IT WAS a fairytale farewell for Jonathan Brown, and Brisbane Lions coach Justin Leppitsch says a huge weight has been lifted from the retired champion's shoulders.
The Lions battled the elements and a fourth-quarter comeback by North Melbourne to hang on for a gutsy four-point win on the same night Brown was celebrated with a half-time lap of honour around his beloved Gabba.
After wrestling with the decision for a week, Brown drew the curtain on his illustrious career on Monday, and Leppitsch believes he is now a new man.
Brown – like his former coach – looked stressed during the tense final quarter, but Leppitsch said he won't be feeling that for much longer.
"I think there is a sense of relief when you retire to be perfectly honest," Leppitsch said.
"The war is over. You can go home and just settle and you don't have to fight the battle any more."
There were stages when it looked like Brown would rather be out there helping his teammates, but despite going goalless in the final term, they hung on for win number four of the season.
"I guess all the romantics out there would be very pleased that the fairytale’s complete and Browny got sent off in the right way," Leppitsch said.
"It was a very good night for the club."
Brown's forward line replacement, 19-year-old Michael Close, had the best game of his young career, finishing with 15 disposals, eight marks and a goal.
Leppitsch praised both him and converted full-back Daniel Merrett, who played as a stay-at-home forward and crashed packs all night.
The Lions coach was not keen to weigh in on post-game incidents involving his vice-captain Tom Rockliff who had on-field words with both Brent Harvey and North Melbourne coach Brad Scott.
"I don’t know the ins and outs of it," he said.
"All I know in this game is that if you put something out there it reflects you and resembles you.
"If Rocky has done something wrong, he's got to man-up and own that. If he didn’t and it was sportsmanlike and just a part of the game, well that’s what it was as well.
"I know Boomer really well too and Boomer loves a chat on the field. That’s when you have to make sure you are not crossing the line because they are both competitive beasts.
"Tom will either learn a lesson from it or he won’t depending on what the scenario was."
