AFLW grand final: Brisbane fresh and focused after early season lessons

Brisbane feels its preparation for Saturday’s AFLW grand final has been far better than when it won last season – captain Bre Koenen reveals why.

Brisbane captain Bre Koenen says the Lions will enter Saturday night’s grand final better prepared than they were last season when injury clouds swirled over star players.

The reigning premiers had their full list to choose from as they arrived in Melbourne on Thursday afternoon and named an unchanged side for the second consecutive final – a medical miracle considering the demands of the condensed fixture this season.

Koenen said the Lions were “rightfully” the underdogs but felt confident in their preparation as she recalled how star goalkicker Dakota Davidson’s selection came down to the wire before last year’s decider after she twisted her knee in the preliminary final.

“Obviously, it’s nice not to have that sort of shenanigans going on in the background (this year),” Koenen said.

“But I guess it’s always nice to have a healthier list, and it’s just reflective of our high performance crew, our medical team, they’ve done an amazing job to get us fit for pretty much the whole finals series.

There are no concerns over 2023 grand final matchwinner Dakota Davidson heading into this decider, which has left Brisbane feeling better prepared. Picture: Michael Willson / Getty Images

“I don’t think we get a say in that sort of stuff (who is favourite) … we’ll take it on-board and we’ll fly with it. We just happen to be underdogs this season, rightfully … the Roos deserve to be the favourites.”

Brisbane coach Craig Starcevich kept his plans for how to use Koenen close to his chest after she produced one of the great captain’s performances in a grand final across a medley of on-field roles last year.

Koenen was moved from defence into the middle to tag Roos star Jasmine Garner early in the game when Cathy Svarc went down injured, finishing with 19 disposals, 10 tackles and kicking the sealer from near the boundary to win the best on ground medal.

“I probably won’t (move Koenen from halfback) but who knows? It wasn’t the plan last year to be honest, but it was a necessity and we needed to do it,” Starcevich said.

“Cathy (Svarc) got hurt early in the game, and we had to move people around a bit. Who knows what’s in store? Every game of footy has got its own little surprises and nuance, and you’ve just got to roll with it.”

Brisbane coach Craig Starcevich says his team has deliberately become more versatile and unpredictable since its 2022 grand final loss to Melbourne. Picture: Chris Hyde / Getty Images

Starcevich said having back-up plans and more versatile players was the key lesson from the 2022 season 7 grand final loss that had been the catalyst for their improvement last season.

“We found out the hard way a couple of years ago in the grand final – we were absolutely cruising through (2022 B) and got confronted with a few different obstacles when we played Melbourne at home in the grand final,” he said.

“There was a real necessity to have a few different plans up our sleeve, and we started that process last year.

“Part of it is the coaches need to have enough confidence to go and do it, and the players need to buy into it as well.

“It’s not to the point that you’re throwing people all over the place – I was going to mention one of the boys’ clubs that do it a bit, but I won’t – but I think you’ve got to be reasonable about it as well and not completely turn the team upside down.”

Originally published as AFLW grand final: Brisbane fresh and focused after early season lessons