Adelaide Crows defeat Brisbane Lions by six points in AFLW grand final

BRISBANE chose the worst possible stage to suffer their one and only loss of 2017 as Adelaide claimed the inaugural AFLW grand final with a thrilling six-point win at Metricon Stadium.

Shannon Campbell takes a big grab for the Lions. Picture: Adam Head

BRISBANE chose the worst possible stage to suffer their one and only loss of 2017 as Adelaide claimed the inaugural AFLW grand final with a thrilling six-point win at Metricon Stadium.

The Lions were undefeated in the home-and-away rounds to earn the hosting rights to the historic decider that attracted 15,610 spectators, but the Crows were the best side on the day to shatter Brisbane’s flag dreams.

With co-captain Erin Phillips having a game-high 28 disposal and two goals to win the medal for best afield, Adelaide was never headed.

Brisbane Lions captain Emma Zielke (left) leads her team onto the field for the AFLW grand final

The Lions edged to within five points of the Crows when Tayla Harris marked and goaled eight minutes into the final term to set up a grandstand finish.

Brisbane pressed hard in the nerve-tingling dying stages but the Crows held firm and erupted into celebration when the final siren sounded.

Emily Bates was best for Brisbane with 19 touches but the Lions got too little from the likes of Harris, Kate McCarthy and Sabrina Frederick-Traub.

Brisbane breathed life back into the match when Frederick-Traub threw her boot at the ball and produced a goal off the ground to help the Lions to close to within seven points.

The Lions upped their intensity and put the Crows under pressure for the first time in the match but Phillips emphatically snatched the momentum back for her side.

She kicked two goals and produced a screamer of a mark to dominate the third term to give Adelaide a 12-point buffer at the last change.

Harris touched the ball for the first time with two minutes left on the clock with a contested mark but she sprayed the shot at goal to add to her misery.

Kaitlyn Ashmore gets a kick away under pressuyre. Picture: Adam Head

The Lions went into halftime one straight kick behind the Crows who dominated the opening two quarters.

Adelaide should have been further in front than the 2.7 (19) to 2.1 (13) scoreboard indicated after booting six behinds in the second term.

The Crows missed two absolute sitters in front of goal as Brisbane struggled to transfer the ball out of their defensive end.

The Lions looked rattled and flustered as they continually failed to find teammates and turned the ball over in dangerous areas of the ground.

Adelaide got off to a flying start when Kellie Gibson snapped truly in the first 20 seconds for the first goal of the match.

Didn’t get the result we were after, but we’re incredibly proud of our @lionsaflw stars. #AllForOne https://t.co/3lu0imJDco

— Brisbane Lions (@brisbanelions) March 25, 2017

Phillips cleared the ball from the opening ball-up and found open spaces where Gibson pounced.

Another freakish goal from a tight angle from Deni Varnhagen helped the Crows take a well-earned seven-point lead at the first break.

Brisbane’s only goal came through Tasmanian Jessica Wuetschner after the Lions were able to seamlessly move the ball up the ground without incident on a rare occasion.

The Crows kept coming in second quarter as Brisbane’s ball movement woes continued with the Sherrin spending most of the term at the southern end of the ground.

Kate Lutkins produced a goal-saving tackle midway through the quarter for the besieged Lions, who absorbed all the pressure and then responded with another goal to Wuetschner against the run of play.