AFL grand final: Recap as Fremantle Dockers suffer grand final heartache against Brisbane

Grand finals are full of big moments, and they get bigger as the game goes on. Here’s the key plays from the Dockers’ heartbreaking loss.

Lachie Neale’s presence in the grand final remained hotly contested into Saturday evening, with many saying he should not have been allowed to play.

For James O’Reilly, the Dockers were wronged from the beginning.

“It was a good game, very competitive — but at the end of the day you’ve got to ask yourself the question of ‘what is wrong with the AFL?’” he said.

“For him (Neale) to be allowed to stand there and give speeches and win that medal after the way he treated blokes when playing the game is unforgivable.

“We’ve been wronged from the beginning.”

Lachie Neale spent most of his grand final week listening to lawyers instead of training, but despite a slow start, he still had the last laugh over Fremantle.

Dockers legend and two-time Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe was in the Dockers’ rooms after the game to console his former teammates.

Fans in Fremantle continue to leave in the masses, arm in arm, after wharfie time ended in a way they desperately did not want.

Ashley Carnell and Angus Lincoln are among the many left gutted, saying they are still shocked by how the game finished.

“Just so shocked, really,” they said.

“Can’t believe that in the last literally four minutes, so much could go wrong,” Mr Lincoln said.

“My mum and auntie will be at home crying,” Ms Carnell added.

For the Fremantle faithful, the final moments have left a sea of supporters stunned as they make their way home, still trying to comprehend how it all slipped away.

Long-time Dockers devotee Dan Huxtable, 53, said it was a difficult loss, but a great game overall.

“It was a great game of footy, hard way to lose in the last four minutes, but you know, that’s finals footy,” he said.

“I think the next generation will take it harder than us . . . the original supporters like us are conditioned for pain.”

The moment Lions fans have had plenty of over the last three years.

But remember Freo fans, they lost one before that in brutal fashion.

Deflated fans have made a mass exodus from Fremantle following the grim loss, with many in disbelief that their beloved team’s luck had turned so cruelly.

“I feel devastated, I absolutely thought they had it,” Kate Marsie said.

“I can’t believe they stole so many points in such a short period of time. I just can’t comprehend it.”

Damien Marsie said wharfie time “did more damage than good”.

“I guess there’s always next year,” he said.

When an unstoppable force meets an immovable object, the result is terrifying.

Fremantle’s shattered captain Alex Pearce has pledged his side will “fight and be back here again” after their premiership dream turned into a grand final nightmare.