The shot of Collingwood star Jeremy Howe hunched over and squatting with a dejected look on his face summed up the misery of the Magpies’ Friday night loss to Brisbane.
Howe was seen with his head in his hands near the turf as Lions players raced in from everywhere to jump on goal-kicking hero Zac Bailey.
The Lions were down by five when the full-time siren sounded but Bailey had a set shot to win it and his straight kick from 45m out broke the hearts of Collingwood players and fans.
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It was written all over Howe’s face after he had performed a hilarious handstand, psyche-out attempt when Bailey was walking in to take his kick.
Howe did a handstand windmmill but it wasn’t enough to unsettle Bailey when he had the match on his boots.
Howe’s acrobatics were completely overlooked in the anarchy that followed Bailey’s kick and the wild Brisbane celebrations.
Brisbane scored its first win of the season with the 11.7 (73) to 11.6 (72) victory after trailing deep into added time.
There were still plenty of fans who admired Howe for his last-second desperation.
Australia rejoices at Collingwood’s heartbreak
Footy journo Rohan Connolly tweeted: “Wow! Lions just didn’t look destined to win give amount of fluffed opportunities. Zac Bailey very cool stuff, should have kicked winner last week at Geelong! Bloody great game again!”
AFL reporter Ryan Daniels added: “Don’t tell me there aren’t Footy Gods. Zac Bailey unbelievable.”
The club opposing AFL fans love to hate, Collingwood’s heartbreak was everyone else’s fairytale.
James Massola tweeted: “The only thing better than Collingwood losing by 100 points is Collingwood losing by one point, after the siren.”
Ryan Reynolds added: “So much satisfaction seeing Collingwood lose after the siren.”
Carlton supporter Jamie Briggs wrote: “Collingwood losing with an after the siren kick. I think this is going to be a terrific Easter.”
Cricket reporter Dennis Freedman tweeted: “Collingwood losing by a point after the siren is God’s gift to humanity.”
Lions coach Chris Fagan was a proud man, especially after the adversity his team has already faced in 2021.
“Win, lose or draw I just wanted us to play with great effort and grit and that’s what we did tonight,” he said post-match.
“Tonight was always going to be an interesting scenario and there were many times where Collingwood looked like they were going to win, but our boys got up!
“When they look back on their careers, that game will bring a smile to their faces.”