Brisbane Lions defeat Adelaide Crows in preliminary final, grand final v North Melbourne, match report, results, latest news

The Brisbane Lions are through to a third straight AFLW grand final after beating a tiring Adelaide at Brighton Homes Arena on Saturday night.

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The reigning premiers survived a brutal first half at the hands of the Crows to claim an 18-point win and set up a follow-up to a thrilling 2023 grand final against North Melbourne.

Twelve months after the Lions walked into Adelaide Oval and shocked the Crows on their home ground in the grand final, the three-time AFLW premiers looked set to return the favor by dominating the opening exchanges at the Lions’ home ground ” in Springfield.

But in another epic chapter of the AFLW’s most storied rivalry, Brisbane opened the game with a four-goal-to-nil third quarter and held on to their final-season lead to book a sixth place in the grand final.

The 7.8 (50) to 4.8 (32) victory marked the Lions’ sixth win in a row over the Crows – a surprisingly lopsided recent clash given the two clubs’ history dating back to their first grand final in 2017.

The previous three meetings between the two sides had all been decided by less than one goal, but the Crows came to town with a point to prove after being beaten at the same stadium earlier this season.

But they were unable to capitalize on their first-half dominance, holding only a seven-point lead at the main break.

Brisbane came out with the clear intention of injecting more speed into the ball and the Crows simply couldn’t cope with Springfield’s hot and humid conditions.

Brisbane barometer Katie Swark was quiet until the break, scoring just six goals, but exploded in the third, doubling her tally and directly contributing to two goals, including one scored with her own boot.

Adelaide’s usual suspects Ebony Marinoff, Anne Hatchard and Chelsea Randall were all dominant, but the Lions simply played too evenly.

This marked the Crows’ third consecutive preliminary final defeat.

Brisbane travel to Ikon Park next Saturday for a repeat grand final with minor premiers North Melbourne, whose last defeat came in the 2023 decider.

A BAD CALL COSTS THE RAVENS

Did that call cost the Crows their chance at a fourth AFLW premiership?

Chelsea Biddell could only shake her head in confusion after being called into action in the Brisbane goal for what she believed was a contested goal midway through the third quarter.

The Crows defender barely took half a step off her line, but it was enough for the referee to call play, forcing Biddell to hastily handball into the path of Jade Ellenger, who was looking to give the Lions a nine-point lead.

That quickly turned into 15 points when Dakota Davidson scored for her second big of the night.

The game, previously hanging in the balance, quickly became a one-way traffic as the hosts came to life with a loud home crowd behind them.

FLAWLESS RANDALL

If the AFLW had a Player of the Final award it would undoubtedly go to Chelsea Randall.

Adelaide’s jack-of-all-trades threatened to break Brisbane’s hearts with an imperious first-half display that saw the Crows break into the box.

Randall played a crucial role in the quarter after she outplayed Poppy Boltz for the first goal of the game, but it was her second big game that would be the highlight of the week.

The Crows needed a reboot after Brisbane scored two quick goals to level the game to within a point at the end of the break, with Randall scoring.

A quick strike from 50 meters out caught the Ravens off guard but contorted her body with incredible athleticism to make a stunning one-handed grab as Lions fullback Nat Grider dangled from her.

Randall fought back and fired home a shot to send the Ravens into the break with a seven-point lead.

But when Brisbane came out on top in midfield, Randall’s chances inside 50 dried up and even the Crows maestro couldn’t magically pull back in the second half in the face of the Lions onslaught.

The 33-year-old averaged 18 goals and kicked five goals in her three appearances in the final – unfortunately not enough to take the Crows to another grand final.

IT’S YOUR HEAD, DAKOTA

When Brisbane needed a spark in the second quarter, it came from the usual suspect Dakota Davidson – but not quite in the way she had planned.

The Lions spearhead saluted with a typical strong tackle and set-piece to stop the bleeding, but minutes later her assist set tongues wagging.

Davidson had a comfortable lead on her shot towards 50 but misjudged the ball in flight and caught the almighty falcon for her troubles.

But it was far from misfortune for the Lions as Katie Swark pounced on the loose ball, broke through a couple of tacklers and scored Courtney Hodder’s goal to push the Lions back a point.

SCOREBOARD

LIONS 0.3, 2.4, 6.5, 7.8 (50)

RAVENS 1.3, 3.5, 3.7, 4.8 (32)

BEST

Lions: Anderson, Grider, Davidson, Hodder, O’Dwyer.

Ravens: Randall, Marinoff, Hatchard, Biddell, Kelly.

GOALS

Lions: Davidson 2, Hodder, Ellenger, K. Swartz, Daws Hampson.

Ravens: Randall 2, Gould, Kustermann

INJURIES

Leos: no

Crows: no

CROWD

4519 at Brighton Homes Arena