Lincoln McCarthy only played 29 games in his seven years at Geelong, but he’s played in more finals than most of his Lions teammates.

While at the Cats he played in three finals games – a semi final against the Kangaroos in 2014 which they lost; a qualifying final against the Hawks in 2016 where they were victorious and a preliminary final the same year against the Swans which they lost.

McCarthy said they were all incredible experiences.

“I guess finals are what you play for,” he said.

“They’re really good experiences, the crowds are massive.

“The buzz is right up there and I guess everyone has been preparing all year to try and play their best footy for finals. That’s always the goal.”

2019 was McCarthy’s first season at the Lions and he played all 22 games.

In 12 months, the Club went from winning five games in a year, to sixteen and making their first finals appearance in a decade.

The growth has been astronomical but when McCarthy signed on with the Lions in the 2018 Trade Period this was not front of mind.

“I knew there was improvement coming but I didn’t really think about where we’d finish,” he said.

“It’s a really exciting time of year and I’ve really enjoyed it.”

McCarthy was the hero a few weeks ago when he booted a goal in the final two minutes to seal a Lions win against Geelong in front of a packed Gabba. He has proved he can stand up in big moment.

“The real work starts right now,” he said.

“We’re trying to make the most of the opportunity we’ve got which is a home final at the Gabba and we want to see all of our home fans come along and cheer us on.

“Hopefully we can get the result.”