The Brisbane Lions’ crack at back-to-back premierships was mired in controversy after Collingwood star Jamie Elliott was left stunned at not being paid a free kick late in the final term at the MCG on Saturday night.
In a rollicking contest before a 96,023-strong crowd, the Lions trailed by 13 points at half-time but stormed home after the main break to win by 29 points and set up what shapes as a heavyweight grand final against Geelong next Saturday.
An incredulous Jamie Elliott.Credit: AFL Photos
The Cats defeated the Lions by 38 points a fortnight ago in a qualifying final.
While the injury-hit Lions were brilliantly led by midfield gun Hugh McCluggage (37 disposals, 10 clearances) and full-back Harris Andrews, there was a moment of controversy with about 10 minutes remaining in the final term when umpires opted to not pay Elliott a free kick, having taken front-on contact from Brandon Starcevich in a marking contest in the forward pocket. The Magpies trailed by two goals at that point.
“No doubt, that’s a free kick every day of the week – that’s chopping of the arms, front-on contact,” dual-premiership player David King said in commentary on Fox Footy.
Lions great Alastair Lynch also said in commentary: “That was a free kick every day of the week”.
Given a reprieve, the Lions all but locked up the game minutes later when Charlie Cameron converted a set shot.
The floodgates opened from that point, the Lions finishing in a blaze of goals.
This will be the Lions’ third-straight grand final, having lost to the Magpies in 2023, before thumping a listless Sydney last year. They now have the chance to join the fabled Lions teams of 2001-03, who claimed three straight flags, including going back-to-back twice.
“It’s unreal, it’s a massive win,” Andrews, the Lions’ skipper, said.
However, they almost certainly will be without key midfielder Jarrod Berry, who was subbed off in the second term with a recurrence of a shoulder injury, but they could welcome back Andrews’ co-captain Lachie Neale from a calf strain.
The dual Brownlow medallist has missed the entire finals series, but has been working to come back in time for the grand final.
“He is doing everything he can to get his body right,” Andrews said.
The Magpies were dealt an early blow when veteran playmaker Scott Pendlebury was subbed off minutes into the first term with a calf injury, having had an issue with his leg in the warm-ups.
Dayne Zorko, Darcy Wilmot, Zac Bailey and Will Ashcroft were also instrumental in the win, while Nick and Josh Daicos found plenty of the ball for the Magpies.
Initially shell-shocked at losing their 425-game veteran, the Magpies trailed by three goals at the first break, but they rebounded with six unanswered goals in a superb second term to take a 13-point lead into the main break.
Their spark inadvertently came from Zorko, who made three mistakes which resulted in as many goals.
His first mistake came when he was tackled late by Nick Daicos, his scrubber of a kick across half-back leading to an Elliott goal. A similar blunder soon after led to Tim Membrey converting a set shot, the latter having made a mess of an earlier shot in the forward pocket.
When Zorko tackled Lachie Schultz high, and the latter converted the free kick from about 25 metres out, the Magpies had closed to within four points.
Jamie Elliott pulls in an incredible mark.Credit: Fox Footy
Skipper Darcy Moore and the Daicos brothers were prominent, the Magpies showing what they were capable of when they had momentum.
A booming drop punt from Dan Houston just inside the boundary delivered their sixth goal of the term – the Lions feeling more pain when Berry left the field with his injury.
The Lions struck back in the third term. Bailey got them moving, while 2024 Norm Smith medallist Will Ashcroft booted two – the Lions dominating scores from stoppage and scores from forward-50 stoppage.
Cam Rayner, without a kick to half-time, also booted two, the Lions leading by 17 points at the final change.
This cut-throat final had it all. Each team enjoyed wild runs. Players who had barely been seen, at times, then responded in stunning bursts, while Elliott hauled in one of the marks of the season over Starcevich in the third term.
“That is a great finals speccy,” Lynch said in commentary on Fox Footy.