OF COURSE it was Joe Daniher.

In a season where goalkicking plagued Brisbane to the point of costing it a top-four finish, two pieces of Daniher brilliance in the final five minutes of Saturday night's clash with GWS has catapulted the Lions to the most unlikely preliminary final berth.

GIANTS v LIONS Full match coverage and stats

After whittling a Giants lead that was as much as 44 points all the way down to just seven, Daniher stepped up like never before.

In the first instance he was the recipient of a dubious insufficient intent free kick paid against opponent Sam Taylor.

But the hard part was to come.

Kicking from near on the junction of the 50m arc and the left-hand boundary line, Daniher began his run-in from the Engie Stadium fence and perfectly threaded the ball between the big sticks.

The lanky forward celebrated like he rarely does, yelling at his teammates and fist-pumping in exuberance.

Brisbane was trailing by a point.

Then, after Jarrod Berry won the ball from half-back, the seas parted and he galloped through, kicking long to Kai Lohmann who gathered, and hoisted the ball to a genuine one-on-one contest with Daniher and Taylor.

Opposed to one of the best, if not the best, full-backs in the competition, Daniher stretched his long arms out to grasp the ball and take the contested mark.

And unlike the match against Collingwood just a month ago where the 30-year-old could have iced a top-four spot with an accurate set shot, this time he went back from 25m on a slight angle and buried it to give the visitors the lead.

It would complete one of the most stunning comebacks in recent finals history, overturning a lead that was still 31 early in the fourth quarter.

Daniher finished with four goals for the night, his final two bookending a performance that started with a couple in the opening quarter.

It adds another chapter to his story of a terrific big-game player.

In 2022 he was the man at the back of a pack to gather and dribble through a match-winner in the dying seconds of an elimination final win over Richmond.

And last year he kicked 10 goals in Brisbane's three finals, including three as arguably its best player in the heartbreaking Grand Final loss to Collingwood.

So often it has been the Lions gifting their opponents a leg-up with inaccurate kicking, and although they had five more scoring shots than the Giants, tonight their opponents gave a helping hand.

Brent Daniels – the hero against the same opponent in 2019 – will rue his hurried attempt off the ground in the goalsquare that went wide in a frantic fourth quarter.

Just like they did in the 2022 semi-final win over Melbourne, the Lions overturned a hefty half-time deficit to storm into a preliminary final with a huge second half.

And again, Geelong awaits.

Dayne Zorko, beaten by his direct opponent James Peatling in the first half, squeezed forward when he had the chance and kicked two goals after the main break to give his team life.

And with the game in the balance, youngster Jaspa Fletcher kicked a goal he and Brisbane fans will long remember.

Trailing by 14 points and time running out, Brandon Starcevich won a contested ball in the middle of the ground, handballed to Eric Hipwood, who handed off to Hugh McCluggage.

He then found Fletcher in space, with the youngster calmly breaking the 50m arc and taking his moment to slot the goal on the run from 45.

Fletcher took his moment, and Daniher took his two.

Next stop, the MCG.