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MASSIVE LIONS SELECTION CALL LOOMS… AND WHO TAMES HAWKS\u2019 \u2018LITTLE MASTER\u2019?<\/p>\n
Brisbane\u2019s preliminary final against Hawthorn may hinge on one availability, and one match-up: whether Noah Answerth is fit enough to quell Nick Watson.<\/p>\n
The 27-year-old Lions defender rolled his ankle in his side\u2019s qualifying final loss to Sydney, before sitting out last weekend\u2019s semi-final thrashing of Adelaide at the Gabba. <\/p>\n
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 \u2014 and just one major in total across those clashes \u2014 Watson was held goalless for the first time in 30 matches when the two sides met in Round 22.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s number one \u201cpriority\u201d to play on Watson.<\/p>\n
Answerth (left) trains lightly at Tuesday\u2019s Brisbane training at Brighton Homes Arena ahead of this weekend\u2019s preliminary final in Melbourne against Hawthorn.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cI look at (recent form) and think: \u2018Geez, he\u2019s due. He\u2019s due the Little Master!\u2019 … Obviously Answerth will be their first priority,\u201d Brown told Fox Footy\u2019s On The Couch on Monday night.<\/p>\n
\u201c(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\u2019s on the deck. If it\u2019s on the deck against Hawthorn, I\u2019m concerned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d still lean towards (Oscar) Allen missing out, I think (Ty) Gallop did enough on the weekend to stay in the side \u2014 and he can swing forward. It will be an interesting one though.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gallop was recalled in Answerth\u2019s place for the semi-final against Adelaide, and for the most part kept Darcy Fogarty well-held either side of the second quarter.<\/p>\n
The 20-year-old\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Gallop didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think they\u2019d still be hurting from that loss up in Brisbane, they were borderline uncompetitive,\u201d four-time Hawthorn premiership player Jordan Lewis said of his former side.<\/p>\n
Can Brisbane buck the premiership trend? | 02:12<\/p>\n
CHARLIE\u2019S \u2018STRAIGHT SETS\u2019 WIN TO BREAK FINALS HOODOO AS DOCKER DATE ARRIVES<\/p>\n
There\u2019s an argument that no player was under more personal scrutiny heading into this year\u2019s finals series than Charlie Curnow.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne bloke that stood out for me was Charlie Curnow,\u201d Geelong assistant coach Nathan Buckley told Fox Footy\u2019s On The Couch last Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve 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 \u2014 I thought he was huge.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis 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\u2019t think you can expect any more than that from a big man.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you have a look at his numbers in finals and where he\u2019d been ranked (previously): 22nd, 31st, 41st in finals, and then he was the sixth-ranked player on the field (vs Brisbane).<\/p>\n
\u201cI just think his contest and consistency for the ball carrier looking up was as damaging as I\u2019ve seen him play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Three-time Brisbane premiership player Jonathan Brown added: \u201cThe bigger thing from Charlie\u2019s point of view, was he put himself in the firing line. He put himself in line with the player early: \u2018If the ball\u2019s going to go through anyone, it\u2019s going to go through me\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Swans hail Curnow’s impact | 02:35<\/p>\n
Ironically, Curnow\u2019s 16 Rating Points in the final were the most he had registered in a match for nearly two months \u2014 last bettered in since Round 18 when he kicked five goals from 14 touches against Fremantle in Perth.<\/p>\n
Fellow key forward Logan McDonald fired off a career-best six goals in their qualifying final, while small forward Tom Papley\u2019s return of five majors was his best since Round 5, 2023.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there\u2019s a misstep by Fremantle in not playing Brennan Cox in this match-up,\u201d 2018 West Coast premiership defender Will Schofield told Fox Footy\u2019s AFL Tonight on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve got three genuine talls in this match-up … I\u2019m 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\u2019t think Pearce will get the (Curnow) match-up, I think it will be McDonald will start.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo Cox, who will play in the WAFL Grand Final for Peel Thunder. So, he\u2019s fit but not fit enough to play in a preliminary final? I don\u2019t understand this one from the Dockers … I think it\u2019s a real weakness in this Freo side.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heath Chapman and Luke Ryan shape as left-field options to play on Curnow.<\/p>\n
Did Fremantle look too far ahead? | 01:41<\/p>\n
FREO\u2019S \u2018RECORD NUMBERS\u2019 THAT SWANS CAN\u2019T TURN BLIND EYE TO… AGAIN<\/p>\n
They weren\u2019t playing last Friday night, but Sydney was still warned during their weekend off. Fremantle\u2019s midfield aren\u2019t just winning centre clearances, but they\u2019re scoring from them at a sky-high rate. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one thing you don\u2019t want as a midfield group is to allow the opposition to get space out the front of the stoppage,\u201d four-time Hawthorn premiership player Jordan Lewis told Fox Footy\u2019s On The Couch on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cInitially, Geelong are in a pretty good position … but just get caught ball-watching.<\/p>\n
\u201cEarly 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 \u2018hit zone\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Freo won’t be ‘ambushed’ by Swans | 02:33<\/p>\n
Three-time Coleman Medal winner Jack Riewoldt added: \u201cCentre bounce was king early, especially for Fremantle and the way they were able to exit out of centre bounce.\u201d<\/p>\n
Superstar ruck Luke Jackson led the charge for Justin Longmuir\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Jackson, you can make (as many of) the best plans in the world, but sometimes the good players are just too good,\u201d Geelong assistant coach Nathan Buckley said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had his moments. He was involved in nine out of their 10 (centre bounce) scores … you are playing with fire if you can\u2019t close it down altogether, but the 6-6-6 rule makes that really difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n
After piling on an eye-watering 100-point second half against the Swans back in Round 18, Dean Cox\u2019s midfield will be as alert as any to the warning signs through the middle of the ground.<\/p>\n
This time around though, they\u2019ll be without Isaac Heeney and Chad Warner at the source \u2014 leaving Brodie Grundy and Errol Gulden with a monumental responsibility at stoppage, especially in the centre square.<\/p>\n
‘Felt sick’ Gulden reveals finals nerves | 01:08<\/p>\n
AFL FINALS FIXTURE AND FOX FOOTY COMMENTARY ROSTER (all times AEST)<\/p>\n
SYDNEY SWANS v FREMANTLE \u2014 SECOND PRELIMINARY FINAL<\/p>\n
Friday September 18, 7.40pm at the SCG<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
HAWTHORN V BRISBANE LIONS \u2014 FIRST PRELIMINARY FINAL<\/p>\n
Saturday September 19, 5:15pm at the MCG<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One fitness test could dictate whether Brisbane\u2019s selection squeeze reaches breaking point, as one of the AFL\u2019s brightest…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":894557,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-894556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=894556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894556\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/894557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=894556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=894556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=894556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}