AMID the wild celebrations in the Brisbane rooms after the AFLW premiership triumph, a tall figure stood in the corner, quietly taking it all in.
After falling just four points shy in the men's decider, co-captain Harris Andrews didn't have a set role on the women's Grand Final day, but was around to lend a hand wherever was needed.
"I was simply moral support. I'm in admiration of our team, the AFLW girls. They've done an incredible job over the last five-six years," Andrews told AFL.com.au.
"They've been so successful, and throughout the expansion of the AFLW, they've lost so many players, but each year, they saddle up and go again. I still remember at the start of last year, everyone was writing them off and said they would be no good, and they certainly used that as a fuel to get them to where they wanted to go.
"It was a great experience going down there and being there at Ikon Park when they were able to win the premiership. I was obviously a little bit jealous, having gone through what we did last year, but I was super proud.
"You could see the effort and energy they bring to our footy club, and that's something we'll continue to work on, that one club, one connection. Us boys are always really heavily invested in how they go and vice versa. Really, really proud and happy for them."
Melbourne may have won the McClelland Trophy for the best-performing club across the AFL and AFLW home-and-away seasons, but Brisbane was the most powerful club come finals time over both competitions.
"We want to have an overall strong club in general, whether that's players, coaching staff, upstairs admin, we want to be top of the league in all those regards," Andrews said.
"To see the growth of AFLW, we get that first-hand experience of going out to footy clubs, going out to schools, clinics and seeing the growth of AFL, particularly in young girls, is incredible.
"The fact they've got so many great idols to look up to within our AFLW team is exceptional.
"We're really proud they're part of our club and hopefully this year we can match what they've done a couple of times over the last few years. It's been awesome."
