Key events
Q1: 1 min remaining: Hawthorn 5.0.30 – Brisbane 5.2.32
The Hawks are winning enough of the ball in their front half but the Lions look comfortable picking off their forward 50 entries.
Q1: 2 mins remaining: Hawthorn 5.0.30 – Brisbane 5.2.32
Conor McKenna special delivery with a kick-off-the-ground goal. Will Ashcroft earns a free kick out of the middle and the Hawks defenders let the ball bounce out for a throw-in deep in the pocket. McKenna pounces with a first kick off the ground to open up space then follows up to chip the ball a second time and through for a goal.
Q1: 3 mins remaining: Hawthorn 5.0.30 – Brisbane 4.2.26
The Hawks bomb the ball long into their forward pocket and this time it clears Harris Andrews as Gunston nudges Darcy Gardiner under the ball to mark. The veteran steps around to his right and snaps his first of the day.
Q1: 4 mins remaining: Hawthorn 4.0.24 – Brisbane 4.2.26
The Hawks keep peppering away with deep inside 50 entries but can’t quite find a mark with the Lions desperate in defence.
Q1: 5 mins remaining: Hawthorn 4.0.24 – Brisbane 4.2.26
Watson races away from a pack on the wing and collects the ball off the deck at top speed. The kick falls short of the leading Gunston and the Lions are able to clear.
Q1: 6 mins remaining: Hawthorn 4.0.24 – Brisbane 4.2.26
Lachie Neale wins a free kick as Jai Newcombe crashes into him again. No one can get hands to the sky high quick but Hipwood is the first player to respond and get to the bouncing ball, gathers and snaps a goal over his shoulder. Good feet for a big man. And the Lions lead for the first time in the game.
Q1: 7 mins remaining: Hawthorn 4.0.24 – Brisbane 3.2.20
Will Ashcroft loves the big stage and he lights up the MCG again. The dual Norm Smith medallist runs into space with an overlap on the wing, keeps on going, crosses the arc and nails the shot from a tight angle.
Q1: 8 mins remaining: Hawthorn 4.0.24 – Brisbane 2.2.14
Logan Morris gets busy up on the wing and turns to find Eric Hipwood without an opponent just inside the arc. The key forward slices the shot and it is never on target as he adds a behind.
Q1: 10 mins remaining: Hawthorn 4.0.24 – Brisbane 2.1.13
The Hawks bomb the ball over the Lions’ last line of defence for Jack Gunston to run on to a bouncing ball and into an open goal. But the ball takes a deceptive turn and skips away from the veteran forward as Ty Gallop launches a rocket for Oscar Allen to grab on the wing.
Q1: 11 mins remaining: Hawthorn 4.0.24 – Brisbane 2.1.13
The Lions lock the ball forward but are unable to find a mark inside 50. Darcy Fort takes the ball out of the ruck from a throw-in but the quick snap crashes into the goal post.
Q1: 12 mins remaining: Hawthorn 4.0.24 – Brisbane 2.0.12
Back-to-back goals to Mitch Lewis as he takes goes on a long lead to mark outside the mark and just inside the boundary line. The key forward has little trouble with the distance.
Q1: 13 mins remaining: Hawthorn 3.0.18 – Brisbane 2.0.12
The Hawks key forwards can’t get to a sky high kick inside 50 as Watson competes to bring it to ground. The Lions search for a way out of defence but Mitch Lewis pounces with a fierce tackle to earn a simple shot at goal. Lewis converts and a roar goes up around the MCG.
Q1: 14 mins remaining: Hawthorn 2.0.12 – Brisbane 2.0.12
The Lions level with a strong pack mark from an unlikely source as Levi Ashcroft gets on the end of a kick from his brother Will.
Q1: 15 mins remaining: Hawthorn 2.0.12 – Brisbane 1.0.6
A moment of calm in what has been a frenetic first five minutes befitting a preliminary final. The ball bounces between the Hawks as the players begin to find their feet.
Q1: 16 mins remaining: Hawthorn 2.0.12 – Brisbane 1.0.6
Who else but Watson? The Hawks bomb the ball deep inside 50 and Watson comes steaming through to crumb the pack, Lester panics and grabs a handful of shirt. Watson makes the most of it as he spins and throws his arms in there, but hard to argue with that one. Watson has two as he kicks a simple set shot from 15m out.
Q1: 17 mins remaining: Hawthorn 1.0.6 – Brisbane 1.0.6
Josh Dunkley wins the next centre clearance but the Hawks pick off the kick and find Nick Watson just inside the boundary on the rebound. Lester won’t mind Watson drifting this far from goal but he is already looking lively.
Q1: 18 mins remaining: Hawthorn 1.0.6 – Brisbane 1.0.6
An immediate response from the Lions as they win the centre clearance through Sam Draper and Charlie Cameron gets on the end of the tumble to kick. The Lions small forward marks on the lead and kicks truly.
Q1: 19 mins remaining: Hawthorn 1.0.6 – Brisbane 0.0.0
First blood to the Hawks. First blood to Nick Watson. Ryan Lester starts on the dynamic forward but fails to keep pace with him as the ball trickles towards the goalline but not before Watson can kick it off the ground for the opener.
First ball-up
Rival rucks Lloyd Meek and Sam Draper leap high in the centre circle as the AFL preliminary final gets under way at the MCG. But play has quickly stopped after Jai Newcombe collided with Lachie Neale in the middle and left the dual Brownlow medallist sprawled out on the turf.
The Welcome to Country and national anthem are done. The toss has been won by the James Sicily and the players are now in position … here we go.
The Hawks meet the modern-day Lions in a final for the first time as they aim to end the back-to-back premiers’ bid for a rare three-peat – yours truly took a deep dive into where the preliminary final will be won – and lost:
Evergreen Jack Gunston (61 goals) remains the focal point while a spread of pacey half-forwards link the play and offer their own threat near goal. Nick Watson (57) is the standout as arguably the best small forward in the game, but Dylan Moore, Jack Ginnivan and Connor Macdonald can hit the scoreboard and will be just as critical in pressuring the Lions’ at-times shaky defence.
Brisbane have their own fleet of half-forwards who showed they still set the standard when they came out with a point to prove and blew away Adelaide. Veteran goalsneak Charlie Cameron (55 goals) leads the way while Kai Lohmann (48) has taken his game to another level. Zac Bailey and Cam Rayner are two of the most powerful front-half players in the competition and can also pinch-hit in the midfield. The spread of goal threats, even before considering young key forward Logan Morris (67), will test the Hawks’ defence and the ability for the likes of James Sicily to rebound off intercepts.
Hawthorn and Brisbane meet with a grand final spot on the line. Fremantle have already booked their ticket to a second AFL grand final after storming over the top of Sydney in a preliminary final last night. Jonathan Horn was at the SCG to watch the Dockers turn the tables with the last six goals of the game against the undermanned Swans.
The Fremantle Football Club have never had a night like this. They’ve never been forced this deep down the well to win a big game. They’ve never had so much thrown at them. They’ve never been in such a hostile environment. They’ve never, in a big game, flipped so quickly from a meek, nervy, fumbly team to an offensive powerhouse.
Here are the two lineups as named:
Hawthorn
FB: 6 James Sicily, 37 Tom Barrass, 15 Blake Hardwick
HB: 10 Karl Amon, 4 Jarman Impey, 24 Josh Battle
C: 1 Harry Morrison, 12 Will Day, 16 Massimo D’Ambrosio
HF: 8 Dylan Moore, 18 Mabior Chol, 33 Jack Ginnivan
FF: 5 Nick Watson, 2 Mitch Lewis, 19 Jack Gunston
FOLL: 17 Lloyd Meek, 3 Jai Newcombe, 25 Josh Ward
INT: 23 Josh Weddle, 42 Bailey Macdonald, 28 Cam Mackenzie, 9 Connor Macdonald, 40 Max Beattie
Brisbane
FB: 22 Ty Gallop, 31 Harris Andrews, 35 Ryan Lester
HB: 3 Jaspa Fletcher, 27 Darcy Gardiner, 15 Dayne Zorko
C: 7 Jarrod Berry, 6 Hugh McCluggage, 33 Zac Bailey
HF: 23 Charlie Cameron, 13 Logan Morris, 26 Conor McKenna
FF: 30 Eric Hipwood, 16 Cam Rayner, 1 Kai Lohmann
FOLL: 2 Sam Draper, 5 Josh Dunkley, 9 Lachie Neale
INT: 32 Darcy Fort, 44 Darcy Wilmot, 8 Will Ashcroft, 10 Levi Ashcroft, 4 Oscar Allen
Brisbane were quick to bounce back as they brushed aside their horror qualifying final defeat to Sydney with a commanding win against Adelaide. Jonathan Horn was suitably impressed – but far from surprised – by the way the Lions responded.
After 106 games in four years, one can still never be quite sure whether the good Brisbane or the bad Brisbane will turn up on any given day. But all they need is a runway of a few weeks. All they need is a kick up the backside, a big occasion, a packed MCG and a cutthroat final. They played some of their best football against Hawthorn in August, have a good record against them in the Fagan era, and relish playing on their home ground. A lot is made of the coach’s little hooks – to run towards the fire, to dance on ice, to charge the opposition Braveheart style. All of them are another way of saying “embrace risk”. But all of them are dependent on the little girl with the little curl.
The Hawks and Lions players have been out on the MCG warming up before 90,000+ fans descend.
Nick Watson is a key to the Hawks’ premiership hopes after booting 57 goals in just his third AFL season. Jonathan Horn wrote about the small forward who already looms as a generational player in our free weekly AFL newsletter From the Pocket: sign up for it here.
There’s long stretches where he won’t be sighted. But he’s always the dominant presence on the field. He’s the Hawthorn player who gets in the opposition’s head, whether it’s the defender seeking to exit without being mown down, or the match committee preparing for a game. A fortnight ago, Fremantle opted for the insurance policy of Brandon Walker, who hadn’t played since early March. Walker was picked for his speed, and he performed admirably. But he was unable to mitigate the Watson moments. The first came when Walker momentarily lost contact with him, Watson motored in on his blind spot, parted a pack of Dockers, and volleyed a goal at full pelt. No one else in Australia could have kicked that goal. No one else would have even attempted it. And no one could have stopped him.
Final teams are in with no late changes.
Hawthorn named an unchanged lineup from the 23 that impressed with an ambush of Fremantle in their qualifying final at Optus Stadium.
Brisbane resisted the urge to recall Noah Answerth after he contained Nick Watson the last time these two sides met, with the defender still sidelined with an ankle injury. That allows Ty Gallop to retain his spot after he made the most of his opportunity in the semi-final win against Adelaide.
Preamble
Martin Pegan
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the AFL preliminary final between Hawthorn and Brisbane at the MCG. The winner of this game will face Fremantle in the AFL grand final at the MCG next Saturday.
Hawthorn have been able to sit back and watch as all but two other teams have dropped out of contention since their rollicking qualifying final victory against the Dockers. As the final siren sealed that rousing triumph on the road, the widely held view was that Sam Mitchell’s side would avoid meeting Brisbane until a possible grand final matchup. But a finals series very rarely, if ever, follows the script – and here we are, a week earlier than forecast, with the Hawks instead crossing paths with the two-time reigning premiers for a spot in the decider.
The Hawks have quietly become the form side of the competition with only one defeat – and a draw – in their past eight matches. Though that loss was one they would prefer to forget as they were hammered by a certain team from the sunshine state.
Brisbane roared back to life with a commanding win against Adelaide in a semi-final, after dishing up one of their all-too common listless performances against an undermanned Sydney a week earlier. The Lions have shown over several years that as much as they can fail to show up for a game here and there, they are just capable of rising as the stakes do. And the path they have ended up on is much the same as the past two years, when they won Saturday twilight preliminary finals at the MCG and went on to win back-to-back flags.
The Lions are now two wins away from sealing a rare premiership three-peat, and becoming just the third side in almost seven decades to claim as many flags in successive seasons. The previous two were of course the Hawks in 2013-15 and the Lions themselves in 2001-03.
For all of their recent success, the Hawks and the Lions meet for the first time in a final since 1986 when the latter were still under the Fitzroy banner and yet to merge with the Brisbane Bears. First ball-up will be at 5.15pm in Melbourne / AEST. I’ll drop in the team news shortly. Meanwhile, shoot me an email with your thoughts and predictions. Let’s get into it!
