Lions claw way to final
Longshot run from 5th spot
THE Brisbane Lions don’t care how they got there — they’re into their second AFLW grand final and they don’t fear the Western Bulldogs.
The Lions were fifth on the ladder heading into the last round and as the last of five teams with a shot at making the grand final, they needed a fair bit to go right for them.
They did their part with a 10.4 (64) to 3.6 (24) win over Greater Western Sydney in Blacktown on Friday night, which gave them a vital percentage boost. Then they needed a hand from the Bulldogs, who duly knocked out Melbourne in a two-point thriller — 5.3 (33) to 4.7 (31) — at Whitten Oval on Saturday night. Adelaide could have claimed the grand final spot opposite the Dogs with a win over a largely underperforming Collingwood yesterday.
But the Pies stunned the reigning premiers 8.5 (53) to 4.8 (32) at Olympic Park to send the Lions through to the premiership decider.
“We’ve had a winning season, so I’m not sure that should get lost in the mix because it’s an incredibly tight competition,” coach Craig Starcevich said. “We obviously respect the Bulldogs greatly ... they’ve had some great games this year and they’ve done it under adversity as well.
“(But) we’re in it so we’re 50-50 — we’ve had a very strong performance on Friday night and we’re very confident to play anyone. We pride ourselves in being a hard team to play against. In our short existence over 15 games our biggest losing margin has been 14 points ... we’re a team that fights and doesn’t like to concede.” The match will get under way at 1.05pm. Starcevich said last year’s grand final loss to the Crows had been a motivating factor over the pre-season but doubted it would play a part this week. He admitted it had been a tough weekend to endure as he awaited his team’s fate.
Brisbane’s hopes seemed dashed when the Demons clung to a four-point lead as the clock ticked down at a blustery Whitten Oval.
But Brooke Lochland snapped a superb goal with just over a minute left to secure a tense two-point win that saw the Dogs finish minor premiers. “Getting into the grand final is obviously a great achievement but we want to put that cup in our hands at the end of the game next Saturday,” Dogs coach Paul Groves said. KATIE Brennan will thrive on the pressure of captaining her side in an AFLW grand final, Western Bulldogs coach Paul Groves says — that is, if she is allowed to play.
Brennan (pictured) played her first game in a month on Saturday night but now faces a nervous wait to see if the AFL’s match review officer Michael Christian cites her for a sling tackle on Demon Harriet Cordner in the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s gutsy win over Melbourne.
Brennan flung Cordner to the ground and seemed to have one arm loosely pinned at the start of the tackle before the Melbourne defender’s head hit the ground. Cord- ner was visibly affected by the tackle and given a free kick.
Brennan was reprimanded for rough conduct in Round 1 and another reprimand would mean a suspension and missing Saturday’s grand final.
While Brennan’s injury layoff showed on Saturday night, Groves said the hitout was a crucial step for the 25year-old.
Brennan was restricted to a maximum 70 per cent game time on her return from a Round 3 ankle injury, but will be let loose in the decider and play her normal match minutes of up to 95 per cent.