Two-time Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale recorded an eight-year low on Saturday after Sydney tagger James Jordon kept him to a measly 10 disposals.
The Lions were able to get the victory in the grand final rematch, but their superstar was well held by Jordon, who didn't leave his sight for the entire afternoon.
Neale's uncanny ability to record staggering numbers has been a pillar of his dominance for the better part of a decade.
But for the first time since 2017 Round 21, where the former Docker registered nine disposals but was injured and missed the following week, had he logged a disposal count so low.
Neale's stat line read like this: 10 disposals (five kicks, five handballs), 50 per cent disposal efficiency, three tackles, two clearances, 136 metres gained and one solitary score involvement.
Swans coach Dean Cox couldn't have heaped more praise on his taggers' performance, noting that if Neale won't get you, the likelihood is one of the other players will.
"They're strong bodied players," Cox said.
"(The Lions') ability as a collective, and that's not just through the middle part of the ground, but if you talk about their high half-forwards like (Cam) Rayner, they are really strong bodied players, and Zac Bailey," Cox said.
"We cut out one. I thought James Jordon did an unbelievable job on Lachie Neale, to keep him to 10 touches and two clearances is phenomenal.
"I think most sides are happy if its 20, 25 (possessions)."
In Neale's debut season with Fremantle, he recorded tallies of 4, 5, 7 and 8 as either the starting substitute or was pulled from the ground and handed the dreaded red vest.
The 31-year-old's first grand final appearance in 2013, he started as the sub, gathering seven disposals from 20 per cent game time.
Neale recorded five touches in Round 1 2014, but once again, Ross Lyon handed him the vest to begin with.
And 12 months later, an outlier performance in Round 4, ironically against Sydney, saw Neale struggle to find the ball in 73 per cent game time, amassing nine disposals.
The Lions co-captain has made a career of collecting the football at a whim, so Saturday's outing was a shock to most despite the extra attention.
