At long last, the Lions have done what was expected of them and capitalised on a strong home and away season to make their way into the Grand Final. They’ve been a consistent presence in upper echelons of the ladder for years but have not yet been able to get past a prelim with this incarnation of the side. Entering this finals series with a top two finish and subsequent path to the Grand Final without having to leave the Gabba, where they won every game prior to the finals, anything less than a Grand Final berth was always going to be a disappointment.
They duly obliged. They were scary in their first final, putting the pedal to the metal in the third quarter to run away from the Power and earn a 51-point victory. That ultimately set up a Preliminary Final in Brisbane against the Blues, and it’s safe to say the Lions looked a little off their best early, conceding the first five goals of the game. But just prior to quarter time they steadied, and from the second quarter onwards it looked like just a matter of time before they regained the lead. Ultimately they did, and despite a minor surge from the Blues in the final quarter, this game always looked like the Lions aside from those early stages.
In the back half of the season, they have been the most clinical side in the competition, but to translate that into a Premiership they’ll have to do what they’ve struggled significantly to do for over a decade and win at the MCG. Incredibly, they’ve won just one of their last 15 games at the home of football and if we go back to 2009, they’ve won just three of 27. They’ve played just twice there this year – in the first, they lost to the bottom-three Hawks, not exactly a result which inspired a lot of confidence in their ability at the ground. But against the Demons a few weeks later they played really, really good footy, only to be run down in the final minute and lose by a point. That loss probably didn’t help the demons which they must have at the ground, but that they played so well should give them the confidence they need for the Grand Final.
Grand Final Day, too, feels different. Certainly home ground advantage is relevant and the Pies will have both the lions’ share of the support (pardon the pun) and the familiarity with the ground, but there will be plenty of nerves on both sides, regardless of the stadium which surrounds the turf on which they’ll play. Were this not being played in Melbourne, there’s every chance the Lions would be favourites. There is very little about this team to criticise, both on paper or in the way they’ve gone about things for the past few weeks and in particular during the finals series. It’s been 20 years since the Lions last won a flag, but they’re every chance of taking the Premiership cup back to Brisbane after this weekend.
- What brings them here? The Lions did what they had to do after earning a home Qualifying Final, beating the Power with ease before overcoming a terrible start against the Blues to record a solid Preliminary Final victory.
- What has changed? Brisbane brought in gun midfielder Josh Dunkley as well as experienced forward Josh Gunston for the 2023 season, while father-son pick Will Ashcroft has made an immediate impact. On the other side of the coin, Dan McStay has headed to Collingwood, Tom Berry to the Gold Coast, and Mitch Robinson has retired.
- Injury update: The Lionsare looking pretty good on the injury front. Jack Payne was withdrawn through injury and replaced by Darcy Gardiner for the Preliminary Final, and Gardiner did his job. If Payne is fit, however, he will most likely come back in – whether that’s for Gardiner or somebody else remains to be seen, but with McStay out it’s hard to see the Lions playing three key backs.
Bet on the Brisbane Lions to win the Premiership at $2.10
