Ross Lyon in 2009/10 was way closer. A missed poster and a bad bounce.Sums up the heartbreak of sport I reckon. Winners are satisfied and losers live the rest of their lives in an endless torture of 'what if'.
If being in a winning position in consecutive years at half time in a preliminary and a grand final is plugging along then coaching is a pretty tough school. On a mathematical probability at half time in those games he was likely closer to back to back flags than anyone even has been, apart from coaches who have actually won them, and he didn't win any. You'd feel a bit stiff.