Brisbane to meet premiers Collingwood in grand final rematch on March 28 at the Gabba

Lions chief Greg Swann says ‘to be the best’ in 2024, Brisbane has to ‘beat the best’, including premiers Collingwood.

The Lions have declared they are chasing AFL “premiership redemption” next season following this year’s heartbreaking grand final loss to Collingwood.

Brisbane lost September’s decider to the Magpies by just four points at the MCG

“The Brisbane Lions’ road map to premiership redemption has been set.” the Lions announced in a statement following the release of the 2024 AFL draw.

As announced earlier this week, Brisbane starts its season in the competition’s “Opening Round” on March 8 at the Gabba against Carlton.

The Lions then travel to Perth the following weekend to meet Fremantle at Optus Stadium on March 17.

Brisbane has a bye the weekend after before returning to the Gabba – where they were unbeaten last season – on March 28 for a grand final rematch against the Magpies in the clubs’ annual Easter Thursday battle.

: Chris Fagan (centre) and the Lions will chase ‘premiership redemption’ next season. Picture: Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Other 2023 top-eight teams the Lions will host at the Gabba are St Kilda, Melbourne, Sydney and GWS, while Richmond, Geelong and Essendon will also travel to Brisbane to meet the Chris Fagan-coached team.

“We certainly have some tough match-ups scheduled at home, but as they say ‘if you want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best’ so that’s the challenge for us,” Lions chief executive officer Greg Swann said.
“With the help of our passionate home crowd it will certainly help ‘Fages’ and the boys keep The Gabba as a real fortress for us and make it a tough road trip for others.

“It was amazing to see our members and fans pack the Gabba for seven sellout games this season, and now we will strive to beat that in 2024.”

The Lions’ draw also features five games in Melbourne, including matches at the MCG against the Magpies and the Demons, three games in Adelaide, two in Perth and one in Canberra.

Brisbane will also meet the Gold Coast Suns in QClash battles on May 5 (Gabba) and in round 20 (July 26-28, Heritage Bank Stadium).