‘I can’t believe it’: Super sub living the dream after ‘crazy’ flag ride

Patrick Lipinski had to watch from the sidelines as his former team played in a Grand Final. Today, at a different club, he’s a premiership player.

When he was drafted to the Western Bulldogs in 2016, it became viral. A picture of him high up in the MCG, watching his beloved side claim a drought-breaking premiership. A little while after, he was recruited to that very club when the Dogs took him at pick No.28.

But that moment, until Saturday evening, had eluded Lipinski as a player. He couldn’t make a difference as a Bulldog in 2021, left out of the side that ultimately lost the Grand Final to Melbourne.

His absence from that Dogs side culminated in his departure to Collingwood a couple of months later. Now, a couple of seasons later, he has finally tasted the feeling he enjoyed as a fan once again. But this time, he’s done it as a player.

“I think I got drafted eight weeks after that photo was taken. You just want to play one game, then you want to cement yourself, so to be able to be a premiership player … it’s just the best feeling ever.”

Lipinski played Collingwood’s final 13 consecutive games, having missed the start of the season with a shoulder injury. However, ahead of Saturday’s Grand Final, he was made the tactical substitute for the first time in that run.

For some, the call to be dropped from the starting 22 might have been taken harshly. But for Lipinski, there was a positive spin. No matter the role he played in the Grand Final, he was determined to do it well.