It’s happened. The Brisbane Lions have achieved two grand finals wins in a row, the first since Richmond 2019-20. The fourth club this century to do so. But there was quite a lot at play to get them here. Here is the recap.
Qualifying Finals
Adelaide Crows versus Collingwood Magpies
After losing their last seven games, there was a lot of pressure on the Pies to prove they deserve their place in the top four. And they certainly did that, flying away to the preliminary finals with a 24-point win, but the Crows certainly made them work for it.
The first two quarters were tense with strong pressures from Collingwood and equally strong defences from Adelaide spearheaded by defender Rory Laid, who finished the game with 24 disposals, seven tackles and five score involvements.
Adelaide’s forward Tayler Walker was another crucial player in cutting past forward threats from Collingwood. And indeed, Collingwood brought a lot of threats, from forward Jamie Elliott shooting four goals, to Midfielder Jordan De Goey’s 26 disposals, six clearances and one goal, all brought together by Darcy’s Moore’s tight defence with 13 intercepts and nine intercept marks.
Tensions were high even amongst the crowd as Collingwood’s Isaac Quaynor became the target of heavy boos. This is probably related to Adelaide’s Izak Rankine’s four match suspension for making a homophobic comment towards a Collingwood player, who is suspected to be Quaynor himself.
Geelong Cats versus Brisbane Lions
This game was a done deal with all of Geelong’s key players playing exactly as they should, winning by 38 points. But Ollie Dempsey was the night's star with three goals and 25 disposals, he was unstoppable. While last year’s preliminary finals against the Lions revealed the holes in the Cats midfield, this game showed just how strong it is now. Despite Brisbane's Cam Rayner’s attempt to repair the gap by farming two free kicks after being nudged by teammates Mark O’Connor and Zach Guthrie, the Cats bit back with three more goals.
Elimination finals
Gold Coast Suns versus Fremantle Dockers
A great end to Gold Coast’s Nat Fyfe’s career, this game was intense from start to end with the Suns winning their first ever final game with only one point. Within the first nine seconds, Gold Coast’s David Swallow kicked a behind 55 metres away from the goal. But, for the Dockers, opportunities were wasted in the first quarter highlighted by Michael Frederick’s miss from 10 metres.
By the end of the game though, both teams were in full steam ahead with Jy Farrers goal extending the Suns’ lead to 21 points, followed by another two goals from Shai Bolton and Patrick Voss. In the final 30 seconds of the game, a point from Swallow cemented their win.
GWS Giants versus Hawthorn
In true Hawks fashion, they started off very strong with a seven goal first quarter, which set the foundation for their 42-point lead by halftime, and proceeded to almost screw it up during the third quarter, where they allowed the Giants to kick six consecutive goals. Yet, they recovered in the final quarter, ending with a 19-point win. While the Hawks were overall very efficient (kicking seven goals from its 13 entries in the first quarter), the Giants’ performance was lackluster. If it weren't for Hawthorn’s slip ups during the last two quarters, the point margin would've only gotten higher.
Semi-Finals
The semi-finals were overall quite uneventful with the Hawks and Lions dominating the Crows and Suns, respectively. With Adelaide’s sloppy performance, the Hawks flew circles around them. However, they still managed to make history by being the first V/AFL minor premiers to be eliminated in straight sets since 1983. An actual notable moment to end off on, however, was the Lion’s Cam Rayner’s impressive goal from halfway through the field.
Preliminary Finals
Geelong Cats versus Hawthorn
The Cats ate the Hawks for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Despite the first quarter ending with things seeming dim for the Cats due to a 13 point lag and concussed key defender Tom Stewart. But after the halftime break, the Cats pulled off an impressive 30-point win, which could have only been achieved with Patrick Dangerfield’s massive energy on field (and 31 disposals) and Jhye Clark's impressive first time competing in a final sub in for Stewart. While the beginning of the game showed the Hawks did their homework on the Cat’s defensive strategy, it was clear they weren't expecting equal rigor from Geelong.
Brisbane Lions versus Collingwood Magpies
Pairing Brisbane and Collingwood in a prelim final can only end in chaos. On field fighting was aplenty with Brisbane’s Dayne Zorko attacking Collingwood’s Mason Cox after Cox kicked the first goal of the match. The first quarter was a huge loss for Collingwood, who were behind by 20 points, yet by the end of the second quarter, they now lead with 13 points. But despite their effort—and some big help from the umpires with two 50-metre penalties in a row—Collingwood’s effort was not enough to prevent the Lions from reaching the grand finals for the third time in a row.
Grand finals
It’s been a tight game folks! The two feline teams go against each other in a grand final for the first time, and it’s clear both teams have done a great deal of research on each other.
The first three quarters of the game left you on the edge of your seat clutching your stomach. There were stoppages happening every second and contested marks up the wazoo. Things took a turn in the final quarter with the Lions dominating the Cats—maybe centuries of human domestication has some downsides after all.
Despite the loss, there were still plenty of standout performances from the Cats. Zach Guthrie and Oisín Mullin certainly did his best to fill in Tom Stewart’s shoes, along with Ollie Dempsey’s outstanding performance in the midfield.
Meanwhile, the Lions obviously gave a stellar performance leading to their 47-point win and annihilation of the Cats in just one quarter. Will Ashcroft has earned his second Norm Smith medal at the age of 21. Hugh McCluggage, despite his humbling experience in the qualifying finals, knew no better place than the grand finals to prove himself by kicking four goals and 26 disposals.