An electric Lions side have booked a spot in their fourth consecutive AFLW grand final, smashing a fatigued Carlton by 35 points in front of 6511 fans at Brighton Homes Arena in Ipswich.
Not even a pre-game video message from iconic Australian pop duo The Veronicas could save the Blues, who found themselves at the mercy of a team with an enviable amount of premiership players and finals experience.
The Brisbane Lions triumphed over Carlton to book another grand final spotCredit: AFL Photos
This was Brisbane’s seventh preliminary final and they showed it. In the third term, the Lions outpaced and outmanoeuvred the shell-shocked Blues at a frightening pace, delivering an uninterrupted five-goal blitz to book a rematch grand final against the undefeated Roos.
Lions forward Dakota Davidson said her side knew their pressure and tackling would eventually take them to victory.
“It’s what you dream of as a kid, I’m extremely grateful,” Davidson told Fox Footy post-game.
Carlton coach Matthew Buck said he was incredibly proud of the year, noting the team’s meteoric improvement from last year and their exciting crop of young players.
Carlton’s Yasmin Duursma after the prelim loss. Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
“I think having characters in the game as a broader kind of piece is really important,” he said in a post-match interview.
“We’ve seen that across the Carlton AFLW program this year… whether that’s goal celebrations or the way you want to prepare going into the game, all that’s fine with us. ”
It was a frantic yet low-scoring first term, with Blues Irish star Dayna Finn kicking the only goal of the first quarter. Brisbane only managed to put three points on the scoreboard and struggled to convert, with Carlton’s Ciara Fitzgerald blocking a goal with her face.
Lions flyer Ruby Svarc opened the second term with a brilliant running goal, followed by another major minutes later, but were redeemed by a brilliant boot from 18-year-old youngster Poppy Scholz.
Carlton’s defence line started to look fatigued and struggled with clearances in the third, opening themselves up to an uninterrupted five-goal blitz from a prolific Svarc and Dakota Davidson – the league’s leading goal-kicker for finals.
A typically jubilant Sophie McKay finally converted a set shot, but there were no ecstatic post-goal celebrations this time.
Another goal from Ellie Hampson just before the siren pushed the Lions higher and left a gigantic margin the Blues would realistically never recover from.
A brilliant Svarc kicked her fourth goal in the final term to seal the team’s victory, jumping into her teammates overjoyed arms.
The Lions will face reigning premiers North Melbourne next Saturday night at Ikon Park – their third straight grand final clash. Brisbane won the premiership in 2023 and the Roos triumphed in 2024.
It’s been an extraordinary season for both the Lions men’s and women’s team. If Brisbane prevail over North, they will be the first club to win both premierships in the same year.
“The type of footy we’ve been playing, we can challenge anyone,” Brisbane coach Craig Starcevich said in a post-match interview.
“We’ve beaten Melbourne twice in the last month, who I really rate as a top-line team and they got really close to North today. So it’s a nice little road map for what we might confront.”
