Joe Daniher and Jaspa Fletcher have written themselves into the Brisbane Lions record books in Saturday night’s eight-goal Gabba qualifying final win over Port Adelaide.
Daniher became only the sixth Brisbane player to kick five or more goals in a final, while Fletcher, with three goals off the wing, delivered possibly the best finals debut in club history.
The two individual highlights came in a team full of highlights as the Lions stretched their Gabba finals record to 15-4 with their ninth-biggest finals win.
Daniher now sits behind only triple premiership heroes Alastair Lynch and Jonathan Brown for most goals in a final.
Lynch twice kicked a club record seven goals – in the 1996 qualifying final win over Carlton and the 2002 qualifying final win over Adelaide.
He also booted six in the 2003 qualifying final win over Adelaide to match Brown’s finals-best six in the 2004 qualifying final win over St.Kilda.
Four other Lions players have kicked five goals in a final – Craig McRae (1996), Luke Power (2000), Jason Akermanis (2003) and Daniel Bradshaw (2009). And now Daniher.
The Fletcher call is more subjective. But three goals and 16 possessions in a low-possession game, behind only Hugh McCluggage (26), Josh Dunkley (21), Darcy Wilmot (20), Lachie Neale (19) and Keidean Coleman (17) in the home side, is right up there. Especially at age 19 years 195 days in just his 12th AFL game.
Statistically, Fletcher became the Lions’ 11th-youngest finals player behind Damien Cupido (18/161), Jason Akermanis (18/198), Darcy Wilmot (18/244), Jack Redden (18/270), Jonathan Brown and Trent Bartlett (18/288), Daniel Bradshaw (18/290), Nigel Lappin (19/81), Daniel Rich (19/90) and Chris Scott (19/130).
Only 13 Brisbane players have tasted finals football earlier in their career, headed by 2022 finals debutant Darcy Wilmot from Richard Hadley (2), Keidean Coleman, Jack Payne and Nick Trask (5), Cupido (6), Matt Austin (7), Bartlett and Scott Harding (8), Redden and Trent Knobel (9), James Hawksley (10) and Joel Macdonald (11). Brown, too, made his finals debut in his 12th game.
But three goals in a final in game #12 is a first and a headline-grabber for the 2022 Allies Under-18 captain, whose ability to handle the occasion was outstanding.
Only 18 Brisbane players in club history have kicked three goals in a final. Bradshaw, who did so in his 19th game in 1997, had previously been quickest from Power (23), Brown (37), McRae (38), Justin Leppitsch (42) and Headland (51).
Dion Scott kicked three goals in his 53rd career game and his 47th Brisbane game, while Akermanis was 55 games to this mark, Eric Hipwood (75), Darryl White (89), Jarrod Molloy (94), Cam Rayner (112), Tim Notting (113), Charlie Cameron (126), Lynch and Daniher (150) and Michael Voss (175).
That the Lions’ 48-point win over Port is only ninth-biggest among finals wins is confirmation of the club’s wonderful finals record at the Gabba. It’s not even half the club’s biggest finals win – 97 points over Carlton in a 1996 semi-final.
An 80-point qualifying final win over St.Kilda in 2004 is second-biggest from a 73-point qualifying final win over Carlton in 1999 and a 71-point qualifying final win over Port Adelaide in 2002.
Also bigger were finals win by 68 points (Port in 2001), 56 points (Port in 2002), 53 points (Western Bulldogs in 1999) and 50 points (Collingwood in the 2003 grand final).