A dominant display by Brisbane on Saturday forced the Swans to relive the nightmare of their eerily similar 2022 grand final loss to Geelong.
Just as the Cats did to post an 81-point win against a lacklustre Swans, the Lions dominated all four quarters to claim the flag with an 18.12 (120) to 9.6 (60) victory.
Sydney's loss is their fourth grand final defeat since the 2012 premiership and leaves long-time coach John Longmire with a 1-4 record in grand finals.
Warner, who starred in the 2022 decider as arguably the Swans' best player, was candid about his devastation.
"This time, it's a lot worse," Warner said.
"Coming in, I felt a lot more prepared than last time. I felt like we had to win a lot more than last time as well.
"We've been in a bit of a delusional stage, and then a crying stage, and then kind of 'move on with it' stage.
"We keep going between the two (stages). I don't really know what to think. It's just pretty crazy."
"I'm a broken man right now. — Sydney Swans (@sydneyswans) Unfortunately we haven't been able to achieve the ultimate success."Dane Rampe speaking at the Grand Final Dinner. pic.twitter.com/h7Za6i70d0September 28, 2024
The usually slow-starting Swans got on top early with the opening two goals courtesy of Will Hayward and Tom Papley, before trailing by eight points at the first break.
But the Lions went full-throttle in the second quarter, piling on 7.4 to 1.2 to launch ahead by 46 points at halftime.
A second-half challenge from the minor premiers was expected after a season of late comeback wins, but the Lions cruised towards victory with little scoreboard resistance.
"The funny thing is, we actually started well for once," Warner said.
"We were saying before but I don't think we could have prepped any better. Mentally, we went into the game great, physically as well.
"I guess the footy gods had something else to say on this day."
But Warner, leaning on the lessons from their 2022 flop, won't be moping around for too long.
"At the end of the day, life moves on, doesn't it? It's not the end of the world. It's going to be a long year next year," Warner said.
"The work we've done this year to get to this point, it is tiring but I think we've shown time and time again that we can back it up.
"The reality is, you're not going to get anything by sooking and sitting there and saying 'woe is me' so we'll be back next year."
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