Last season’s Grand Finalists Brisbane will get another crack at winning the ultimate prize, next week, after pulling off another remarkable comeback to see off Geelong.
Before a crowd of over 93,000 at the ‘G’, this contest will go down as one of the best-ever Prelims with just about everything. Tense and nervous as it can get with plenty of quality, showcasing why this great sport is in such good shape.
Having reeled in a 44-point deficit seven days ago, in the semi-final success at Greater Western Sydney, they had to do it the hard way again, trialling by as much as 25 points in the third term, but still had enough to go on and get the job done.
It rather sums up the season for the Queensland outfit that have been fighting from underneath all this year, following a poor start and seemingly written off at one stage sitting two-five after seven games, but to their huge credit have defied the odds.
It now sets up a date with Sydney on the biggest stage of them all – you have to go back to the 19th century for the last time these two met in the showpiece event.
That was in the 1899 VFL Grand Final when both clubs were based in Victoria and known as South Melbourne and Fitzroy respectively – it was settled by a single point.
The Lions will have to go into that fixture without their experienced ruckman Oscar McInerney. He dislocated his shoulder, on two separate occasions, tried to play through the pain barrier but eventually had to be subbed off and taken to hospital.
There were some big displays across the ground but none more so than that from midfielder Cam Rayner (pictured below) (18 disposals, five marks, five tackles, two clearances and two goals) as he really stood up on the big occasion and made a massive impact.
Speaking on ground, to Channel 7, the No.1 pick in the 2017 national draft said “It’s unbelievable, this group has been written off all year. To come back now and do this; we talk about moments and it is moments like that this year.”
On kicking the sealer, he added “It was a tough slog out there on the half forward line but to be able to steady it and finish it for the boys. I love this club so much and so happy that we get to try again. Hopefully we correct our wrongs from last year.”
Down back, defender Ryan Lester (pictured above) was a real unsung hero having been given the unenviable match-up against Jeremy Cameron. Not only was he able to quell his influence on the contest but also impacted it coming out the backline the other way.
For coach Chris Fagan (pictured below), in his eighth year at the helm, he will get another chance to try and finally win a flag having been involved at the pointy end in the last six series.
Speaking in the presser, he said “I’m feeling very proud of our group, not just for the resilience that they showed tonight, but for the resilience that they’ve shown throughout the year. We were in a pretty dicey situation.”
“The way those boys have gone about it and just stuck to their guns; they got that reward tonight. If you’d have said to me at the halfway mark of the season we’re going to be playing in the Grand Final at the end of the year, I probably would have said to you ‘you’re crazy’. But here we are with another opportunity.”
He went on “A lot of young players have come into our team and given us an enormous amount of energy and they have stood up on the big stage.”
“I feel like we are a really even team at the moment, we aren’t requiring our star players to necessarily play outstanding games, it is everybody doing their two-bobs worth, keeping things pretty simple and the boys giving themselves to the team.”
Sydney ensured that it will be a non-Victorian Grannie, for the first time since 2006, with a superb performance to comfortably get past the challenge from Port Adelaide.
Coming into this fixture they had lost their last eight encounters against the Power, in a run that stretched back to 2016, but finally managed to break the hoodoo with coach John Longmire (pictured below) now leading his side to their fifth Grand Final under his reign.
The 53-year-old is currently the longest serving active AFL coach and will be looking to win it for a second time, in his 14-year spell at the club, after triumphing in 2012.
The last time that the New South Wales outfit won the minor premiership before going on to successfully win the flag was back in 1918, with five failed attempts since then (1935-36, 1945, 1996, 2014, 2016); so they will be hoping to buck that trend.
Before an attendance of 44,053 at the SCG, the sixth biggest ever at the venue, the Swans were very accurate in front of the big sticks, taking their chances, to get ahead on the scoreboard and went on to lead for nearly the whole evening.
The lively Tom Papley and Joel Amartey each kicked three goals, while midfielders Chad Warner and Errol Gulden were dominant in the midfield for the home side.
There were a couple of milestones achieved with Issac Heeney bringing up game 200 and it was also a big night for Dane Rampe as he made his 250th appearance.
Quite the achievement given that he missed out on four drafts before eventually breaking into the AFL at the age of 22. He has since gone on to be an All-Australian as well as picking up both the Bob Skilton Medal and Robert Rose Award.
Chatting on ground, post siren, to Channel 7 he said “I’m super proud, little bit lost for words to be honest. So grateful to the club for taking a chance on me and we get to go to the big dance again. It has beaten us the last couple of times but we’ll be back in the ring which is what we want to be doing as a club.”
It was an emotional evening for ruckman Brodie Grundy, now at the third club in his career, who will finally get a chance to add a Premiership to his list of accolades.
The 30-year-old (pictured below) signed for the Swannies back in October 2023 having endured a miserable time at Melbourne, where he played second fiddle behind Max Gawn, and spent the latter half of the season playing in the VFL for the Casey Demons.
Also talking to Channel 7, he said “It’s unbelievable; so grateful to be here and it is an amazing atmosphere playing here at the SCG. This is why you play footy, smelling the roses right now. It is fantastic, the crowd is huge and we are really looking forward to whatever next week presents.”
On gaffer Longmire, he added “He is a great mentor and a people first kind of coach and I definitely gravitated towards that, those values and him.”
Results
Sydney 14.11 (95)
Port Adelaide 8.11 (59)
Geelong 12.13 (85)
Brisbane 14.11 (95)
AFL finals: Week 4 fixture – Grand Final
Saturday 28 September – Sydney v Brisbane @ MCG (2.30pm)
