GABBA -- Brisbane thrashed Adelaide on Saturday evening to book a fifth consecutive AFL preliminary final berth and send a major warning to the league's remaining finalists that its three-peat is firmly on track.
The Lions rebounded in style from last week's humbling defeat in Sydney and will now face Hawthorn at the MCG for a place in yet another Grand Final.
Here are three things we learned from the game:
The Lions are just two wins away from a magical dynasty ... and who would bet against them?
No team knows how to shake off a difficult loss quite like Brisbane. The Lions couldn't have played worse if they tried in last week's 53-point qualifying final defeat to Sydney at the SCG. The Swans, fresh off one of the most difficult fortnights in club history, caught lightning in a bottle and had the reigning champs rattled in the opening minutes. All of Brisbane's prime movers were well below their best and at no stage did they look like working their way into the contest. But that was last week.
Seven days later the Lions side showed why they are the back-to-back reigning premiers, bouncing back in emphatic style to record a 53-point win of their own, a crushing defeat of Adelaide to once again book a place in the last four. Brisbane flew out the gate, enjoyed the first 10 inside 50s of the night and put five goals on the Crows in just seven minutes and 13 seconds. By quarter-time it was 42-15 -- the Lions' highest score in the first quarter of a final since 1999.
So many of Brisbane's stars bounced back from their poor outings the week before. Charlie Cameron was electric with five goals. Zac Bailey, fresh from an eight-year contract extension during the week, kicked three goals from his 23 disposals. Kai Lohmann and Cam Rayner provided headaches in the front half all night. Will Ashcroft returned to finals Will Ashcroft (more on him later).
The ability to immediately respond has been an enviable trait of Brisbane over the past 12 months. Last year, the Lions were also humbled in a road qualifying final. They then won their next three finals to lift the premiership cup. In fact, since 2022 this club is now 11-2 in win-or-go-home finals.
Even this year the Lions have been quick to make amends for their most inexplicable losses. A 44-point defeat to the Swans in Round 1 was followed by a 33-point win against the Saints. The 76-point loss to the Blues late in the season was followed by a 67-point crushing of the Hawks. Even the rough three-game stretch midyear that had the footy world questioning their hunger was followed by wins in 10 of their final 11 home-and-away games.
The Lions will now travel to the MCG to battle Hawthorn for a place in a fourth consecutive Grand Final. Just two wins separate this resilient club from a stunning three-peat, are you brave enough to tip against them?
Despite the reports and the blowout, Matthew Nicks should remain safe in his role
Adelaide's finals road came to an abrupt end on Saturday evening in Brisbane. It's a loss that will no doubt sting for some time, but there's certainly no shame in falling to the back-to-back reigning champs on their home deck, right?
The Lions were clearly the better side on the night but the difference really was the burst in the opening minutes and another similarly scary attacking onslaught midway through the second term.
Perhaps Adelaide threw its biggest punch last week against the Bulldogs after rumours began circulating that coach Matthew Nicks could be out of a job should his side fail to win the home elimination final. That seemed wildly unfair at the time and even more ridiculous now they've taken it up to Brisbane.
There should be absolutely zero pressure on Nicks. At the end of the day, a coach's job is to win games. Since the beginning of last year, Nicks has orchestrated 34 wins. Only Brisbane's Chris Fagan, Geelong's Chris Scott, and Fremantle's Justin Longmuir boast more in that time. The Crows have also only suffered two heavy defeats in that period (one of them was tonight). For reference, Brisbane's had seven. Anyone who has built that type of enviable record over a two-year period deserves, at the very least, the respect of not being made to feel as if they're on the coaching hotseat.
Why is there this unfair expectation that Nicks and the Crows should be achieving so much more than they are? Even the most one-eyed Adelaide supporter would concede this side's probably not a top three team on paper, so finishing the season in fifth or sixth place should hardly be considered a failed campaign. Until the Crows are heading backwards, Nicks should not have to worry about his job security.
Will Ashcroft really should have been an All-Australian over Murphy Reid
Two-time Norm Smith Medal winner Will Ashcroft etched the latest chapter into his remarkable finals legacy on Saturday evening, turning in a dominant display against the Crows to propel Brisbane into yet another preliminary final.
It continues a dominant season for the young Lion who is not only the bookmakers' favourite to be best on ground on Grand Final day for a third time in succession, but is widely tipped to finish in the top five of this year's Brownlow Medal count. And yet, amazingly, Ashcroft wasn't selected in last month's All-Australian team.
Second year Docker Murphy Reid was someone who did receive a blazer. So, let's compare the pair:
You be the judge of who deserved to be included in the prestigious team.
Both Reid and Ashcroft were unusually quiet in their side's qualifying final losses last week. Both lifted on semifinal weekend, but Ashcroft's 30 disposals, 13 score involvements, six clearances, seven inside 50s, seven marks, and almost 500 metres gained against the Crows were just about best on ground numbers. And while finals performances don't count towards the All-Australian team, Ashcroft's latest outing only highlights how much of a blunder it was not having him in the 2026 team.
