Pat Voss’ on-field antics — particularly his goal celebrations — have made him a cult hero at Fremantle and one of the most loathed amongst opponents.

Yet it was his post-game actions following the Dockers’ heartbreaking seven-point grand final defeat to Brisbane at the MCG on Saturday which showed the true character of the man known affectionately as ‘The Prancing Pony’.

As several of his teammates drifted into despair, the 23-year-old went around and picked them up off the turf of the ‘G and hugged them, showing incredible leadership in what was the young man’s toughest football moment.

In the rooms post-game, a stoic Voss revealed a note he wrote to himself in the lead-up to the contest helped him keep his emotions in check and the result — no matter which way it went — in perspective.

“I wrote on a card before today the things that I am proud of myself for and I said to myself, ‘Whatever happens today, I am not going to be defined by being a premiership player or not’,” Voss said.

“I feel like I’m a good person and I feel like my 22 brothers on the field today are all good people and they’re not going to be defined by this loss. I wanted to show my love and support for them.

“JT (Josh Treacy) and Jye (Amiss) were the first two I got to, obviously, I spend so much time with them and have grown so much with them. I’ll be there for them no matter what.”

Voss was one of the Dockers’ best in the defeat, booting three goals — to take his season tally to 49 from 26 games — including the major in the last quarter which put them 17 points up and led to the activation of “Wharfie Time”.

However, it would be the last time Fremantle would hit the scoreboard as the Lions would run riot, kicking the next four goals to storm to a hat-trick of premierships in the most unlikely of circumstances.

Voss was adamant that “Wharfie Time” had any significance in Brisbane’s incredible run home and that it was just the momentum they grabbed at the right time.

“Not necessarily. I didn’t feel them spurred on at all really,” he said.

“They got momentum. They were able to kick one, and then momentum is a funny thing in footy.

“They were able to kick a couple on the run and obviously run over the top of us.”

Voss also revealed the message coach Justin Longmuir had for his players post-game, which was around making sure they weren’t too hard on themselves in the wake of the loss.

“A lot of disappointment, heartbroken, but more than anything, to be proud. He told us to be easy on ourselves,” he said.

“Each individual is going to have moments that they’re going to want back throughout the course of the game, and I’m no different. I am replaying moments in my head right now that I’d love to have back and love to have the time again. But that’s sport.

“I heard (Hawthorn coach) Sam Mitchell say after their loss last week, ‘to feel the greatest achievement, the greatest accomplishment, you’ve got to be willing to be heartbroken and lose’, like we lost tonight. That is sport, I suppose.”

Voss also leapt to the defence of his fellow forward Treacy, who has been in the gun after he missed what would’ve been a vital last quarter goal despite being inside the goal square.

As Treacy ran in for what looked to be a certain goal, Lions defender Ryan Lester leapt and managed to get a hand on the big Docker, which looked to have affected the kick, which went off to the right.

“I kicked a goal after that. I’m not sure exactly when that happened, but again we all want moments back throughout the course of the game,” he said.

“JT’s is probably amplified because of how late in the game it was and that sort of thing, but he’s not defined by one moment and will be back bigger and better, that’s for sure.”