Brisbane debutant Darcy Wilmot has given one of the all-time, classic post-game interviews as he animatedly described the dying seconds of his side’s thrilling elimination final win.
Lion Joe Daniher kicked a brilliant goal with just one minute remaining to give Brisbane a two-point lead in the clash with Richmond.
Speaking post-game Wilmot, who kicked a brilliant goal earlier in his first AFL game, described those frantic final moments to Fox Footy’s Alastair Lynch.
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And Lynch couldn’t keep the smile off his face as Wilmot began his recount.
“That was unreal,” he said.
“I remember when Joey (Daniher) kicked the goal and we’re trying to tell everyone: ‘We’ve got to settle it down’.
“I’m screaming off the bench: ‘just lock it up, surge!’
“And then it was like, 30 seconds left and it was the double switch and we were like: ‘we’re going to win this!’
“There’s nothing like this ever!”
Described by captain Dayne Zorko as the “perfect kid” to become just the third AFL player to debut in a final in more than 30 years, Wilmot showed he had the talent to play on the big stage.
“That is the best feeling I’ve ever had in my life. The crowd made it that much better, Unreal that was,” Wilmot said.
“I fed off the energy from the crowd. Teammates just said be you.
“All I was thinking (after kicking his first goal) was screaming as hard as I could – hopefully other people could hear me. The crowd was unreal!
“I heard someone say give it to the crowd, let them know. So I was like, ‘alright, cmon’.”
Fox Footy’s David King said Wilmot deserved to hold his spot for next week’s semi final against the loser of the Melbourne/Sydney clash – even if it’s as medi sub.
“You can’t drop him!” he said.
“I think he’s a good sub. He showed a bit of spark tonight – I wouldn’t be dropping him off that (performance on Thursday).”
Fox Footy’s Jason Dunstall praised Wilmot’s honesty in front of camera.
“How good is the exuberance of youth?” he said.
“That’s just unbridled enthusiasm and passion for the game and that’s as raw emotion as you’ll ever hear from a player straight after the game.
“There’s no filter there – he just said what was on his mind.
“To be able to go into the rooms and the people at home getting that from a player, you’d be saying: ‘that’s brilliant stuff’.”
Brisbane coach Chris Fagan was full of praise for Wilmot post-match.
“I thought ‘Oh well, even if we lost tonight … we’ve found a player’,” he said.
“For him to make his debut and come out and play like that, and have some pretty good moments, it speaks volumes for him.
“Hopefully he’ll be a Brisbane Lions’ player for a long, long time.”
The Lions will regain Cam Rayner and Noah Answerth from suspension for the semi final, while Jarryd Lyons will have to prove himself fit to play.
Ruckman Oscar McInerney, who was subbed out of the elimination final after just 90 seconds of play, will miss under the AFL’s concussion protocols, with Fagan stating Darcy Fort looms as the replacement.
