The pain of the loss was evident on the faces of all Blues players as soon as the final siren sounded as the emotion came pouring out.
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Second year player Jordan Boyd left it all out on the Gabba as he ended the contest with 17 disposals, five marks, four tackles and 461 metres gained in a breakout performance.
Boyd however garnered more attention online after a photo of the 25-year-old was posted to social media.
The AFL’s chief photographer Michael Wilson snapped Boyd with his head in his hands after the siren.
The image was captioned “the pain of defeat” but it was Boyd’s colourful nails that stole the focus with some users questioning the move.
One user without a photo or their full name responded: “Hmmm nice nail polish.”
Another keyboard warrior hiding behind a photoless account and no full name wrote: “netball? what sport is this photo from.”
X user Adam de Petro questioned: “Why is he wearing nail polish?”
Despite the criticism from a few insecure individuals, the photo was well received from other social media users.
Anne Miller wrote: “The only issue with the polish is the chips.”
Chris Lumsden responded: “So many insecure men in the comments! Afraid of another man wearing nail polish.”
Another added: “Imagine being offended by a man wearing nail polish.”
A fourth wrote: “Concerning how many low life plebs who have issues with a man wearing nail polish are roaming around society. Get a grip.”
Brisbane fans revelled in the action on Saturday night as Blues fans looked on shattered as the contest completely flipped after a scintillating first quarter.
After 20 minutes it was one-way traffic for the travelling Blues as they slammed home the opening five goals of the contest.
The Lions looked stunned in front of their home crowd and were struggling to deal with the pressure being applied.
Those watching on simply couldn’t believe what they were seeing unfold at the venue where the Lions hadn’t lost all season.
‘Extraordinary scenes at the Gabba,” Luke Darcy said on Channel 7’s coverage.
“What is going on at the Gabba,” Hamish McLachlan added. “This is one of the more extraordinary terms I’ve seen Carlton play.”
That’s as good as it got for the Blues.
Over the next three quarters the Lions flipped the script and put the clamps on the Blues.
Carlton’s scoring completely dried up as they managed to kick only one more goal for almost an hour.
The Lions had no such issues as they continually peppered the goals and put their rivals to the sword.
Carlton put some life into the contest with two quick goals in the fourth quarter but the Lions responded as they ran out the contest.
In the end it was a 46-point swing as the Lions set up a tantalising Grand Final showdown against Collingwood at the MCG.
The Grand Final will be the third time the two sides have squared off on the biggest stage of all, making them the first two teams to meet at three AFL Grand Finals.
Their previous two meetings came back in 2002 and 2003 when the Lions emerged victorious and claimed their historic three-point.
Collingwood will enter the Grand Final as the favourite on the markets with the Lions record at the MCG a glaring piece of evidence.
The Lions have lost 14 of their past 15 games at the home of football with their most recent outing coming against Melbourne in round 18.