AFL grand final as it happened: Fagan avoids committing his future after three-peat

Thanks for tuning into our LIVE coverage of the AFL grand final what an incredible ending that was.

For our match wrap, READ MORE HERE.

And for the Norm Smith Medal, READ MORE HERE.

Well isn’t Oscar Allen happy.

His move from West Coast to the Lions caused some uproar last year but now it’s all worth it.

“I can’t believe it, I’m lost for words, that was something special,” he said with a croaky voice.

Speaking on the move he said it was “bloody hard” but “worth it now”.

Here’s the premiers.

Here’s the runner-ups.

You get the feeling Chris Fagan could be about to finish up as coach of the Lions, a job he described as “very taxing”.

“I’m going to have a think about it this week,” he told Seven.

“I’ve been doing it for 10 years, it’s a hard job. I’ll think about it. I need a few days to clear my head and make a decision ... a long walk.

“I’ve always wanted to make the decision to leave at the right time ... not have a few bad years and get the boot.”

Dayne Zorko is another player to reveal the side wanted to use Wharfie Time against the Dockers.

He then said he’d injured himself early in the match.

“I actually did my hammy in the first quarter so I was a little bit concerned,” he told Seven.

“But the staff assured me I’d get through no worries and thankful I did.”

Lachie Neale understandably describes the feeling as “surreal” after a week where it seemed unlikely he’d play.

Neale was originally suspended and lost at the tribunal. The ban was lifted at the appeals hearing.

The Lions star also had a scandalous off-season after separating from his wife, Jules, due to an affair.

“I’ve got great people around me, I’ve had great support around me the last 12 months from a lot of people that love me,” he told Seven.

“The club kept things really normal, I had to attend a couple of tribunals but other than that, I just trained like I was going to play and fortunately for me, it fell my way on Thursday night. I probably didn’t play my best game, had a couple of good moments, but just happy to play.”

He also confirmed how much Wharfie Time fired up his side.

“We spoke about it quite early in the week, obviously they’ve used it a couple of times and we knew that it had been accepted for today if the game was close and they kicked a goal,” he said.

“We spoke about using that as fuel for us to put the foot down. If you see the footage, Josh Dunkley is in the middle and he’s putting the arms up for our boys. It meant go time for us as well. Freo were trying to get a lift out of that, but we made sure we got a lift out of it as well.”

As for whether Neale is leaving the Lions? It appears certain.

“I’ve absolutely loved my time at this footy club, they’re an exceptional organisation from top to bottom and I can’t thank them enough,” he said.

“It’s been an incredible ride and the best eight years of my life.”

Voting breakdownShai Bolton (Fremantle) – 10 votes (3,3,2,1,1)Dayne Zorko (Brisbane Lions) – 6 votes (3,3)Will Ashcroft (Brisbane Lions) – 6 votes (3,2,1)Caleb Serong (Fremantle) – 4 votes (2,2)Hayden Young (Fremantle) – 3 votes (2,1)Charlie Cameron (Brisbane Lions) – 1 vote (1)

Caleb Serong is clearly scarred from a shocking end.

“It’s horrific. In terms of football, it doesn’t get much worse than that ... it’s shocking,” he told Seven.

“(Longmuir) just said how proud he was of us and how well we held ourselves today, aside from that last two or three minutes.“

Serong vowed this will make the Fremantle group even hungrier.

“I know the character of the blokes in that room, they’re incredibly hard-working. This won’t break this group, this was galvanise us,” he said.

“This is the hardest thing you can go through. I know whilst it hurts, there’s no way around that, but this group is going to come together.”

Three co-captains means three medals.

One each for Josh Dunkley, Hugh McCluggage and Harris Andrews.

McCluggage is the man who takes to the microphone and thanks Freo, declaring they’ll be back before the thanks to his teammates and all the fans in the MCG.

Chris Fagan is next on the microphone.

“First of all, I’d like to congratulate the Fremantle Dockers on what was a magnificent season,” he said.

“I know you’ll be feeling tremendously disappointed, but if I’m to be completely honest, you guys deserved to win the game today. My boys, have a stack of heart and know how to fight right until the end ... now we’ve got three premierships in a row to show for it.

“It’s been a big program over the last four years to make it to grand finals and do what we’ve done and there’s a lot of people who deserve a pat on the back. To our supporters, you’re sensational - thank you so much.”