Former Lions player Mitch Robinson has publicly lashed out at his former club after being denied entry to the team’s changing room following Saturday night’s game.
Robinson, who played 147 games for Brisbane, was at the Gabba to watch his two former clubs clash.
The Lions booked their place in the preliminary final against Geelong, ending the Blues’ fluctuating season with a 14.15 (99) to 11.5 (71) victory.
At 11pm, Robinson, 35, took to social media to post: “Imagine playing and bleeding for a club for eight years, taking massive amounts of blows to the head and staples to the face (long term effects) only for my family to be turned away from going down to the rooms after the game to celebrate with my former team mates,” he wrote.
“Football is a fake family, remember that. I’m never going to a Lions game again.”
Robinson had been posting on social media in the run-up to the match, clearly excited about the big occasion.
‘Tonight’s the night, these two clubs are building a little rivalry in the final!’ he posted.
“I think Brissy will win at home. The team has settled in and adapted to the warm conditions. If they play well, it could be a rout. However, we are praying for a close and difficult match.
Former Lions star Mitch Robinson was heartbroken after not being allowed into the locker room after Saturday night’s game.
Robinson, 35, played 147 games for the Lions and became a cult hero for the club.
‘Who do you think is getting up?’
The hosts scored the first nine goals and earned the first 60 points of the game, making the Blues the first team to fail to score in the first quarter of a finals match since 1974.
The scoreline inside 50 minutes was evenly split (56-56) but Brisbane’s dominance and centre-half shooting was far superior as Carlton stumbled towards half-time still searching for a point.
Patrick Cripps’ goal five minutes from time in the term meant they avoided becoming the first team to go scoreless after two terms in AFL history.
The margin was 47 at the main break, just one more than the deficit the Blues overcame in an incredible first-round win at the same venue.
And a miraculous repeat looked possible for a moment, when the Blues scored five goals in 15 minutes.
The lead was 31 when the Lions squandered two brilliant chances to halt the slide, first Logan Morris hitting the post from straight in front, then Zac Bailey was caught out when he received the ball in an open goal.
Shortly afterwards, Callum Ah Chee’s goal calmed nerves and the Lions went into the break with a 40-point lead, only for the Blues to score the final three goals of the game to complete the hard-fought contest.
“It’s probably the best football we’ve played this year over 50, 55 minutes,” Lions coach Chris Fagan said, downplaying the significance of the Blues’ comeback.
“We wanted to try to put them on the defensive from the start… we didn’t think we would do that well.
“It was a pretty emphatic performance.”
Robinson says he will never attend a Lions football game again after his treatment
Jack Payne, returning from a foot injury, was substituted with a knee injury that will require scans, but Fagan said there was optimism the key forward could still face the Giants on Saturday.
Dayne Zorko (29 disposals), Will Ashcroft (20) and Lachie Neale (27) were all superb for the hosts, while Cameron Rayner flew spectacularly to lay in a mark that led to the second of his three goals.
Tom De Koning was influential as a tactical substitute in the second quarter for a desperate Carlton side, while Cripps (31 touches, one goal) and Sam Walsh (28 touches) battled hard.
Sam Docherty, making a remarkable return less than six months after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament on the same pitch, had 16 touches and scored a late goal.
“Tonight was a small taste of what our season has been like… it hasn’t been consistent enough,” Voss said.
‘When you’re not consistent enough, it gets worse over time, you get to finals, against the best teams, with the most extreme pressure… and you discover a little more about yourself.
“We didn’t have our pressure at levels close to where we needed to be.”