BRENT Staker's comeback from two reconstructions was best summed up by his Brisbane Lions coach Michael Voss: "What a story".

Voss was speaking after Staker kicked the goal that sealed the Lions' upset victory over Essendon at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

It had been no easy kick. 45m out near the boundary line. And with the Lions just four points up at the time, 29 minutes into the last quarter, Staker knew the game rested on his boot.

Seconds before, Staker had thwarted what had looked like being the Bombers' last thrust at victory. With Bomber Dyson Heppell set to run onto a loose ball on the Lions' half-forward line, Staker put his head down and chased hard. Diving desperately for the ball, he was rewarded with a free kick for a trip.

Then from 45m Staker went back and split the middle.

Most players dream about kicking the game-sealing goal in a big match, but it was what preceded Staker's clinical set shot that made this such a feel-good story.

Before Saturday, Staker, who turns 29 on Friday, had not played an AFL game since round 23, 2011.

In that game, the Lions' last of the season, Staker ruptured his right anterior cruciate ligament against his former team, West Coast.

Cruelly, he had had that ligament reconstructed just five months before, after rupturing it in round one that year, against Fremantle. Staker had opted then to have Ligament Augmentation and Reconstruction System (LARS) surgery, in which synthetic fibres are used to repair a ligament instead of a traditional muscle graft.

When Staker's synthetic ligament ruptured against West Coast, he was playing just his sixth AFL game since his LARS surgery.

Not surprisingly, when he had his second knee reconstruction he chose traditional surgery, which meant he missed all of last season.

During his time out of game, Staker kept busy. In both 2011 and 2012, he coached the Lions' QAFL team and was the senior team's forward coach. Around the club, he kept his chin up despite the frustrations of two years of constant rehab.

After Saturday's game, Voss and Lions forward Dayne Zorko spoke glowingly of Staker's positive attitude and influence around the club while sidelined.

"'Stakes' has invested so much in the other players," Voss said.

"He coaches our reserves, he's been coaching the forward line, he's part of our mentoring group.

"The effort he's put in has been fantastic."

Zorko added: "He's really brought the younger guys along as well. I can't speak highly (enough) of him."

When nearly every Lions player flocked to Staker to celebrate his late goal against Essendon, they were not merely bubbling over with the joy of a hard-fought and much-needed win.

"Stakesy is a tremendous guy and what he's been through the past two years no one should have to go through," Zorko said.

"But to come back out today and take that pressure kick – I knew he'd kick it because he's one of the straightest kicks I've ever seen – I'm just so proud of him.

"Today's just a massive reward for him for the two years that he's had to spend on the sidelines, doing all the hard yards – it's paid off for him."

Voss compared Staker's heroics to those of West Coast Eagle Nic Naitanui against North Melbourne the night before.

Naitanui's game-winning goal against the Roos came after the siren and after a soaring pack mark few, if any, in the game could have matched.

But, for Voss, Staker's effort was just as good a story.

"You had the Nic Naitanui thing the other day, that's a wonderful story," Voss said.

"With Brent Staker coming back and playing the way that he did and being able to sink that goal, I asked him whether the two years was all worth it. He said, 'No, but it was still pretty good'.

"But he's a guy that we've missed so much. He's just a terrific character and he's really persisted.

"For him to be able to line up 45m on the boundary line and (kick) a clutch goal, for him to sink that, that's a big moment.

"He was able to put all those trials he's had in the past (behind him), go back and with composure kick that goal. It was an outstanding effort."

Nick Bowen is a reporter with AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Nick.