The Brisbane Lions’ seven-point AFL Grand Final triumph over the Fremantle Dockers sparked wild scenes at a Melbourne hotel on Saturday night.
Video from the team’s celebration at the Pullman Hotel East Melbourne shows Lions coach Chris Fagan riding on the shoulders of co-captain Harris Andrews on the dancefloor.
The 65-year-old coach, who stands 170cm tall, appeared to be enjoying the elevated vantage point from atop the 200cm defender.
Grinning from ear to ear, Fagan raised both arms as partygoers captured the exuberant moment on their phones.
The scenes capped a remarkable run for Fagan, who guided the Queensland club to a historic three-peat with premierships in 2024, 2025 and 2026.
The celebrations followed a surprise revelation from ‘Fages’ about his future, with the coach admitting he was considering walking away despite being contracted to Brisbane through the end of 2027.
Speaking to Channel 7 after the final siren, Fagan said he was reflecting on his next move after what had been a demanding decade in the job.
“I’m going to have a think about it this week,” he said.
Lions co-captain Harris Andrews lifts ‘Fages’ during the team’s after-party celebrations
The veteran coach raises his arms after leading Brisbane to a third straight premiership
Lions players revel in their thrilling Grand Final victory over Fremantle on Saturday
“I’ve been doing it for 10 years. It’s a hard job. I’ll think about it. I’ll give it a few days just to clear my head and make a decision.”
Fagan also said he did not want to become “that guy who hangs around until we fail”.
“There’s a little bit inside me that would rather walk away when the team’s on top… a dream way to finish.”
For the moment, however, Fagan appeared entirely focused on savouring the Lions’ latest triumph.
Nicknamed Papa Fages by midfielder Lachie Neale, the coach remained at the heart of Brisbane’s celebrations until at least midnight.
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After midnight, several Lions players continued the party at The Osborne Rooftop & Bar, a familiar stop for members of the teams that won the previous two Grand Finals.
The Herald Sun reported that Josh Dunkley, Logan Morris and Kai Lohmann drank from the premiership cup, while Cam Rayner performed a shoey to the cheers of the crowd.
Around five minutes away by car, the atmosphere at The Beverly Rooftop on Chapel St was noticeably more subdued.
The premiership-winning coach was still smiling as he greeted supporters on Sunday morning
Midfielder Lachie Neale signed autographs for fans in Melbourne’s Fitzroy
Many players hid their night of celebrations behind dark sunglasses
Fremantle’s past players gathered to drown their sorrows, with the Dockers failing their second attempt at winning the club’s first AFL premiership.
On Sunday morning, players hid the signs of their big night behind sunglasses as they made a poignant return to Brunswick Oval in Fitzroy North, their club’s historic home.
The Fitzroy Lions merged with the Brisbane Bears and based operations out of Queensland in 1996, leaving the footy-mad inner city Melbourne suburb without a team.
The premiership players greeted their heartland fans, signing autographs and taking to the stage in ‘three-peat’ T-shirts.
‘It wasn’t the prettiest of grand finals and for large parts of it we looked like we probably weren’t going to win the game,’ Fagan told the crowd.
‘But this group’s got amazing heart and amazing resilience but when they got 17 points up and played that wharfie thing, our boys fired up and were able to play the best five minutes you’ll ever see in a grand final.’
Fagan was referring to ‘Wharfie Time’, a Dockers crowd-rallying celebration when a goal is scored late in tight matches, in which stadium lights dim, waves crashing through a storm appear on the big screen, and the tolling bells of AC/DC’s song Hells Bells can be heard.
Fagan trained his players to use it as their own motivational tool in the event of a close scoreline, in a move many have hailed as coaching genius.
On Saturday, when Wharfie Time was played late in the fourth quarter as the Dockers raced to a 17-point lead, the Lions responded with four majors in the final four minutes of the match.
Fagan left the Brunswick stage to cheers of ’10 more years’ from the crowd.
