Brisbane hold off dogged Geelong to clinch record fifth AFLW grand final berth

Brisbane are through to their fifth AFLW grand final after surviving a giant scare to pip Geelong in a four-point thriller. The Lions held on grimly in the dying stages to prevail 6.2 (38) to 5.4 (34), setting up a grand final meeting with the winner of Sunday’s clash between North Melbourne and Adelaide.

The Lions were heavy pre-match favourites to advance to the decider, but the plucky Cats threw everything at them in Saturday night’s pulsating preliminary final at Brighton Homes Arena in Springfield.

After losing the lead five minutes into the final term, the Lions reclaimed their advantage when star defender Shannon Campbell moved forward and kicked what turned out to be the match-winning goal with six minutes remaining.

Brisbane will now get an opportunity to redeem themselves after losing last year’s decider to Melbourne during the Lions’ opening of their new Michael Voss Oval base. The Lions will again host the grand final if Adelaide prevail in the other preliminary final, but will travel to Ikon Park in Melbourne if the Kangaroos triumph.

But the Lions’ win looks to have come at a cost with key forward Dakota Davidson appearing to suffer a serious left knee injury in the dying stages of the third term. Davidson, who booted two of the Lions’ goals, was inconsolable on the bench and will undergo scans to determine the damage. If Davidson is sidelined next week, the Lions would be forced to find alternate avenues to goal to help win their second AFLW premiership.

Courtney Hodder and Charlotte Mullins kicked early goals to spark the hosts, while Orla O’Dwyer also slotted an important major for the Lions. Bella Dawes put in a super third quarter to finish as the leading possession winner on the ground with 22 touches for the Lions.

Star midfielder Ally Anderson praised the resilience of the Lions, who lost All-Australians Emily Bates, Jesse Wardlaw and Greta Bodey to expansion clubs during the off-season.

“It doesn’t even feel right now,” reigning league best-and-fairest winner Anderson told the Seven Network. “It was a hard-fought win and Geelong really gave it to us. It means so much.”

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The result ends a brave run for Geelong, which fell agonisingly short of reaching the club’s first AFLW grand final. The Cats had never won an AFLW post-season match until beating Essendon in an elimination final a fortnight ago, then upset reigning premiers Melbourne in last week’s semi-final.

Young midfield star Georgie Prespakis was typically important, as was Nina Morrison, to give the Cats an enormous chance of causing another boilover, but the Lions were able to hold firm late in the contest.