The Lions were down by 17 minutes with little more than four minutes after Patrick Voss seemingly put the nail in the coffin to seal Fremantle's inaugural Premiership, only for Fagan's side to kick the last four goals of the match to complete a third consecutive flag.
Fagan described it after the match as "probably the most amazing four-minute comeback I've ever seen", confessing that even he on the sideline was taken aback by what the team he has been in charge of for a decade now was able to achieve.
"I must admit sitting there on the bench: 'well, we've put a lot of good campaigns together, but maybe today's the day we're not going to be good enough'.
"I also hadn't given up hope, because we practice those scenarios to try get back into games.
"This group has built up over the last eight years a tremendous amount of resilience. I knew they wouldn't give up but I thought that might have been a bridge too far."
The often humble 65-year-old was the first to admit that his team had been outplayed for the majority of the match, hailing his opposition as deserved winners.
"I reckon you'd all agree that Fremantle deserved to win that game," he said.
"They were better than us for longer periods. They were killing us in clearances and contested possession, particularly in that third quarter, and we couldn't get any territory.
"They had a lot of inside 50s, a lot of shots, so I feel a bit sorry for them. They played super well today."
It was the second consecutive week the Lions had to pull victory from the jaws of defeat, so the saying goes, in addition to an unforgettable 2024 semi-final comeback where they were 44 points down away to the GWS Giants.
"This group has seemed to become a team that needs to get into a dire situation before they can produce their best," Fagan quipped with a smirk.
"Two weeks in a row now we've done that, and even earlier in the season when we were 6-6 and it wasn't looking too good, the boys found a way."
"They've learned to do it over a long period of time by losing finals, losing other big games and getting resilience from that. The last few years we've been able to use it to our benefit."
Lions co-captain Josh Dunkley revealed immediately after the match that the Lions players had been inspired by Fagan to use Fremantle's iconic 'Wharfie Time' as their own source of inspiration, with the Lions' four consecutive goals coming almost immediately after the dreaded ringing of the bells around the MCG.
Fagan confirmed to reporters after the match that he had played audio of the call to arms to his players in a matchweek meeting to give them an expectation of what would come were it to be enacted on gameday.
"It was something we hadn't heard before. I wanted the players to hear it, learn what it meant to Fremantle, and say to (my players) that if they do play it, then maybe we can use it as a sign for us to get cracking. It just so happened that it turned out that way," Fagan explained
"I'm not taking credit for that, by the way - the bloke who suggested it to me is our backline coach Dale Morris. He had audio of it so we just played it at our meeting.
"It looks fortuitous and it looks genius, but we were just lucky, I think. I guess it'll get talked about in footy folklore now because it happened in a Grand Final!"
The supercoach also explained that, despite the team's ongoing success, the thought of pursuing a fourth consecutive Premiership is a long, long way away.
Fagan said he was contemplating retirement in coming weeks to avoid the potential ignominy of being sacked in a time of crisis.
"I've got to work out whether it's the right thing to continue on, which might sound strange to say after we've just won a Premiership," Fagan said.
"I don't want to be that guy who hangs around until we fail. There's a little bit inside me who'd rather walk away when the team is on top.
"It's the dream way to finish, in many ways. For most coaches, unfortunately, it ends in tragedy.
"I've just got to work out whether I've still got the energy required to take the relentless responsibility and pressure that comes with being an AFL coach.
"It's not something you understand until you do it. It overtakes your life and I don't know whether I want to keep doing that or I don't."
Aaron Murphy has been with Flashscore since 2018 and, as the founding editor of the Australian newsdesk, has reported on-site at several major events in Melbourne including the Australian Open, State of Origin, A-League, NBL and international cricket. You can read his pieces here and contact him on X or LinkedIn.
