JAMES Polkinghorne was still in shock the day after he let fly with his match-winning 60m torpedo against League leaders West Coast at the Gabba.

The Brisbane Lions midfielder latched on to the barrel with less than two minutes to go, giving his team the lead, and inspiring their most important victory in two years.

Speaking at the Lions' recovery session on Monday morning, Polkinghorne said the moment was still a blur.

"I just saw the goals and went for it, it was a bit of an instinct thing," he said.

"It was lucky it came off. I shank a few so maybe it was my time to hit one sweet.

"It seemed to get the sweet spot and it stayed straight. I was a bit shocked as well."

Teammate Daniel Rich was right next to Polkinghorne when kicked from well inside the centre square.

"I couldn't believe it," Rich said.

"He's kicked this barrel from 60m out and it's gone through and he was in shock. I looked over and he was in shock then he chucked the arms up. It was a pretty good feeling."

Polkinghorne's heroics were not the only talking point after the Lions' win, with Irishman Niall McKeever receiving plenty of praise for a contribution he made just 30 seconds prior to the match-winning goal.

With the Eagles already leading, McKeever was involved in a 60m race with Jack Darling as the ball bobbled towards the West Coast goals.

Darling got there first to toe-poke the ball for what looked to be a certain goal, only for the big Lion to desperately dive and get a fingertip on the Sherrin as it crossed the line.

The Lions quickly kicked in and swept the ball downfield for Polkinghorne's goal.

"Where he touched it on the line was incredible," Polkinghorne said. "Just the effort that late in the game with the quarter going for 38 minutes, it was incredible."

McKeever said he definitely got a touch on the ball but modestly described it as "pretty lucky".

"It was a long run but that's what pre-season is all about," he said.

"[Physical performance manager] Brett Burton has us doing 150m sprints during pre-season so that's what it's all about in the end. It was just a good chase and lucky enough I got there.

"Polks' goal was pretty extraordinary but it was a massive team effort yesterday and no one single act takes away from that team win."

The Lions have a bye this weekend and the players have been given the next four days off to recover ahead of the second half of the season.

Michael Whiting covers Brisbane Lions news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_mikewhiting