Ross Lyon had become a three-time loser. He was crushed after the grand final, stoically brushing aside his own disappointment and aiming his sorrow at the players and the club.
The grand final might’ve been different because Fremantle weren’t inept. They weren’t humiliated. They might’ve won had they played a little calmer and smarter.
Rod Stewart sang about a three time loser
Lyon’s life might’ve been different, a toe poke here, a bad bounce there, but the scoreboard offers reality. He has lost three premierships as coach.
It doesn’t mean Lyon can’t coach, but Hawthorn always looked likely to win the grand final. The 15-point margin was flattering for Fremantle.
Hawthorn pressured the best defensive team into errors. Fremantle had no space. When they did, perceived pressure forced mistakes or long kicks in hope.
Basic skill errors were crucial. Four set shots went out on the full. Marks were dropped, targets were missed and the ball bounced the wrong way. Players slipped over.
Fremantle offered pressure. They closed to three points in the third quarter but Hawthorn absorbed it and got free.
The conditions and the pressure ensured the grand final provided just a handful of memorable moments. It was hardly a classic.
Hawthorn had 40 more kicks and took 33 more marks. Fremantle had 36 more handpasses, which is proof of a club under pressure. The Hawks went inside fifty 45 times, Fremantle 44. Both clubs created enough scoring shots to win.
And still, the margin flattered the Dockers.
During the post game press conference, Lyon said Fremantle would have to do the work again. Doing the work again would’ve been much more satisfying if they won. Nothing will be satisfying until they win a premiership.
Lyon won’t be satisfied until he coaches a premiership, but he is a three-time loser who keeps creating unfortunate history.
In 118 grand finals across VFL/AFL history, only eleven clubs have gone into half time with one goal or less on the scoreboard. As the table below shows, St Kilda, under Ross Lyon, was the first club to do it in fifty years.
Three years later, Fremantle, under Ross Lyon, has done it again.
| Year | Club | Goals | Result |
| 1901 | Collingwood | 0 | loss 27 |
| 1905 | Fitzroy | 1 | win 13 |
| Collingwood | 1 | ||
| 1906 | Fitzroy | 1 | loss 49 |
| 1913 | St Kilda | 0 | loss 13 |
| 1920 | Collingwood | 1 | loss 17 |
| 1921 | Richmond | 1 | won 4 |
| 1927 | Richmond | 0 | loss 12 |
| 1960 | Collingwood | 1 | loss 48 |
| 2010 | St Kilda | 1 | loss 56 |
| 2013 | Fremantle | 1 | loss 15 |
Only Fitzroy and Richmond won the premiership after kicking one goal to half time. The last time it happened, 1921, was 93 years ago.
History hurt Fremantle after half time. Though they fought back, it was always going to be difficult.
At the weekend, the Dockers didn’t kick a goal in the first quarter. Only five clubs since 1970, Carlton (1970-79) Brisbane (2002), St Kilda (2010 replay) and Fremantle (2013) haven’t kicked a goal in the opening term of a grand final.
It’s a rare occurrence. Lyon has now done it twice in four years. He is doing things few coaches have ever done. It doesn’t mean he can’t coach, but history shows Carlton and Brisbane won the premierships listed above.
St Kilda and Fremantle couldn’t.
During the season, Fremantle went goalless four times in the opening quarter, notably against Hawthorn in round four, Geelong in round 14, St Kilda in round 23 and in the grand final.
The lessons from round four were ignored. Lyon said the first quarter, or Q1 as he called it, would haunt everyone.
‘There was a couple of things we wanted to do, particularly structure in front of the ball,’ he said. ‘For whatever reason it was costly in the first quarter.’
Missing set shots was costly. Nathan Fyfe kicked twice out on the full. The wind wasn’t interfering with the ball drop. Fyfe just stuffed up his kicks, the first one off the outside of the boot, the second one off the instep.
The wind rarely interferes when the ball is always going to miss.
The half time margin was 23-points. Lyon acknowledged the missed opportunities but said the scoreboard wasn’t telling the true story.
‘Even to half time it wasn’t a true reflection,’ he said.
Lyon is wrong. With just one goal on the board, the Dockers were lucky to be 23-points down.
Five of Hawthorn’s goals came from turnovers Hawthorn. Fremantle managed just two, with nine behinds as a reminder to bad football. To further highlight the ineptitude, the Dockers took 16 marks inside fifty.
In the end, chasing down the Hawks in the third quarter was exhausting.
‘Missed opportunities will hurt us,’ Lyon said. ‘The basics under pressure. We didn’t execute with the aplomb that we can and we should’ve.’
He fended off questions about losing three premierships, mentioning Malcolm Blight, who lost three grand finals while coaching Geelong.
When Blight lost his third grand final in 1994, he resigned as coach. ‘I’m a three-time loser,’ he said. ‘You know where they end up.’
Simply, Blight quit before he was sacked. Fuelled by disappointment, he became a messiah in Adelaide.
‘You don’t feel them as a collective, I certainly don’t,’ Lyon said. ‘I understand how hard it is to get back. I’m not going to crumble. My job is to lead.’
Besides, plenty of great coaches in the modern era have lost three grand finals. Consider the list below:
| Won | Lost | |
| Ron Barassi |
4 |
4 |
| Kevin Sheedy |
4 |
3 |
| Tommy Hafey |
4 |
5 |
| Mick Malthouse |
3 |
4 |
| Bob Rose |
3 |
|
| Phonse Kyne |
1 |
4 |
| Ross Lyon |
3 |
Lyon is among a select group of men. Only he and Bob Rose haven’t got a premiership.
‘We’re here to win premierships and fell short’ Lyon said.
Lyon has fallen short three times. His strength is defence, but that is his weakness too. The balance isn’t right. It wasn’t right at St Kilda. It wasn’t right at the weekend.
As the list above shows, great coaches learn from grand final defeat.
Lyon hasn’t learned anything yet. He just knows how hard it is to get back. And life could be so different, a toe-poke here, a bad bounce there.
Epilogue
In 1975, Rod Stewart released Atlantic Crossing. One of the songs was a cheesy sex-starved romp called three time loser. I was five when I first heard the song. The chorus has stuck with me forever. When Malcolm Blight quit, he quoted Stewart’s lyric.
The chorus, with a few adjustments, also suits Ross Lyon…
I’m a three time loser
Caught it at the MCG
To it out to West Australia
Now my friends say it’s here to stay…
