The first bounce of the AFL Grand Final is at 2:30pm on Saturday.
It’s one of the biggest days of the year in Victoria (big enough for a public holiday today) and will see the Geelong Cats and Brisbane Lions face off in the season decider for the first time.
Let’s have a look at how the teams line up.
Geelong Cats
The last time the Cats played in a grand final was 2022, when they beat the Sydney Swans by 81 points. The club has plenty of finals experience, having played in the grand final in seven of the last 19 seasons.
The Cats are on an eight-match win streak and have looked unstoppable in finals, beating the Lions 112-74 in the qualifying final and dominating Hawthorn 115-85 in last week’s preliminary final.
The Cats will be without key defender Tom Stewart, who was concussed in last week’s match.
Brisbane Lions
The Lions are playing in their third consecutive grand final.
In 2023, they lost to Collingwood by four points and in 2024, they thrashed the Sydney Swans to win their first premiership since 2003.
Two-time Brownlow Medallist Lachie Neale will return for the final after injuring his calf in the qualifying final three weeks ago.
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Midfielder Jarrod Berry, who dislocated his shoulder against Collingwood last week, will miss out.
Head-to-head
Before the Cats’ victory over the Lions in the qualifying final just three weeks ago, the Lions had won their previous four encounters.
The two times they met during the regular season this year, the Lions beat the Cats 70-61 in Round 3 and 92-51 in Round 15.
The Lions’ victory in Round 15 was their first at GMHBA Stadium in Geelong since 2003.
There is one stat that suggests history is in favour of the Lions.
Of the five times this century that two teams have played each other in a qualifying final and the grand final in the same year, the loser of the qualifying final has won the grand final four times.
Entertainment
American rapper Snoop Dogg will headline the pre-match entertainment on Saturday. The AFL defended its choice of headliner following criticism of the rapper’s past homophobic comments, saying his performance will be “family-friendly”.
The entertainment lineup also includes Australian artists Vera Blue, Tash Sultana, Baker Boy, and footy anthems man Mike Brady.
You can watch the AFL Grand Final on Channel 7, Foxtel, and Kayo.
