One fitness test could dictate whether Brisbane’s selection squeeze reaches breaking point, as one of the AFL’s brightest stars looks to respond after a trio of quiet matches against the back-to-back premiers.
All that and more with the biggest talking points ahead of the 2026 Preliminary Finals, as well as the Fox Footy commentary roster for both matches in Foxfooty.com.au’s ultimate weekly preview: The Blowtorch!
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MASSIVE LIONS SELECTION CALL LOOMS… AND WHO TAMES HAWKS’ ‘LITTLE MASTER’?
Brisbane’s preliminary final against Hawthorn may hinge on one availability, and one match-up: whether Noah Answerth is fit enough to quell Nick Watson.
The 27-year-old Lions defender rolled his ankle in his side’s qualifying final loss to Sydney, before sitting out last weekend’s semi-final thrashing of Adelaide at the Gabba.
Answerth may not be a household name, but he is a premiership defender who has properly clamped the Hawks livewire in recent meetings. Averaging just over nine disposals a game in his last three match-ups against Brisbane — and just one major in total across those clashes — Watson was held goalless for the first time in 30 matches when the two sides met in Round 22.
As Answerth endeavours to return from injury to the senior side, three-time Lions premiership great Jonathan Brown declared the Caulfield product his former club’s number one “priority” to play on Watson.
Answerth (left) trains lightly at Tuesday’s Brisbane training at Brighton Homes Arena ahead of this weekend’s preliminary final in Melbourne against Hawthorn.Source: Getty Images
“I look at (recent form) and think: ‘Geez, he’s due. He’s due the Little Master!’ … Obviously Answerth will be their first priority,” Brown told Fox Footy’s On The Couch on Monday night.
“(Ryan) Lester did a good job on (Josh) Rachele, so he might get that match-up if not … To me, they look a bit big ahead of the ball if the ball’s on the deck. If it’s on the deck against Hawthorn, I’m concerned.
“I’d still lean towards (Oscar) Allen missing out, I think (Ty) Gallop did enough on the weekend to stay in the side — and he can swing forward. It will be an interesting one though.”
Gallop was recalled in Answerth’s place for the semi-final against Adelaide, and for the most part kept Darcy Fogarty well-held either side of the second quarter.
The 20-year-old’s capacity to be deployed at either end of the ground could end up working in his favour, and leave first-year recruit Oscar Allen and key defender Darcy Gardiner in strife at selection.
Gallop didn’t feature against Hawthorn in Round 22 as he served a three-game suspension for serious misconduct, however the trio of Allen, Gardiner and Answerth all played in the thumping 67-point win.
“I think they’d still be hurting from that loss up in Brisbane, they were borderline uncompetitive,” four-time Hawthorn premiership player Jordan Lewis said of his former side.
Can Brisbane buck the premiership trend? | 02:12
CHARLIE’S ‘STRAIGHT SETS’ WIN TO BREAK FINALS HOODOO AS DOCKER DATE ARRIVES
There’s an argument that no player was under more personal scrutiny heading into this year’s finals series than Charlie Curnow.
After starting fresh at a second AFL club and two underwhelming finals from three September appearances, the pressure on the three-time Coleman Medallist heading into this post-season was already well-documented. But, after the Swans stood down five players after their Round 23 win against Essendon, his new club has never needed him more.
It’s what made his stunning qualifying final performance all the greater, as the 29-year-old piled on five goals from 13 disposals and six marks in their thumping 53-point win over Brisbane at the SCG.
“One bloke that stood out for me was Charlie Curnow,” Geelong assistant coach Nathan Buckley told Fox Footy’s On The Couch last Monday.
“I’ve been critical of him on this couch a number of times in regards to his performances in big games. But, he was just able to get it done — I thought he was huge.
“His contest against Darcy Gardiner was straight sets … he absolutely dominated. He was able to provide a target for his teammates going forward, and his contest was excellent. I don’t think you can expect any more than that from a big man.
“If you have a look at his numbers in finals and where he’d been ranked (previously): 22nd, 31st, 41st in finals, and then he was the sixth-ranked player on the field (vs Brisbane).
“I just think his contest and consistency for the ball carrier looking up was as damaging as I’ve seen him play.”
Three-time Brisbane premiership player Jonathan Brown added: “The bigger thing from Charlie’s point of view, was he put himself in the firing line. He put himself in line with the player early: ‘If the ball’s going to go through anyone, it’s going to go through me’.”
Swans hail Curnow’s impact | 02:35
Ironically, Curnow’s 16 Rating Points in the final were the most he had registered in a match for nearly two months — last bettered in since Round 18 when he kicked five goals from 14 touches against Fremantle in Perth.
Fellow key forward Logan McDonald fired off a career-best six goals in their qualifying final, while small forward Tom Papley’s return of five majors was his best since Round 5, 2023.
It looks set to prove a tough forward line for Fremantle to match up on, as they prepare to play without Brennan Cox for one more week as he returns from a niggling calf complaint.
“I think there’s a misstep by Fremantle in not playing Brennan Cox in this match-up,” 2018 West Coast premiership defender Will Schofield told Fox Footy’s AFL Tonight on Wednesday.
“They’ve got three genuine talls in this match-up … I’m worried about this third tall match-up. Fremantle will go into this one with only two genuine tall defenders in Alex Pearce and Oscar McDonald. I don’t think Pearce will get the (Curnow) match-up, I think it will be McDonald will start.
“No Cox, who will play in the WAFL Grand Final for Peel Thunder. So, he’s fit but not fit enough to play in a preliminary final? I don’t understand this one from the Dockers … I think it’s a real weakness in this Freo side.”
Heath Chapman and Luke Ryan shape as left-field options to play on Curnow.
Did Fremantle look too far ahead? | 01:41
FREO’S ‘RECORD NUMBERS’ THAT SWANS CAN’T TURN BLIND EYE TO… AGAIN
They weren’t playing last Friday night, but Sydney was still warned during their weekend off. Fremantle’s midfield aren’t just winning centre clearances, but they’re scoring from them at a sky-high rate.
If the Swans give them the same first metre out of the centre bounce on Friday night as Geelong did a week ago, a second grand final appearance in three years for the Swans could become very tough to reach.
“The one thing you don’t want as a midfield group is to allow the opposition to get space out the front of the stoppage,” four-time Hawthorn premiership player Jordan Lewis told Fox Footy’s On The Couch on Monday.
“These are record numbers; both sides clearly had a big say on where they scored from at centre bounce. But for me, the bit that stood out was the early centre bounce clearances that Fremantle got.”
“Initially, Geelong are in a pretty good position … but just get caught ball-watching.
“Early on, you want to try and apply pressure to the ball carrier, so you want to make sure your balance is right. Once again, because they (Geelong) were covering the front of the stoppage, Fremantle were actually quite clever and opened up other parts of the ‘hit zone’.”
Freo won’t be ‘ambushed’ by Swans | 02:33
Three-time Coleman Medal winner Jack Riewoldt added: “Centre bounce was king early, especially for Fremantle and the way they were able to exit out of centre bounce.”
Superstar ruck Luke Jackson led the charge for Justin Longmuir’s side, producing one of the great finals games this decade to finish with 25 disposals (15 contested), 12 score involvements, eight clearances and two goals.
“With Jackson, you can make (as many of) the best plans in the world, but sometimes the good players are just too good,” Geelong assistant coach Nathan Buckley said.
“He had his moments. He was involved in nine out of their 10 (centre bounce) scores … you are playing with fire if you can’t close it down altogether, but the 6-6-6 rule makes that really difficult.”
After piling on an eye-watering 100-point second half against the Swans back in Round 18, Dean Cox’s midfield will be as alert as any to the warning signs through the middle of the ground.
This time around though, they’ll be without Isaac Heeney and Chad Warner at the source — leaving Brodie Grundy and Errol Gulden with a monumental responsibility at stoppage, especially in the centre square.
‘Felt sick’ Gulden reveals finals nerves | 01:08
AFL FINALS FIXTURE AND FOX FOOTY COMMENTARY ROSTER (all times AEST)
SYDNEY SWANS v FREMANTLE — SECOND PRELIMINARY FINAL
Friday September 18, 7.40pm at the SCG
How to watch on Fox Footy: From 6:30pm on Channel 504, hosted by Sarah Jones, Jason Dunstall, David King and Leigh Montagna, with commentary from Mark Howard, Dwayne Russell, Jack Riewoldt, Brad Johnson, Eddie Betts and Jon Ralph.
HAWTHORN V BRISBANE LIONS — FIRST PRELIMINARY FINAL
Saturday September 19, 5:15pm at the MCG
How to watch on Fox Footy: From 4pm on Channel 504, hosted by Garry Lyon, Jonathan Brown, Tom Hawkins, Jordan Lewis and Kath Loughnan, with commentary from Anthony Hudson, Gerard Whateley, Jason Dunstall, Alastair Lynch, Ben Dixon & Jon Ralph.