Where and when: Gabba, 7:40pm (AEDT)
Last time they met: R6: Geelong 11.7 (73) d Brisbane 6.10 (46)
After the Lions held a narrow lead at half-time, Geelong unleashed one of the best quarters by any team this season. Led by Patrick Dangerfield, Sam Menegola and Joel Selwood in the midfield and Tom Hawkins and Gary Ablett in the forward half, they slammed on seven unanswered goals in the third quarter to storm home comfortable winners.
Match Preview: The last time Brisbane played in a preliminary final it was against – you guessed it, Geelong, in 2004. On that occasion the Lions were forced to ‘host’ the game at the MCG against the young Cats, but this time around it’ll be held at the Gabba. Geelong is fresh off a demolition of Collingwood that saw all of its prime-movers in peak form, while the Lions put their feet up for a week after breaking a 15-game hoodoo against Richmond in the qualifying final.
Brisbane
Watching Dangerfield run amok as a key forward at the weekend would have given the Lions some headaches. Harris Andrews will be occupied with Tom Hawkins, leaving Darcy Gardiner or possibly Ryan Lester to mind Danger when he plays forward. Wingers Mitch Robinson, Hugh McCluggage and Jarrod Berry will need to work hard back into defence to clog up space. At the other end, expect the Lions’ mobile forwards to bring their opponents high up the ground to leave plenty of space inside 50.
Geelong
The Cats bullied Brisbane’s midfield in their clash earlier this season, using their bigger bodies to dominate contested ball and clearances as the foundation for victory. This will again be the blueprint for success. Watch for the work of Mark Blicavs. Not only does the competition’s best runner get back to help his defence when he’s playing on the wing, but when Blicavs goes into the ruck to relieve Rhys Stanley, he’ll also drop behind the ball to help the back six. His influence is crucial in slowing down Brisbane’s attack.
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I’ve never changed my tip on the back of a single change, but Gardiner out will see Geelong get up IMO. They now don’t have a matchup for Danger. Poor Starcevich will probably cop it.
go the lions!!