AFL Irish round-up: Callum Brown grabs goal as GWS pull off sensational win over Carlton to book place in AFL finals

They left it to the last possible moment, but Callum Brown and his Greater Western Sydney Giants are the talk of the AFL on Sunday after pulling off a sensational victory over in-form Carlton to snatch the last finals spot from the Western Bulldogs grasp. 

The Bulldogs’ defeat of Geelong in the final round of the regular season on Saturday night left GWS with an anxious 24-hour wait before their game kicked off on Sunday night at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium.  

The equation was a simple one; win to make the play-offs or spend the off-season licking their wounds and wondering what might have been. 

Carlton who have won their past 10 consecutive games, started brightly but GWS kept their composure to fight back and win.

The visitors led by 26 points at the start of the final term and ran out deserved 73-105 winners.  The Giants also boosted their percentage sufficiently to finish in seventh spot on the ladder with 13 wins and ten losses for the season.

They will return to Melbourne to take on sixth place Saint Kilda in an elimination final at the MCG in a fortnight. 

GWS first year coach Adam Kingsley puffed out his cheeks in relief at the post-match press conference when he explained how his team came from nowhere to qualify for finals. 

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“We had a really good pre-season and we had to learn a new way of playing under pressure,” Kingsley explained. 

“As weeks went by, we grew in confidence and built a strong understanding of how we want to play. 

“The work we have done as a coaching group has paid off but we don’t want to just qualify for a final, we have higher aspirations than that. We want to win a final against Saint Kilda.” 

The Giants have won at a record 10 out of 11 AFL venues this year with the exception being at the MCG. Kingsley is unfazed by that anomaly insisting he would choose to play at the iconic ground. 

“I want to play at the MCG, we have not won there, so we want to tick that off,” he said. 

Limavady star Brown, who will experience finals football for the first time in his AFL career, kicked a stunning long-range goal in the third quarter to extend the Giants lead.

Overall, the former Oak Leaf minor had a quiet game for seven disposals (3 kicks & 4 handballs), two marks, and a behind. 

Conor McKenna never won a play-off during his six seasons at Essendon but in his debut season for the Brisbane Lions, the Tyrone man will feature in at least one and potentially two home finals for his new team after their gritty 72-60 defeat of Saint Kilda at the Gabba. 

Brisbane finished the regular season in second spot on the ladder with 17 wins and 6 losses. The Lions are untouchable at home having won every game.

They are likely to start as favourites when they host a qualifying final (possibly at night) at home to third place Port Adelaide in a fortnight. If the Lions prevail, they will also start favourites as the hosts of a preliminary final ahead fortnight later. 

A qualifying final defeat would result in the Lions playing a semi-final the week after.

Only the top four sides are awarded a double chance of winning the premiership on grand final day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on September 30.  

If they reach the season decider, the Lions will have to end their horror losing record at the home of Australian Rules football where they have won only one of their past 15 games. 

McKenna collected 18 disposals (15 kicks & 3 handballs) and 1 mark. He also booted a behind for Chris Fargan’s premiership contenders. 

The Lions coach, who has led his team to a fifth consecutive finals series, is bullish about Brisbane’s finals prospects. 

On Saturday, Cork defender Mark Keane celebrated his debut season for the Adelaide Crows with a win after they defeated wooden spoon winners the West Coast Eagles 78-123 at Optus Stadium in Perth. 

The former Collingwood defender, who played five senior games in three years at the Magpies, was the Crows key defender in the final 10 matches of the regular season when he impressively filled the void left by an injury crisis in Adelaide’s backline. 

Keane collected 13 disposals (10 kicks & 3 handballs) and 10 marks for the Crows who won 11 and lost 12 of their 23 matches. 

Also on Saturday, Meath forward Conor Nash was on the Hawthorn team who lost to the Fremantle Dockers 56-93 at the MCG.  The Hawks finished third from bottom on the season ladder with a record of 7 wins and 17 losses but recent upset wins have helped to set a platform for a greatly improved season in 2024. 

Nash, who has been in career best form all season, finished with a match tally of 23 disposals (4 kicks & 19 handballs). 

Geelong’s premiership defence came to an abrupt halt when they lost 79-104 at home to the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night. The Cats were the better team for most of the game but the visitors hit back with six goals to one in the final term to win 79-104. 

It’s likely to be a busy off-season for Geelong who will have to refresh an ageing list and replace retiring stars. They are one of only seven premiers who have failed to qualify for finals since the early 90s. 

Speaking post-match, Geelong coach Chris Scott confirmed that Portloaise veteran Zach Tuohy has penned a new deal to play on in season 24. 

Having played 265 senior games for both Carlton and Geelong, Tuohy, 33, earlier this season broke the late Jimmy Stynes’s record for the most number of AFL games by an Irishman.  

Tuohy missed out with injury against the Bulldogs but Kerry defender Mark O’Connor produced a consistent four-quarter effort for his 20 disposals (12 kicks & 8 handballs) and 5 marks. Mayo speedster Oisn Mullin made six senior appearances this year and will surely feature more regularly next year. 

Tyrone-born Aidan Corr kicked his only goal of the season for North Melbourne, who avoided the ignominy of winning the wooden spoon when they defeated the Gold Coast Suns 132-97 at Hobart’s Blundstone Arena on Saturday. 

The former Greater Western Sydney defender collected 20 disposals (11 kicks & 9 handballs) and 3 marks for the second-bottom Kangaroos.