The Warrnambool export experienced anger, silence, and jubilation in the space of a minute as he watched Sandringham Dragons’ Joel Amartey line up to win the game after the siren.

Amartey’s kick drifted to the right, gifting the Falcons a two-point triumph on the Etihad Stadium turf.

It meant O’Keefe, already the Falcons’ youngest-ever coach, added a premiership to his decorated resume at just 28.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet, to be honest. I had some moments, on the bus, and laying in bed this morning just seeing hundreds of text messages come in to my phone and you realise what has happened,” O’Keefe told The Standard.

“It’s clear as day for me. I had so many raw emotions flowing through my body. When the boys gathered around me in the box, it was a surreal moment.

“It went from anger and aggression, to dead silence, to jubilation in the click of a finger. It’s something I’ll remember forever.”

O’Keefe, a first-round draft pick with the Sydney Swans whose playing career was curtailed by injury, said his young players would grow from the experience and pressure of a tight grand final.

“As players, that will be with them forever. Whether it is next year, or 10 years down the track,” he said.

“If it’s in country footy in the future, or in the AFL, the boys will remember that and draw on the experience in the future.

“People are talking about the ending of the game, but there is no doubt our boys deserved to win.

“It’s incredible they were able to put on 50 points to zero in that third quarter. To come from that far down to 30 points up at three quarter time is incredible.”

O’Keefe is the club’s third premiership coach alongside Terry Bright (1992) and Damien Christensen (2000).