Brisbane coach Chris Fagan has revealed he singled out his star midfield trio at the main break of Friday's come-from-behind win over Melbourne.
Trailing by 23 points at half-time, Fagan decided to compare the numbers of onballers Lachie Neale, Hugh McCluggage and Josh Dunkley to their direct opponents on the whiteboard in front of the group, hoping to spark a second-half reaction from his key men.
Brisbane responded in their return to the field to keep Melbourne to two goals for the entire second half to clinch a thrilling five-point victory.
Dunkley, Neale and McCulggage each played significant roles in quelling the Demons' midfield unit, with the latter stepping up to kick the winning goal with just over a minute left in the match.
Speaking after the win, Fagan revealed his 'rare' half-time decision to single out the senior midfield trio when the game was on the line.
"To be honest, I put Hughy, Lachie and Dunks' stats on the whiteboard at half-time (compared to) the opposition's," Fagan said.
"I said, 'Boys, we need a lift'. To their credit, they gave us a massive lift in the second half.
"That just goes to show you what great character they have.
"They've been up and firing for three weeks in a row now and probably had a little downer tonight, but the good thing is they found a way in that second half and ended up being our best players.
"I very rarely [highlight players]. But I thought it was necessary.
"What I know about those blokes is that they do respond when you do that to them.
"I thought it was appropriate, and they responded. It just shows their character."
Fagan said his side had shown enough through the opening half but couldn't capitalise on a number of opportunities that led to the half-time deficit.
The Lions coach said it was a type of win the club hadn't conjured so far this year, with his group to take "a lot of confidence from that".
"I thought we showed ticket all the way through to the second half, we just weren't able to complete our work," he said.
"That didn't dishearten the team, and that's the thing we talked about at three-quarter time. We hadn't won a game when behind at three-quarter time, it was about time we found a way.
"We'll take a lot of confidence from that. It wasn't a pretty performance but it was a really grind away sort of win.
"At the end of the day you can win by 80 points or five points... it's still worth four points at the end of the day."
Brisbane defender Jack Payne missed the match with foot soreness, making way at selection for Irishman Darragh Joyce.
The key backman is likely to be back in the senior side for next week's clash with Adelaide in Brisbane.
"That's the expectation at the moment," Fagan said on having Payne back for Round 17.
"He was pretty close to playing. Six-day turnaround was probably a little bit costly. He was still a little bit uncomfortable later in the week.
"We just thought we'd give him a spell."
Brisbane have moved into fifth on the ladder following their latest win but could fall back out of the top eight if other results don't go in their favour.
