Brisbane Lions - Notes from Pig City

AFL grand final 2023: the advantage call that wasn’t

AFL / January 9, 2024 / 4 minutes of reading

In a game of centimetres and seconds, and less than a kick in it, it mattered: With one minute and 18 seconds to go, Lachie Neale was legged by Oleg Markov. And then the whistle blew.

No one heard it. Zac Bailey, who’d kicked two incredible early goals, grabbed the ball and hoicked it forward.

The umpire called advantage, but there was none, and Bailey’s ball landed harmlessly. The game played on.

Half an hour later, in the Brisbane Lions’ rooms, children ran amok – playing kick-to-kick across the room, heedless of the adults in various states of mourning around them.

Lachie Neale embraced his wife, Jules. He was quiet, but his body shook with sobs. To his own surprise more than most, he’d won his second Brownlow Medal early in the week.

He’d played in one grand final before – as substitute, for Fremantle in 2013 – but the biggest prize still eluded him.

By the far wall, his co-captain, Harris Andrews, lay on the floor, staring at the ceiling. When he had composed himself, he stood taller than ever after a superb season – his back straight and chin up.

“It was a fantastic game. I thought the boys really rallied hard,” Andrews said.

AFL grand final 2023: burning questions

AFL / January 9, 2024 / 4 minutes of reading

Collingwood held top spot on the ladder for almost the entire season, finishing minor premiers, while the Brisbane Lions steadily closed the gap to eventually finish runners-up. On Saturday, natural justice has been served, with the two teams playing off in the big dance for the biggest prize.

The Lions have had the easier passage into the grand final, while the Magpies have ground out narrow wins against Melbourne and GWS. Can Collingwood hang on, or will the Lions finally run over the top of them?

Last time they played

Round 23: Brisbane Lions 19.10 (124) d Collingwood 15.10 (100) at Marvel Stadium.

Will Collingwood bottle the game up?

This Collingwood team forged its reputation in late 2022 and most of 2023 playing football that could induce whiplash, based on lightning rebound from half-back. Lately, though – as the competition has caught up, and with Nick Daicos out for six weeks – they’ve looked more like the Sydney Swans under Paul Roos, grinding out close wins with highly contested play.

The Lions, conversely, are used to playing fast and loose football on fast tracks, and Saturday will be hot and dry. Heat won’t bother the Brisbane Lions, but will the Magpies force them into a war of attrition?… Read more..

AFL grand final 2023: burning questions Read More »

Chris Fagan: the last step is the longest

AFL / June 8, 2023 / 5 minutes of reading

Chris Fagan lets a long pause hang in the air. It stretches for 15 seconds, 20, 25, over 30. The Brisbane Lions coach knows what he wants to say about the AFL’s investigation into allegations of systematic racism during his time as general manager of football at Hawthorn, alongside four-time premiership coach Alastair Clarkson.

But for as long as the investigation remains ongoing, he is bound by a confidentiality agreement that prevents him from saying anything. Coming into his seventh year in the job, he has resigned himself to controlling the things he can control. “Just being able to get on with the job here, day in and day out, takes your mind off it,” he says.

Fagan is simmering. He is not good at hiding his emotions. Sometimes things boil over, something fans often see as he coaches from the sidelines. “That’s just me being me – it’s not a show, it’s who I am,” he says. He allows himself a grin. “I’m 61! I reckon changing that’s going to be tough to do now.”

Fagan knows he’ll likely never get a better shot at a premiership than in 2023. He has also never entered a season under more pressure.… Read more..

Chris Fagan: the last step is the longest Read More »