Geelong had long since wrapped up its preliminary final win over Hawthorn last Friday night, but it was only with just three minutes left on the clock that Max Holmes could finally relax.
His number came up on the board to rotate off. If he could make it to the bench without incident, he'd finally get to play in a Grand Final. It was a nice moment.
"Gryan Miers was sitting on the bench, and he's one of my good mates at the club," said Holmes, speaking to ESPN in the rooms after the game. "He got up and gave me a big old hug and we smiled at each other for a couple of seconds. It was a pretty good feeling."
And why would Holmes have taken his Grand Final ticket as a given after having been robbed of the opportunity in crushing circumstances not just once, but twice?
In 2022, he twinged a hamstring in the Cats' preliminary final thumping of Brisbane, and despite training solidly during the week, was not selected for the big one against Sydney, coach Chris Scott taking no chances on the fitness front. It didn't go down well.
"I was a younger player who wasn't as influential in the team, and at the time I was p---ed with 'Scotty', Holmes said on Monday. "Now I can understand why he did what he did, and I respect that decision."
Last September, however, presented some unwanted déjà vu, when with Geelong again having the upper hand on Brisbane in a preliminary final and a now more experienced and valuable Holmes the most damaging player on the ground, a hamstring niggle forced him off again, and eventually to be subbed out of the game.
Those closest to the 23-year-old insist, however, he would have been right to go on Grand Final day. And given how easily Brisbane accounted for Sydney after scraping over the line against the Cats, it's not too great a stretch to suggest it was a niggle which may have cost both he and his club another flag.
For a player who'd missed barely a game across the past four seasons to that point, it was cruel luck indeed. And now a fine young man who has barely put a foot wrong his entire sporting life, be it as a junior athlete or footballer, as much as any player taking the field on Saturday, deserves a lick of the ice-cream.
Why the character reference? OK, disclosure time. I've known Max since he was a five-year-old kid starting school with my own son, David. Max's mum, former Olympic runner Lee Naylor, used to walk the pair home to her place, from where I'd pick David up.
I was privy to one of "those" moments, when as Lee and I shared a coffee out on the verandah, I witnessed the seven-year-old Holmes drilling the most lace-out centimetre-perfect short passes at David's chest, and the sort of clean ball-handling you'd be impressed by with an 18-year-old, let alone a kid in Grade 2.
He handled himself pretty well in front of a camera even then, too, as I discovered when I "voxpopped" him for The Age out the front of the MCG on Grand Final day in 2010. Eight-year-old Max, with his dad Anthony, was decked out in the red-white-and-black of St Kilda as the Saints took on Collingwood.
Why was St Kilda going to win? "Because Collingwood (the 2010 version) haven't played in a Grand Final and St Kilda have ... Nick Riewoldt's going to kick all the goals," said little Max. Well, given it took the Pies two games to win it, he was nearly right.
Just going through some old video stuff. Here's me doing voxpops for The Age before the 2010 AFL Grand Final between Collingwood & St Kilda, and who should I stumble upon but newly-crowned Geelong best and fairest winner but then enthusiastic 8yo Saints fan Max Holmes! 😂 pic.twitter.com/oCcc12xxa0
— Rohan Connolly (@rohan_connolly) October 10, 2024
Of course the genes and natural ability have helped. But Holmes is a kid who never gets ahead of himself. Indeed, there's a lovely sense of self-deprecation which isn't always a trademark of young stars in their early 20s.
"If I say I've really worked hard on a few things I get laughed at by the other players," he chuckles. "They think I'm a bit lax, a bit slack sometimes. Joel (Selwood) used to call me 'Slacksy'.
"But I'd say it's just understanding the game a bit more. You're always learning stuff. The more experience you get, the more you learn. The more situations you're put in, the more work you do, the more you learn."
So, third time lucky for Holmes grabbing that premiership medallion? Well, getting to the end of the Grand Final spot playoff in one piece was a major hurdle cleared.
And given how well the Cats have prepared for this opportunity, and the stunning preliminary final form of skipper Patrick Dangerfield and midfield star Bailey Smith, another big finals performance from Holmes -- Geelong's reigning best and fairest -- as well might be one too many weapons for the Lions to handle.
Having just played his 100th game, only 23, and with a good decade of potentially great football ahead of him, you'd think there'll be more premiership opportunities for Holmes yet. But even this first one is overdue. And perhaps, for the preliminary final hard luck story, the biggest hurdle might already have been cleared.
You can read more of Rohan Connolly's work at FOOTYOLOGY.