AFL grand final 2024: Brisbane Lions earn redemption in thumping win over Sydney Swans
The last Saturday in September has arrived with Brisbane and Sydney to go head-to-head at the MCG.
The stage is set for one team to earn the ultimate redemption, with both sides the losing grand finalists from the past two seasons.
Sydney was embarrassed in an 81-point demolition by Geelong in 2022, while Brisbane suffered heartbreak of a different kind in a four-point thriller against Collingwood last year.
While both teams have roots in Victoria, Sydney to South Melbourne and Brisbane to Fitzroy, neither the Swans nor Lions hold a home-ground advantage at the home of football.
It sets the stage for an epic conclusion to one of the tightest premiership races in AFL history, with minor premiers Sydney the best team in the first half of the year and Brisbane storming home at the back end of the season.
Follow all the action, from pre-game, siren-to-siren and all the post-match wash-up in our live blog below.
One more
Ashcroft gets another brilliant touch that ends in the hands of Daniher.
He props and snaps one through and is that the final goal of his career?
SYD 60, BRI 120
Big crowd
100,013 in the house for this one.
The fans have shown up for the two non-Victorian clubs.
Warner goes bang!
Parker got the Swans on the baord with their sixth from long range before Warner got on the fly in the centre.
He took the ball from the tap, burst clear and rammed the ball through the big sticks.
It’s all just too late, as McKenna comes in for the last 10 minutes.
SYD 47, BRI 108
Junk time
The sting has left the game, and the players simply go through the motions.
The Lions will be soaking up the incredible atmosphere while every minute will feel like another dagger for the Swans.
SYD 35, BRI 108
Crowd songs
The fans are tired of this one and have broken into song.
Step aside, Katy Perry; the MCG fans are on fire.
Norm Smith thoughts
Who would you vote as the best on ground, Neale, Ashcroft, Ah Chee or Lohmann?
3QT SYD 34, BRI 107
Nothing the Swans did in the third term made any difference as Neale and Ashcroft rule the centre.
The Lions forwards are feasting on the carcass up forward, with Ah Chee now having four goals and a sneaky Norm Smith chance.
But it’s Neale and Ashcroft at the forefront of the devastation.
Worse than 2022?
The Swans were beaten by 81 in 2022 and the margin is 73 points.
No go
The Swans can’t get anything working.
Everytime they go forward they find Payne or Andrews and the Lion’s pressure is too high for handball chains.
The Lions are almost toying with them at this stage.
SYD 34, BRI 94
Run broken
Heeney breaks the run of seven unanaswered for the Lions and it is panic stations for the Swans.
Can they grab some momentum to give themselves a last-quarter chance?
SYD 34, BRI 82
