The footy season is a marathon, not a sprint.
Multiply that by the 218 games over several months and the time starts to add up.
Especially if you are in one of the highest profile jobs in footy.
In the era of short form video and instant takes, being involved in football nearly forces you to do the opposite.
You don't scroll through football games, you absorb them.
The bigger the stakes, the those discrete moments are.
"Finals come down to moments," Fagan told afl.com.au in 2020.
Win enough of those moments at the right time and you might just win the premiership.
The importance of moments is something that wasn't lost on his opposite number coming into the finals.
By winning enough moments at the right time Brisbane was able to overcome the biggest lead in time-on in a final since at least 2001.
Much of the 2026 grand final played out the way that the 2026 season had progressed, with Fremantle in control. On paper, Fremantle not just dominated proceedings but played in a way that took away Brisbane's strengths.
On paper, Fremantle should have won the game and done so.
The Dockers were able to effectively neutralise the Lions' usually strong clearance game through the first half, both gaining position and hitting the scoreboard.
While the Lions broke even at around the ground stoppages, the Dockers were able to dominate centre clearances and piled on three goals from the middle.
The Lions managed nine first half tackles inside their own 50 to just two from the Dockers.