AFLW Finals Update: Brisbane and North Melbourne into Grand Final

Brisbane and North Melbourne are the final AFLW teams standing after taking care of business in their preliminary finals.  

Grand Final weekend is upon us for the AFLW season. Last weekend saw North Melbourne edge the minor premier winning Adelaide Crows to advance to their first ever Grand Final while Brisbane held on in a back and forth battle with a scrappy Geelong side.  

Brisbane Creeps Past Geelong 

The first of the two preliminary final matchups from the past weekend featured the red-hot Brisbane Lions taking on the underdog Geelong Cats.  
 
The match was a tight one that went down to the wire but in the end the favoured Lions were able to snag the victory.  
 
The first quarter saw a hot start for Brisbane who are extremely used to big playoff stages such as this whereas Geelong seemed to have potentially been feeling some jitters.  
 
Geelong was able to score just one behind in the quarter as Brisbane jumped out to a 13-1 lead. The second quarter however saw the Cats settle in as they hounded Brisbane ball carriers and converted chances offensively.  
 
They blitzed Brisbane with two goals and a behind in quick succession taking a one-point lead in the middle of the quarter. Brisbane fought back however and led by five going into halftime.  
 
Brisbane kicked another goal through early in the third quarter, but Geelong knocked in a goal and behind of their own to cut the lead to four heading into the final frame.  
 
The second half was very physical as both teams seemed to clamp down defensively not letting much by them. Geelong scored early in the quarter to go up two, but Brisbane answered back immediately to reclaim their four-point lead.  
 
And that is the way the match would end with Geelong unable to find one last push as Brisbane took the 38-34 win. 

North Melbourne Squeaks by Adelaide 

The second of the two preliminary finals was even closer than the first as North Melbourne beat out the minor premier Adelaide Crows 32-31.  
The Kangaroos got hot after giving up a behind to Adelaide to open up the match, rattling off 13 straight points to lead big midway through the first.  
 
Adelaide scored a behind and a goal before the quarters end to cut the lead to just five.  
 
The second quarter was a similar story as North Melbourne again spread their lead to 12 before Adelaide scored three behinds to make the halftime score 20-11.  
 
The Crows then came out firing in the second half quickly putting through two goals to take the lead. North Melbourne responded with a behind and goal of their own as by the end of the quarter they led 28-25. 
 
North Melbourne had much of the ball to begin the final frame but were struggling to capitalize putting through four behinds in a row. Midway through the quarter, Adelaide smashed through a goal to cut the Kangaroos lead to one.  
 
North Melbourne buttoned down the hatches defensively however and held their lead till the end as they took the match 32-31.  

Will it be Number Two for Brisbane or North Melbourne’s First Title? 

The Grand Final is set with Brisbane set to take on North Melbourne. For the Lions, historically one of the league’s powerhouses, it’s their fifth Grand Final berth while North Melbourne has finally broken through the league’s elites to make their first.  
 
The game is sure to be a tight matchup as both teams have the skill and grit resembling a champion while they each seem to be peaking at the right time.  
 
The North Melbourne defense, which may be the best in the league, will face a tough task against the blistering Brisbane attack and whichever unit shows up on the day, will likely claim the Premiership.

As the AFLW season draws to a close, we still have one more riveting matchup to look forward to. Sunday’s Grand Final will see the Brisbane Lions looking for their second Premiership against the North Melbourne Kangaroos who are looking to finish as queens of the league for the first time.