ALMOST a week after it happened, Craig Starcevich was still in disbelief at the courage shown by Courtney Hodder against Gold Coast, describing her mark as one of the great moments in AFLW's short history.
Brisbane's coach also half-jokingly suggested he would demand an explanation from AFL House after Hodder was beaten for the fan-voted Mark of the Week by Adelaide's Eloise Jones.
With the game inside the final 60 seconds against the Suns, Hodder hurled herself towards oncoming teammate Dakota Davidson and opponent Bess Keaney, leaving her feet to courageously grab a chest mark with eyes only for the ball.
Starcevich likened it to Jonathan Brown's Mark of the Year in 2002.
"That's almost the highlight of AFLW over eight years and it's not Mark of the Week?" Starcevich said on Friday morning.
"I know it's a fan vote, but at some point we have to acknowledge something that was exceptional in our competition, because it drags your audience in as well.
"If you were lucky to be at the MCG 20 years ago to see 'Browny' take his, I had a similar reaction on Saturday.
"There's been a couple of moments over eight years that I've jumped out of my seat in the coaches' box, and most of them involved Courtney Hodder.
"The courage involved to take one of those is phenomenal."
Brisbane's players took to social media on Thursday night to also voice their bemusement that the small forward had missed out on the gong.
However, Starcevich says he has bigger things to worry about ahead of Saturday's top-four blockbuster against the Crows at Brighton Homes Arena.
Although the Lions sport an enviable 6-3 win-loss record against Adelaide, the visitors are unbeaten this season and setting the competition's standard alongside Narrm.
The hosts have won just once from four matches at their new home ground.
"It's not a fortress unless the opposition are uncomfortable," Starcevich said.
"We've got to find a way to play our style and make it uncomfortable for the opposition coming here. That's first and foremost.
"You have to nail everything that gets presented to you, and do it well against good opponents."
