‘An act of genius’: Why this killer skill could define the preliminary finals

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One of my favourite quotes from John Lennon goes like this: “If there is such a thing as a genius, then I am one”.

This memorable line from the late former Beatle came to me unexpectedly this week when I was poring over this weekend’s preliminary final teams, who each possess a particular kind of genius.

Hawthorn, Geelong, Brisbane Lions and Collingwood each possess a master of the intercept mark, in James Sicily, Tom Stewart, Harris Andrews and Darcy Moore, respectively.

The Lennon line also reminded me of my former Western Bulldogs teammate and Hawthorn premiership player Brian Lake. Let me explain.

I have long regarded Lake as a football genius, but unlike Lennon, whose genius spread from musicality, to songwriting to activism, my old teammate’s vein of genius was reserved for one thing. A single quiver. This skill that Brian possessed came to the fore at finals time, and it earned him the Norm Smith Medal in the 2013 grand final .

To stand under a high, floating football while wrestling the opposition’s biggest and best player is as tough a challenge that footy has to offer. In this situation, if a full-back can simply stop their opponent from marking, he is a great player.

But if he can mark the footy over and over and over again with that combination of power, timing and spatial awareness, that is an act of a genius. That was Brian. Did Brian’s genius flourish in other pursuits? To the best of my knowledge, it didn’t.

This innate skill that Brian had with marking opposition kicks was most prevalent in finals because that’s when the pressure soars. The intensity of pressure on each possession all over the field is so extreme that players who might be afforded more time and space in the home-and-away rounds are all of a sudden rushed, panicked and forced to kick the ball before they are slammed into the turf.

And it’s here that we must acknowledge the peculiar nature of Brian Lake’s genius. Brian was perhaps the best full-back I have played alongside, but in the regular games of the season, it was sometimes Brian who was the one being tormented.

With a more open field and room for forwards to move freely while wingmen and flankers glided across the ground, sometimes under a roof, bouncing the ball with grace, Brian was sometimes unable to follow the more athletic forwards.

Harris Andrews is the master of the intercept.

Many of them had a field day taking chest marks at will.

The glamorous key forwards dominate our game. They dominate our consciousness. This bias isn’t helped by our television screens being dominated by the key forward mafia of years gone by. They are the biggest show in town but often what tips the scales are the defenders who stand next to them. Their challenge? Thwart them by any means necessary.

But the best of them can turn games by channelling the genius of Brian Lake, for there will be plenty of pressure and high balls to stand under this weekend. If intercept marking is your thing, you might be in for a treat on preliminary final weekend.

From 2023 to 2025, the statistic for most points generated from intercepts gives weight to the working-class heroes of the football field. Ranked No.2 in that time is Hawks captain Sicily (374 points).

James Sicily of the Hawks flies for a mark.

Sicily, who was hampered physically for a significant patch of this season, appears to have recaptured his swagger and looks primed to fire off a few arrows of his own.

Up the other end, it will come as little surprise that the Cats have Stewart who, with 340 points generated from his intercepts, is purring at the heels of Sicily.

If Friday’s night battle is to meet our expectations, these two stars and their specific skills will be on full display and might be the barometer for how this game is being played and who will come out on top.

Ranked No.1 in this category is the Brisbane Lions’ general, Andrews, the only player to generate more than 400 points (426 to be precise). He’ll need help, obviously, but he might be the most obvious impediment to Collingwood’s star-studded midfield, bulldozing through the pride of the Lions.

For the Pies, well, their captain, Moore scrapes into the top 10 at No.9 with a score of 296, but he was scorching hot in their first final over in Adelaide with nine intercept marks.

If there is such a thing as a footballing genius, then these four defenders might be just that. What a time it is to remind us all of that this weekend with a grand final opportunity on the line.