Nineteen seconds decided it
Brisbane are back in the grand final for a fourth year running after beating Hawthorn 20.11 (131) to 19.8 (122) at the MCG tonight. Nine points separated them at the siren, and for most of the last quarter the Lions were losing.
Hawthorn trailed by 27 points at three-quarter time. They then kicked five of the first six goals of the final term and went three points up with the match inside its final minutes. What undid them was a holding the ball free kick against Jarman Impey, awarded directly in front of the Lions’ goal. Hugh McCluggage slotted the set shot with 19 seconds on the clock. Kai Lohmann added his fifth of the night after the siren.
Try it for $0.99.
A third flag in a row is now live
Brisbane have won the last two premierships. No club has taken three in succession since Brisbane themselves did it between 2001 and 2003, which is the number hanging over the next seven days. Four consecutive grand final appearances is rare enough on its own in the modern era.
Their path through September has been uneven. They were beaten by Sydney in the qualifying final, then removed Adelaide 144-91 in the home semi-final, a result that read more like a statement than a survival. Tonight looked closer to the first of those two performances for three quarters, before the scoring turned into a shootout that neither defence could control.
Fremantle are waiting
The Dockers got there first. They beat Sydney 83-71 at the SCG on Friday night to reach their first grand final since 2013, a wait of thirteen seasons that ended with a final-quarter comeback of their own.
There is a subplot. Hawthorn beat Fremantle 72-40 in the qualifying final earlier this month, which handed the Hawks a week off and sent the Dockers into the longer route. Fremantle came back through it. Hawthorn, with the extra rest, could not close out a preliminary final they led by three points with under a minute left, and their wait for a grand final now stretches past 2015.
Brisbane and Fremantle meet at the MCG next Saturday, first bounce 2:30pm.
Discover the rest of our AFL news on MathODDS!
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply