After making a remarkable recovery from a calf injury, Lachie Neale was the "most nervous I've ever been" before coming on as Brisbane's super sub in their grand-final demolition of Geelong.
Thinking his season was over after hurting himself in the qualifying final loss to the Cats, 22 days later the dual Brownlow medallist was holding a second premiership cup aloft with Lions co-captain Harris Andrews.
The 32-year-old had an instant impact when he was subbed into the game for teenager Sam Marshall at the start of the third quarter on Saturday.
Neale finished with 17 possessions, seven clearances and one famous goal in a second half that will go down in grand final folklore.
Having been the sub in Fremantle's 2013 grand final loss, Neale hadn't performed that role since round one, 2014.
"I haven't done it (play as a substitute) in about 11 years, so I was pretty nervous knowing I was coming on to be the sub in the third," Neale said.
"Probably the most nervous I've ever been just sitting there waiting and knowing if the game was in the balance they were going to sub me on."
The decision to play Neale, coming in for injured teammate Jarrod Berry, was deemed a major risk because his initial injury assessment had him sidelined for six weeks.
Neale himself had declared his season over on social media, but now concedes he "looks like a goose".
But the Lions and Neale were always adamant he would be fit to play, and he was confirmed as the surprise sub on Saturday.
The 32-year-old knew he was going to be right to go after a gruelling running session before the Lions' preliminary final against Collingwood.
"You hear a bit of the noise and question yourself, but I've got great people around me who told me to delete all the apps off my phone, which I did," Neale said.
"(I decided to) listen to those close to me and block out the outside noise.
"I was confident in the calf, it was more about if I could run out the game, full stop.
"It's a bit of a masterstroke, it looks good now.
"I'm glad I made a bit of an impact."
Neale's superb goal on the run near the end of the third quarter put the Lions 19 points in front at the final break.
"I was running around like a headless chook for the first seven or eight minutes trying to get a feel for the game," Neale said.
"Very, very composed play by 'Zorks' (Dayne Zorko) to get it inside.
"I feel like I was pretty fresh and could drive my legs and saw a bit of space, so I'll pin this one back and let this one loose.
"Maybe if I wasn't sub, heavy legs at 32 years old, it wouldn't have made the distance."
Neale was able to tell coach Chris Fagan he was right to go at Thursday's main training session, but Berry selflessly made the call to pull out of contention for the grand final.
It was the second time Berry had hurt his shoulder in five weeks, with the 27-year-old knowing he couldn't completely trust his body in the biggest game of the year.
