Brisbane Lions dominate Adelaide to advance to their fourth straight AFL preliminary final, highlighted by standout performances from Zac Bailey and Charlie Cameron.

Brisbane overwhelmed Adelaide 144-91 to reach a fourth consecutive preliminary final, led by Zac Bailey’s best-on-ground performance and Charlie Cameron’s five goals. Bailey also signed an eight-year extension, while Adelaide captain Taylor Walker retired after 19 seasons.

Fremantle defeated Geelong 120-106 in a high-quality contest to reach its first preliminary final in more than a decade. The Dockers will face Sydney at the SCG, while Brisbane meets Hawthorn at the MCG.

Reigning Premiers Brisbane roared into their fourth straight Preliminary Final after totally overwhelming Adelaide before a vocal crowd of 36,026 at the Gabba.

Keen to make amends for their poor showing. They came strong out of the blocks and kicked the opening five goals in just seven minutes, thirteen seconds; a finals record.

The normally relaxed coach Chris Fagan admitted that he had given the players “a fierce spray” during the week, and he was delighted with the response from them.

Although they were challenged for a period in the second quarter by the visitors, the Lions were never in danger, going on to lead all evening. They chalked up 144 points on the scoreboard – their second-highest recorded at the pointy end.

One of the stories this year has been that free agent Zac Bailey would be playing in 2027, with a possible move to the opposition that he lined up against as a possibility.

However, that got put firmly to bed on Tuesday, when the 26-year-old midfielder put pen to paper on a new eight-year contract extension to see him through until 2034.

He then further twisted the knife by producing a stunning best on ground that included 23 disposals, five tackles, three marks, three clearances and three snags.

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Speaking on his decision to re-sign with the Queenslanders, in the rooms with Fox Footy, he said, “I see some players, when they come into their free agency. They can tend to perform poorly, and I didn’t really want that. I sort of set myself for a big year; first half of the year I didn’t want anything to do with the talks, just to go out there and play footy, and after that ramped things up, but I always wanted to stay in Brisbane.”

“I wasn’t in any rush to sign, playing good footy, so after that loss it was probably a good time to sign and give the boys a bit of a boost. I just love the group so much, this year especially. I have had so much fun going into the club; it is so enjoyable.”

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Forward Charlie Cameron (pictured above), in his 279th appearance, kicked a career-high five goals whilst, down back, Ryan Lester played a vital role by nullifying Josh Racheale, whom he restricted to just seven touches, which is the lowest by him this campaign.

Such is the cutthroat world of sport that no sooner had his team exited this year’s finals, Crows coach Matthew Nicks was being asked about his future at the club.

His response was emphatic: “Yeah, I think I do, and I’ve got the right support around. We’ve got a fantastic group of people from our chairman and CEO; we’ve got a great football department who know their stuff. We’ve got a good young group who are improving year on year, and that’s our goal, to keep striving to take another step.”

He added, “No, I won’t seek assurances. There’s no guarantees in football. I’m confident with where we’re at, and the conversations that are ongoing with the leaders of our football club and my colleagues, that we’ll continue to work together.”

At the end of this encounter, a guard of honour was formed for one of the best forwards of the modern era in Taylor ‘Tex’ Walker – he decided to hang them up and retire after a 19-year, 319 appearances and 715-goal stellar career.

Result

Brisbane 21.18 (144)
Adelaide 13.13 (91)

Dockers see off the Cats in high-quality shootout

Minor Premiers Fremantle booked their place, for the first time in over a decade, with a strong performance and managed to get up over Geelong in a thrilling shootout.

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It sets up a trip to New South Wales where they will take on Sydney, at the SCG, who they defeated convincingly back in July, so they will head into that full of confidence.

Following the disappointment of last week, when they fell to Hawthorn in a Qualifying Final, they produced a really strong opening that set the tone – livewire Shai Bolton (pictured below), who won two Premierships with Richmond, kicking an early brace for the hosts.

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They registered six goals for the first quarter, their most ever in a final; by the early stages of the second were out to a game-high 31-point lead and firmly in control.

However, the in-form Cats that came into this contest on the back of seven victories in a row had other ideas, as they slowly managed to work their way back into it.

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Led by 150-gamer Bailey Smith (pictured above) and with some momentum behind them then went on to hit the front midway through the third, when Jeremy Cameron slotted home.

It put the heat back on the Dockers, but they responded really well to seize the lead once more and, despite being severely tested, were able to run it out well.

With just a minute to go, the infamous ‘Wharfie Time’, a high-intensity in-stadium crowd activation used by the hosts during tight, high-pressure moments, was set off – it put the record crowd of 59,725 into a frenzy before Patrick Voss nailed the sealer.

Ruckman Luke Jackson, named in this year’s All-Australian team, was immense with a dominant display as he racked up 35 hitouts, 25 disposals and eight clearances.

Speaking in his post-match presser, coach Justin Longmuir said “I just spoke to the players then that it feels great. We played a really good brand of footy, and you should get a lot of confidence out of that, but the job’s not done.”

“We’ve had a big focus this year on momentum; we knew coming into tonight against Geelong that we were going to get that sort of a game. When they’re behind, they throw a lot at teams, and when in front, they’re good at halting momentum as well.”

Looking ahead to next week, he added “We’ll go over there as underdogs, and they’ll be really confident after their win against Brisbane, and they’ll be heavy favourites on their home deck. But we’ll go over there and give it our best.”

Following their exit from this year’s competition, opposite number Chris Scott confirmed that Cameron (pictured below) will be going straight in for surgery for an arm nerve injury.

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Result

Fremantle 18.12 (120)
Geelong 16.10 (106)

AFL finals: Week 4 fixtures – Preliminary finals

Friday 18 September – Sydney v Fremantle @ SCG (7.40 pm AEST)
Saturday 19 September – Hawthorn v Brisbane @ MCG (5.15 pm AEST)

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