Marquee ruckman Nic Naitanui left nothing in the tank as he tried to carry his team into finals calculations.

He was clearly best afield with 23 disposals, 21 of them contested and had 10 clearances.

Together with 53 hit outs and six inside 50 entries, no one was more influential on the ground.

Just his sheer desire, as much as his statistics, were a factor and he carried others on his shoulders as the Eagles fought back from a five-goal quarter-time deficit to have a sniff of victory in the early minutes of the last quarter.

Interestingly, Naitanui was drafted with selection #2 in the 2008 draft by the Eagles and five picks later Brisbane secured Sorrento-Duncraig/Subiaco youngster Daniel Rich.

And he was arguably Brisbane’s best player with 29 possessions and six marks and being such an elite kick he did some damage off half-back.