AFL grand final parade as it happened: Qantas engineers threaten action during NRL finals; Bumper AFLW crowd for Dons-Dees

Download our sweeps for your AFL grand final parties on Saturday as Sydney and the Brisbane Lions vie for the 2024 premiership.

Brendan McCartney sat on Collingwood’s bench on grand final day last year, and in team meetings as one of their assistant coaches. The former Western Bulldogs coach was also with the Magpies when Craig McRae’s plans undid the Lions twice more. He has a clearer idea than most of what it takes to tame the Lions.

McCartney said one of the keys to beating the Brisbane Lions in last year’s premiership decider was the same as it will be on Saturday.

Lions defender Harris Andrews soars for a spoil against the Swans.Credit: AFL Photos

Sydney have to get through the first tackler.

“What Brisbane do very well is press forward. So if you want to run and carry through there like Sydney do, they will come at you really quickly,” McCartney said.

“If you are going to take Brisbane on through the corridor with using your numbers and shape and run and carry, then you have got to get through the first tackler. If they try and go through hands, or handball over hands [of defenders], the Lions will get you every time. They want you to panic handball or loop handball, then the next wave gets you, or they smash up on the player you’ve handballed to,” McCartney explained.

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Hawthorn defender Tamara Smith has been whacked with a three-game suspension for a bump that concussed Geelong’s Kate Surman. Surman laid a shepherd for teammate Aileen Gilroy in the second quarter of Hawthorn’s 18-point AFLW win over the Cats at GMHBA Stadium on Thursday night, catching Surman completely unawares with her bump.

While the bump was shoulder-to-shoulder, the pair appeared to clash heads. The match review officer charged Smith with rough conduct and graded the incident as careless, severe impact and high contact.

Like fragments of an old song, unexpected images caught in passing have the power to drag us to places that have rested in the far reaches of our memories.

A couple of weeks ago, I drove past a country footy ground on a Saturday afternoon. And there sat my childhood.

Spectators’ cars were drawn up to the boundary of the oval, side by side.

The Omeo District Football League 2006 grand final replay between Benambra and Swifts Creek.Credit: Pat Scala

I did not have to stop and listen to hear the happy hoots of horns if a goal was kicked. It was the forever sound of country Saturday afternoons.

How many of those cars would be equipped with a picnic hamper and two Thermoses, one filled with hot soup, the other with tea? These were my mothers’ essentials for an afternoon in the car at the footy.

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While Oscar McInerney’s absence means Brisbane must change their stoppage strategy, they are supremely confident in Darcy Fort ahead of the AFL grand final.

There is much talk about how the loss of McInerney will give Sydney an edge, given their No.1 ruckman Brodie Grundy is in strong form.

Darcy Fort of the Lions trains on Friday.Credit: Getty Images

But the Swans are wary of an MCG ambush on Saturday, with assistant coach Dean Cox and Grundy this week doing a lot of research on Fort.

Certainly the Lions have faith in Fort, who last played AFL in round seven and has 35 games across five seasons at Geelong and the Lions.

He returns to the team after McInerney suffered two shoulder dislocations in the preliminary final win over Geelong – the only change for either team.

“Obviously I’m super-disappointed for ‘O’, you guys all know how much he means to the footy club and how well regarded he is throughout the boys,” teammate Cam Rayner said on Friday.

“But for Forty to come in and get the opportunity, I feel like every year you talk about people saying that ‘you never know what could happen, there could be an injury’ – well this is the perfect example.

“He’s been preparing himself for this the whole time so I’m pretty confident he’s ready to go.”

Asked if the change of ruckman will change their midfield dynamic, Hugh McCluggage said “oh, it definitely changes” ... but only so much.

“Each game we go in knowing that you don’t actually get a whole lot of clean hits or easy exits from stoppage. A lot of the time it’s a 50-50 ball in there,” McCluggage said.

“So we’re just gonna make sure Forty fights his hardest and creates a contest, which we know he will.

“So I don’t think too much will change. It’s gonna be a little bit different, but we’re confident he can do what he needs to do.”

Cox, who was West Coast’s No.1 ruck in their 2006 premiership, is having nothing of the narrative that McInerney’s absence automatically means a big advantage for the Swans.

“A lot of people certainly look at that, but what Darcy has done for a number of years on an AFL list, I’ve looked at him really heavily, certainly this week,” Cox said.

“Brodie is aware of the mindset he needs to go in with and hopefully it all goes to plan.”

Grundy has enjoyed a resurgence this season since joining Sydney from Melbourne and has relished working with Cox.

“He’s been a pleasure to work with ... his attention to detail, how much he wants to learn and how curious he is with that,” Cox said of Grundy.

“That’s really appealing from a coach’s perspective.

“He’s changed the way we play and hopefully he can have a really big impact come Saturday.”

The Lions have asked permission for McInerney to sit on the bench for the grand final, with injured Sydney captain Callum Mills likely to do the same for them.

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The visiting Fremantle Dockers have won away at Moorabbin, having the better of the second half to defeat St Kilda by 11 points.

On a day of jam-packed action in the AFLW, Fremantle 3.7 (25) defeated St Kilda 2.2 (14).

One win to celebrate: Emma O’Driscoll of the Dockers.Credit: Getty Images

There’s one more match tonight as the Western Bulldogs host Sydney Swans at Whitten Oval.

Download our sweeps for your AFL grand final parties on Saturday as Sydney and the Brisbane Lions vie for the 2024 premiership.

On a busy day in the AFLW, it’s tight at half-time between St Kilda and North Melbourne at Moorabbin. Both teams have two goals on the board.

St Kilda 2.1 (13) lead North Melbourne 2.0 (12)

St Kilda’s Nicola Xenos gets her hand on the ball.Credit: Getty Images