Joe Daniher with 'insane' act as Lions win AFL finals epic amid brutal Stephen Coniglio drama

Joe Daniher shrugged off his questionable set shot record to deliver two massive moments for the Brisbane Lions in an AFL finals comeback for the ages against Greater Western Sydney on Saturday night. The Giants lost Stephen Coniglio to a cheekbone injury after a brutal first quarter collision, then gave up a 44-point lead during the third term as the Lions roared home to complete the second greatest comeback in AFL finals history with a 15.15 (105) to 15.10 (100) triumph.

Daniher stood tall for the visitors after booting an extremely difficult set shot near the boundary line, before another mark and goal snatched a late lead. Brisbane had trailed all game and looked dead and buried at various stages, but refused to give up and booted a flurry of goals in two astonishing late rallies to break GWS hearts and set up a preliminary final showdown with Geelong next week.

Jesse Hogan was outstanding in a beaten side - his five goals took him to a new GWS club record of 77 for the season. But Hogan's heroics were ultimately in vain as Daniher iced one of the most incredible fightbacks that left viewers and commentators gobsmacked. "Unbelievable, best win I've been apart of for sure," Lions star Hugh McCluggage told Channel Seven afterwards.

Joe Daniher comes up clutch in epic Lions comeback

"It's extraordinary ... it was high scoring, it was free flowing ... this is huge," Jason Dunstall said on Fox Footy. David King added: "I've never seen a final like it. They were just out on the canvas, picked apart tactically ... they won't recover from this for a long, long time (GWS).

“Joe Daniher just takes you on this ride. He can disappoint you one minute and win you back the next. His last term, when you had to have them, you have to take your hat off.” Daniher's crucial pair of final quarter goals came after an epic rally in the third term that saw the Lions boot five goals in as many minutes to cut into the Giants' commanding lead.

GWS hit back again though with goals for Xavier O'Halloran, Hogan and a third of the night for the impressive Toby Greene seemingly putting the home side in the box seat. But the Lions weren't done and went on another incredible run with goals for Eric Hipwood, Charlie Cameron, Dayne Zorko and Jaspa Fletcher setting the stage for Daniher to complete the epic turnaround.

GWS gutted after exiting finals in straight sets

GWS coach Adam Kingsley and his players cut shattered figures afterwards, lamenting a second-straight finals game that had gotten away from them after last week's six-point qualifying final loss to Sydney. "The final quarter was the same as the Swans game, to be fair," the GWS coach said. "You put yourself in a position to win the game, you should win the game.

"We addressed it during the week. The players knew what I was going to tell them at three-quarter time because we rehearsed it yesterday. Unfortunately, with our actions, we weren't able to back it up. We've had those moments across the year, it's really no surprise. We've had too many moments where the opposition have capitalised and won games in short periods of time against us. It would appear we haven't yet learnt that lesson."

Dual-premiership Kangaroos great King suggested afterwards that the Giants "won’t recover from this for a long, long time". Their pain was also compounded by the nasty first quarter incident that saw Coniglio wiped out of the rest of the contest. The GWS star suffered what appeared to be a fractured cheekbone after being collected in the back by Lions defender Harris Andrews' attempted spoil, which pushed the Giants star's head into the hip of teammate, Aaron Cadman.

Brisbane Lions shrug off Lachie Neale injury concerns

It wasn't the only major injury concern of the night, with Brisbane set to be sweating on the fitness of Lachie Neale, who was seen wearing a moon boot after the game. Lions coach Chris Fagan insisted Neale would be fit for the preliminary final against the Cats after explaining that the dual Brownlow Medallist had been nursing a sore foot "for a few weeks".

"If you come down and watch us train, you probably won't see him on a Tuesday. You'll see him on a Thursday and he'll look not very good," Fgaan said. "Then by the time we get to a game, he's good to go. He's tough... "He's not in any danger of not playing next week. He's fine, he's just like he always is after a game. It's been like that for quite some time now."

with AAP