Then the game started to turn. The Lions, already miles in front, missed a couple of shots that would have buried the Blues for good. “Obviously any time you don’t convert, it’s not great footy,” McKay said, before catching himself, as if aware of the irony.

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His last kick for goal started left, then curled back. “It was a good feeling to get the group in front,” McKay said. “Obviously there was a bit of adrenaline, a few nerves, excitement. But again, it’s about sticking to your routine and getting through the ball.”

McKay’s talked about it plenty over the last two years. Coach Michael Voss is entirely sick of talking about it. “I get a bit tired of the nitpicking to be honest, I’m a bit over it, we can be better than that, I think,” he said.

“Harry works on his game enormously hard. He’s had a fantastic pre-season, he’s been in some unbelievable form, and I just think we should be talking about that … When you find yourself in those situations, you want guys who want the ball in his hands.”

Voss said his players didn’t lose their nerve. “We never lost the group, they stayed quite positive throughout, and we were able to get that little bit of momentum, that little bit of a look. To be able to finish in front was incredibly impressive.”

For McKay, it was a first. “This is my ninth year, and I’ve never won up here, so it’s good to get that monkey off the back,” he said. “They’re a great team, so to get it done, obviously it doesn’t make up for the prelim, but it’s good to get one back.”

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