Lions add to day of the underdog

JEFF Horn would have struggled to wipe the smile off Chris Fagan’s face yesterday.

The Brisbane coach has said all year he sees huge potential in his young side and stresses he can identify improvements.

Yesterday the proof in the pudding as the Lions mounted a stunning fightback from 27 points down early in the final quarter to claim their first win in Melbourne for the year, by eight points over the Bombers.

“I’ve always believed in footy that wins on the road – particularly against the odds like it was today – build great character and great belief,” Fagan said. “So we will milk it for all it is worth this week. It is a great day for our footy club.”

It was party time in the Lions’ Etihad Stadium changerooms after the 13.12 (90) to 11.16 (82) victory in front of 41,246 fans.

And when chief executive Greg Swann spread the word that Horn was the new boxing world champion, a fresh round of cheering broke out.

“He won the fight, he’s a Lions supporter, so it’s a great day for Queensland sport,’’ Fagan said.“One of the toughest things to get with a young group is to get them to believe.”