AFL grand final: Will Ashcroft, Zac Bailey speak ahead of Sydney vs Brisbane Lions
Will Ashcroft has Grand Final success in his blood — and one of his father's premiership teammates is expecting the young Lion to relish his first taste of footy’s biggest stage.
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Boom Brisbane Lions midfielder Will Ashcroft is a chip off the old block.
From the day he was born he heard stories of his father’s role in the club’s famous premiership three-peat. Talk about a tough act to follow.
Marcus Ashcroft retired eight months before Will was born. The son of a gun never got to see his father in full flight.
But one man who did says the similarities on the big stage are uncanny.
“Choppers was always super composed,” says Brisbane Lions legend and Marcus’ premiership teammate, Simon Black.
“You knew what you were going to get from Marcus, he was very reliable and I think Will is going to have that same temperament.”
After 318 games for the Brisbane Bears and Lions, Marcus was the club’s games record holder until Black surpassed him in 2013.
Marcus famously kicked the first goal after halftime in the 2001 grand final to spark Brisbane’s comeback against Essendon. It would not shock Black to see his son produce something similar on the big stage on Saturday.
“For a young player he’s really got that cool, calm temperament about him. The quicker and more intense the game, it won’t rattle him. He’ll step up to it nicely,” says Black.
Heralded as the next big thing even before he entered the AFL, it did not take long for Ashcroft to make his mark.
He earned three Brownlow votes in just his second senior game, compiling a game-high 31 disposals and nine clearances in a win over Melbourne.
He would have played a major role in the Lions’ premiership pursuit last year, if not for a cruel season-ending ACL injury against Geelong just weeks out from the finals.
Just under a year later he was parachuted straight back into the side and has played 12 straight games to get himself cherry ripe for his chance at a premiership.
On the eve of his first finals series, the AFL world was ready to anoint Ashcroft as a game changer for the Lions.
But club legend Black felt there was still more growth to come in the young gun’s game.
“He’s finding space and finding good holes to get involved, he’s certainly been able to get his hands on the ball and get his confidence back … but I’m not going to say he’s setting the world on fire,” Black said last month.
“He’s getting a lot of uncontested ball … I’d admire him more if he got some more contested footy. But he’s finding the footy, which for a young player is great.
“As he goes along that contested part of the game is something he’ll look to continue to grow. We do have to remember in all the games he’s played a missed, it’s still the back-end of his first season really, isn’t it?”
Perhaps Ashcroft heard Black’s critique. Or maybe the young Lion’s weekly check-ins with his father provided similar feedback. Because in Brisbane’s thrilling comeback victories over GWS and Geelong, Black’s wish came true.
In the 10 games prior, Ashcroft’s contested possession rate was less than 30 per cent. In the semi and preliminary finals, that rose to 49 per cent.
It was Ashcroft, in just his 29th AFL game and second final, who set the standard early against the Giants when his senior teammates were struggling.
And it was he who had the key handball intercept in the dying stages that set up Cam Rayner’s match-winning goal against Geelong last weekend.
“Being able to have that trust that a young player can go inside and have an impact is a really valuable asset for a side,” says Black.
“For Will to be able to come in and do that role allows a Hugh (McCluggage) type to go forward and have an impact elsewhere. It’s important to have that depth in your midfield and it allows you, when things aren’t working, to add another string to that midfield bow.”
AGONISING MISS DRIVING ASHCROFT’S INCREDIBLE FINALS RUN
— Glenn McFarlane
Will Ashcroft was born seven months after his father Marcus completed a Brisbane Lions hat-trick of premiership in 2003; now the Brisbane Lions young gun is eyeing off his own piece of silverware after a whirlwind and at times challenging start to his AFL career.
This time last year he was sitting in the grandstand on grand final day, nursing a reconstructed knee yet still doing his best to keep a brave face in supporting his teammates.
It wasn’t easy.
But even then, as he watched the Lions go down in a heartbreaking fashion to Collingwood, he resolved to himself that he would do everything in his power to be out there on footy’s biggest stage 12 months on.
Ashcroft, 20, will get that opportunity on Saturday and is set to play a crucial role in the grand final clash against Sydney, having played 12 successive games since his return from his knee three months ago.
“To make the grand final this year is unbelievable,” Ashcroft said.
“I was shattered to miss out last year … It was tough. I was supporting the boys throughout the whole finals series last year, but I set myself to get back into the finals this year.
“To make it through to the ‘granny’ (grand final) is so good, but we know we have one more to go.”
The Lions might not have made it this far into September without their young star, who was dominant in the come-from-behind semi-final victory over GWS Giants as Lachie Neale was being tagged and who was one of the architects behind Cam Rayner’s sealing goal last week.
He’s just grateful to be playing his part in a youth-led revival of the Lions in the second half of the season, which has included Kai Lohmann and Logan Morris.
“We are a pretty young group … everyone is rising to the occasion and taking their moments when they are there,” he said.
“We have so many young guys who are getting in and playing their roles.”
This goal is insane. Will Ashcroft fights off seven players all by himself and sets up a goal. Where’s his cape?
— Mark Gottlieb (@MarkGottlieb) September 15, 2024
Joe Daniher will get the headlines but I’ll remember that game as the day Ashcroft announced himself as a superstar. #AFL#AFLfinalspic.twitter.com/RteaeUpClehttps://t.co/X2GwAYVnvi
He is just one win away from being a part of the Lions’ first premiership since his dad’s famous hat-trick side.
“It’s incredible what dad (Marcus) did as a player as a part of those premiership sides, and now we have the opportunity to win the next one after it,” he said.
Marcus played in all three of those flags (2001-2003) as part of 318 games with Brisbane.
Ashcroft was joined in the victorious Lions rooms last Saturday by his family, including his dad and his brother, Levi, who earlier that day had helped Sandringham Dragons to a flag in the Coates Talent League.
Levi will join the Lions under the father-son rule in November and Will can’t wait to join forces with his brother.
“It’s going to be fun,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
But for the moment his only thought is on Saturday, and making up for the experience he missed last season, knowing the Lions are bringing momentum into Saturday’s game.
“That’s the beauty of footy, we’ve had plenty of momentum swings this year and we can’t wait to get out there (on Saturday).”
ICONIC GF MOMENT STAR LION CHOOSES TO IGNORE
— Callum Dick
It should have been the greatest moment of Zac Bailey’s AFL career.
Instead, his stunning solo goal from the pocket to send 100,000 fans into raptures last September will live as little more than a footnote to the grand final dream that never came true.
The Brisbane Lions midfielder has never felt a euphoria quite like it.
When he shrugged off a Nathan Murphy tackle on the boundary, stepped past Mason Cox and let fly with a right-foot snap that soared straight over the goal umpire’s hat, the roar of approval hit him like a freight train.
“Just the feeling after kicking that goal, when all the supporters started celebrating and it was all so loud, it was such an unbelievable moment,” Bailey recalls.
“After I kicked that goal I ended up running over and bumping into Will Hoskin-Elliott. I don’t know really know what came over me to be honest, because I don’t really ever do that.”
His chase down smother on Cox’s exiting kick and one-two with Joe Daniher to set up the super snap were the perfect flourishes to a goal that deserved more than it got.
It would have gone down as one of the great grand final goals – except, the Lions lost. And history is always written by the victor.
“Every now and then I’ll think about it,” Bailey says.
“But we obviously lost the game so it’s not really something I want to remember, even if it was a special moment.”
Though he has tried to push away that bittersweet memory of 12 months earlier, there is a part of him that has been yearning to get back to that place.
Back to that moment and on that stage, yes, but also back to the form and confidence that produced such a stunning goal. This time, hopefully, with a different end result.
“It probably hasn’t been my best season,” Bailey admits.
It has taken time for the 25 year old to adjust to a new role this year, playing predominantly on the wing and floating forward as opposed to the mid-forward rotation of years past.
Last season he attended 23 per cent of Brisbane’s centre bounces. This season that number has dropped to 14 per cent.
PUT THIS ZAC BAILEY GOAL STRAIGHT INTO THE HALL OF FAME!@cryptocom | #AFLGFpic.twitter.com/FtHemBrkuI
— AFL (@AFL) September 30, 2023
With the new role came new responsibilities and Bailey says it has been a challenge to blend that with his natural game.
“As a player I’m probably more used to playing on instinct and going to hunt the ball whereas the wing role is a bit more structured, so it’s taken a little bit of adjusting but I feel like I’ve wrapped my head around it now,” he says.
“At the club we speak about moments – it may not be your game, but it can be your moment. That is something that has resonated with me, especially going into the finals series.
“It hasn’t been my season, but I still feel I can have a big impact on this finals series.”
Bailey has done exactly that.
He was among the most damaging players on the ground in the thrilling preliminary final win over Geelong last Saturday night, in what he believes was his best game for the season.
He kicked 2.2 from 19 disposals and if not for a wayward radar, could have absolutely cashed in with a haul of four or even five goals.
It was a return to the swagger and showmanship that made him one of the most dangerous mid-forwards in the competition last season.
He was not perfect. He missed gettable goals and was caught in a brilliant chase down tackle from Tom Stewart that could have swung the game back in Geelong’s favour.
But Bailey says he will never stop taking the game on, because that is what makes him who he is.
“It’s been a part of my game since I was a kid really,” he says.
“That’s the fun part of footy, to get the ball and take people on.
“When you see someone like Cam Rayner do that it can just open up the game. If you get caught once or twice it’s not the end of the world. I’ll continue to do it because it’s something that is a strength of mine.”
With one more chance to prove himself in 2024, Bailey will not die wondering.
Originally published as AFL grand final: Will Ashcroft, Zac Bailey speak ahead of Sydney vs Brisbane Lions
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