Well, Chris Fagan was right.
Cam Rayner might have missed a shot at goal from nearly point-blank range to win the game for Brisbane against North Melbourne in his 19th game of AFL footy, all the way back in 2018.
But he has more than paid his side back since then.
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In his first year as an AFL player, after being taken with the No.1 pick in the 2017 draft, Rayner kicked 20 goals in a tough season for the Lions.
They won just five games and finished 15th on the ladder.
And with wins hard to come by, missing what would have been the match-winning shot at goal in Round 20 against the Kangaroos really stung.
With less than a minute left on the clock, Rayner rushed his shot at goal from 15 metres out on a slight angle and sprayed it across the face.
The siren went shortly after and the Lions lost by three points.
Speaking after that game, Fagan said in the context of the career Rayner would go on to have, the missed shot meant little.
“I was pretty glad he had the ball in his hands in the dying stages to win a game of footy and, as a lot of our young players did, they stood up,” Fagan said on August 4, 2018.
“They might have made some mistakes during that period but it will stand them in good stead down the track, and I’m sure Cam Rayner in his career at this footy club will make up for that one over and over again.”
Footage of that press conference, the botched shot at goal, and Rayner’s brilliance on Saturday night, was posted by Brisbane fan page on social media, @mdtlion, whose user said they remember the moment from 2018 well.
“I vividly remember after that match, Fages went straight to Rayner, putting his arm around him,” they wrote.
“The so-called footy experts criticised him, saying he should have given Rayner a spray for losing the game.
“But that’s not Fages. He’s one of the key reasons players like Lachie (Neale), Charlie (Cameron), Dunks (Josh Dunkley), Joe (Daniher), and others who weren’t playing tonight chose to come to the club.
“Fages is not only a brilliant leader, but also a bloody great bloke!”
That miss is now a distant memory, and there’s no doubt Rayner would rather have kicked his left-foot goal from outside 50 to seal Brisbane’s preliminary final win over Geelong on Saturday night, than the shot against North Melbourne all those years ago.
With less than two minutes left on the clock at the MCG on Saturday night, after what had been an enthralling four quarters that saw the Lions come back from 25 points down to take a five-point lead, Rayner ran onto a poor handball from Eric Hipwood that hit the ground.
The powerful goalkicker picked the ball up cleanly, steadied himself with a few steps outside the 50-metre arc, and slotted a clutch goal on his non-dominant left foot to win the game for the Lions.
It gave Brisbane an 11-point lead and ended up being the last goal of the game.
Rayner and his Lions teammates now have one more hurdle left to jump to reach the ultimate prize in footy.
A premiership would cap off a career-best year for the former No.1 pick, who was named in the All-Australian squad of 44 for the first time this year.
Fair to say he is paying his side back in spades for that miss against the Kangaroos in 2018.
The Lions, who finished fifth on the ladder, could become just the second team to win the premiership from outside the top four under the current finals system, introduced in 2000.
It would complete a remarkable turnaround after Fagan thought their flag hopes were all but over in May.
“I’m feeling very proud of our group, not just for the resilience that they showed tonight but for the resilience that they’ve shown throughout the year,” Fagan said after Saturday night’s game.
“We were in a pretty dicey situation at the halfway mark of the season with four wins, six losses and a draw.
“The way those boys have gone about it and just stuck to their guns, they got a reward tonight.
“If you had’ve said to me at the halfway mark we were going to be playing in a grand final, I probably would’ve said you’re crazy.
“But here we are and we’ve got an opportunity. It was a fantastic win against a tremendous footy club.”
