six goals from Jonathan Brown. It was Rich’s 22nd game.

Only four other Brisbane players had won previously at the SCG – Jarryd Lyons twice with Adelaide, Marcus Adams once the Western Bulldogs, Callum AhChee once with the Gold Coast and Darcy Fort once with Geelong.

But the 13-year drought is not as bad as it sounds. The club has only played the Swans at the SCG five times in that period for losses by 20-52-47-60-54 points, while they also lost by 27 points to Geelong at the SCG during the 2020 Covid season when the normal fixture was thrown out the window.

It was only the second time Fagan has coached at the SCG but at least he can now add the SCG to the list of hoodoos he has conquered in his time at the Lions helm.

Yesterday’s win gives the Lions a 6-1 start to the 2022 season – the first time they’ve reached this mark since 2002. They started with five wins and a draw from the first seven games in 2003, and went 5-2 in 2004, 2019 and 2020.