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Posted:
2024-09-14 08:25:06
Original link:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-14/afl-semi-final-gws-giants-brisbane-lions-live-blog/104349906
Lachie Neale will enter Brisbane's AFL preliminary final under an injury cloud, although coach Chris Fagan insists the dual Brownlow medallist will be fit to tackle Geelong.
Neale was in obvious discomfort during the final minutes of the Lions' remarkable semi-final victory over GWS in Sydney on Saturday, as his side somehow prevailed by five points, 15.15 (105) to 15.10 (100), after trailing by 44 late in the third quarter.
Neale, well tagged by Toby Bedford at Giants Stadium, grabbed at his left foot during the chaotic finish.
The gun midfielder had his foot in a moonboot as Fagan and the team debriefed after one of the greatest wins in club history.
"He's had a bit of a sore foot for quite a few weeks now, so his training has been modified," Fagan said.
"If you come down and watch us train, you probably won't see him on a Tuesday. You'll see him on a Thursday and he'll look not very good.
"Then by the time we get to a game, he's good to go. He's tough."
Fagan added Neale would "be right" to play Saturday night's MCG showdown against Geelong.
"He's not in any danger of not playing next week," he said.
"He's fine, he's just like he always is after a game. It's been like that for quite some time now."
Neale finished with 19 possessions and seven clearances.
The 31-year-old notably had just one possession in the final quarter on Saturday night, when his influence was curbed by Bedford.
Joe Daniher kicked two goals in the final quarter as Brisbane came back from 44 points down to claim a famous finals win. (AFL Photos via Getty Images: Dylan Burns)
It was Brisbane spearhead Joe Daniher who lifted his side into the prelim, slotting the final two goals of the game to clinch victory.
Trailing by 44 points, last year's grand finalists produced a four-goal third-quarter flex, before Daniher reduced the margin to one point in the final term on Saturday.
With less than two minutes on the clock in front of 18,357 fans, Daniher fought off Sam Taylor and marked inside 50, kicking truly to seal the victory.
The Lions will play Geelong in a preliminary final at the MCG, while the Giants' campaign is over.
"Joe lives for those big moments," Brisbane coach Chris Fagan said.
"He's been a great finals performer for us.
"You don't often have days like that in footy … such an amazing night for our footy club."
A euphoric Daniher downplayed his match-winning deeds, saying the wind helped him convert both set shots.
"We hung in there. Looked gone at times but we did enough to not let them get too far out. We got there," Daniher said.
With Neale battling a Toby Bedford tag, Jarrod Berry (27 disposals) and Will Ashcroft (27) stood up in the midfield.
Dayne Zorko (two goals, 25 disposals) also starred, while Charlie Cameron and Kai Lohmann kicked two alongside Daniher's haul of four.
Jesse Hogan was dominant for the Giants in the semifinal against the Lions. (Getty Images: Dylan Burns)
Jesse Hogan was outstanding for GWS and kicked five goals, while Tom Green (33 possessions) worked desperately to withstand the challenge.
"Incredibly disappointed. We put ourselves into what we thought was a winning position, 44 points up," GWS coach Adam Kingsley said, lamenting how his side gave up big leads in both finals they lost.
"We thought we learned our lessons from last week against the Swans … the players knew what I was going to tell them at three-quarter time.
"Tonight was the same story, unfortunately.
"We didn't cope with the contest as well as we would have liked.
"We're not the finished product."
Bedford, returning to action after missing out on their qualifying-final loss with a calf complaint, made his presence known immediately.
The highly rated Giants tagger, pulling off a one-two with midfielder Josh Kelly, burnt through the corridor to set up Aaron Cadman for the first goal of the match.
Daniher got the better of Taylor for Brisbane's opener, before Giants skipper Toby Greene retorted in brilliant fashion to kickstart a four-goal chain.
The Lions key forward then cut into the 21-point deficit with his second goal after Isaac Cumming was caught holding the ball just in front of goal, with 10 points the difference at quarter-time.
Stephen Coniglio was subbed off at quarter time after copping a big hit to the head. (Getty Images: Matt King)
Giants midfield bull Stephen Coniglio was subbed out of the match with a cheekbone injury after copping a heavy blow to the head as Harris Andrews attempted to stop Cadman taking a mark.
Xavier O'Halloran joined the fray in the second term to replace Coniglio as the Giants rebuilt their 21-point lead.
A bad handpass from Neale landed in the hands of Kieren Briggs and the GWS ruck slotted a rare goal to open the third term.
The hosts broke out to a game-high 44-point lead, before the Lions put together five unanswered goals in less than eight minutes to begin their fightback.
AAP
Check out our live blog below for all of Saturday's action as it happened.
That's it from the blog tonight!
What a game, what a weekend!
Thank you for spending your time with us through two absolutely brilliant semi finals.
Join us next Friday for the first of what should be two absolutely cracking preliminary finals.
Fagan reveals Neale is dealing with a foot issue
Lachie Neale was held to just 19 disposals tonight, and Chris Fagan has revealed that his star midfielder is dealing with a foot issue.
"He's had a bit of a sore foot for quite a few weeks now, so his training has been modified. If you come down and watch us train, you probably won't see him train on a Tuesday, you'll see him on a Thursday and he'll not look very good, and by the time we get to the game, he's good to go. He's tough, but he's not the only bloke in the AFL that is playing a bit sore at the moment. He's not in any danger of not playing next week. It's been like that for some time now."
The Lions belt out the theme song
One of the proudest renditions of the Brisbane Lions theme song you'd reckon.
Chris Fagan admits this comeback is one 'I'll never forget'
Lions coach Chris Fagan is absolutely overjoyed after this one.
"You don't very often have days like that in footy. That will be one I'll never forget. The emotions are high, the parents and families are in the rooms. It was one of the great comeback wins. Very proud of the group. We stuck to our guns and when everything looked lost, we hung in there, which has been the team all year. The character of the team was on display tonight and it summed up our season."
Fagan also admits that the Lions had spoken about the Giants coughing up a big lead last week against the Swans.
"It was just a matter of hanging in there and things just turned for us. We are a team that can score quickly, so we never give up on ourselves. I did say that (collapse against Sydney) happened last week. We obviously knew that. Sometimes in sport, history repeats, and it can be something in the back of your mind if you can get close enough. We just had to give ourselves a chance to see if that would happen. We had to find things to stay positive, so it was worth talking about."
Adam Kingsley 'incredibly disappointed' after another collapse
GWS coach Adam Kingsley cutting a shattered figure, rightly so too.
"We put ourselves into what we thought was a winning position, 44 points up, and we weren't able to hang on and capitalise. We thought we'd learnt our lessons from last week against the Swans ... well tonight it was the same story unfortunately, so it would appear we haven't learnt that lesson. We're not the finished product yet ... unfortunately that's evident. We're not yet a premiership brand and we've got to continue towards that."
Kingsley's message pretty much echoes what Giants midfielder Josh Kelly thought as well.
Harris Andrews - another Lion in absolute disbelief
The reaction from all the Brisbane players is pretty much exactly the same - they can't believe what they've just pulled off.
Preliminary final fixture confirmed
We've got a confirmed fixture for next weekend's preliminary finals. Here's how it looks.
FRIDAY
Sydney vs Port Adelaide, 7.40pm, SCG
SATURDAY
Geelong vs Brisbane Lions, 5.15pm, MCG
WATCH: The last two minutes of this thriller
If you missed the final minutes of this absolute CLASSIC, here you go.
The Lions room BOUNCING after that win
Lions midfielder Jarrod Berry to Fox Footy after the win.
"I'm watching the replay and it's just absolutely crazy. I haven't seen a room like this since the prelim we won against Carlton last year."
A look at the Lions at the final siren
How good are these celebrations from the Lions at the final siren?!
Fagan's take on heroic Lions comeback
Joey D, a true Australian hero
Well Done Joe Daniher, you and the team did Brisbane and rest of Australia proud
- Jen Woodfield
An unbelievable game from Joe, hey Jen?
Daniher finished with four goals and 13 disposals.
"He is an enigma. There is a couple of times you go, 'Joe, what are you doing?'," says teammate Lachie Neale.
"He wants the ball in his hands, which we love, and he's a confidence player. We love Joe."
Full time stats from the semi final
Here are the numbers after a simply incredible game of football.
- Disposals: GWS 337-316
- Inside 50s: Brisbane 56-49
- Clearances: Brisbane 50-48
- Contested Possessions: GWS 147-140
- Marks Inside 50: GWS 16-9
- Tackles: GWS 83-67
Two of the top three players on the ground are Giants, but that counts for very little at this stage.
- 1.Kieran Briggs (GWS): 13 disposals, 54 hitouts, five clearances, one goal
- 2.Oscar McInerney (BL): 13 disposals, 39 hitouts, five clearances, one goal
- 3.Harry Himmelberg (GWS): 24 disposals, six marks, four intercept possessions
An honourable mention to Brisbane youngster Will Ashcroft, who flipped that game in the third quarter. He finished with 27 disposals, nine clearances and TEN score involvements.
Lachie Neale says Ashcroft is "built for finals footy" on Fox Footy. It's hard to argue on tonight's evidence, that's for sure.
A tale of finals collapses for the Giants
Two of the biggest apple crumbles you'll ever see in back to back weeks for straight sets. No team is ever coming back from this...
- LW
LW, this is going to lead to some serious soul-searching for the Giants, you're right.
They lost from being up 28 last week and have now lost from 44 points up this week to go out in straight sets.
That's the type of stuff that stays with you for a while.
Brisbane kicked the last six goals of the match to close it out.
Chris Fagan is UP AND ABOUT
The Brisbane Lions coach is absolutely over the moon, and rightly so!
What a bloody win that was. Absolutely unbelievable.
Some words from Hugh McCluggage after the siren
Lions midfielder Hugh McCluggage emotional chatting with Cameron Ling.
"Unbelievable. The best win I've been a part of for sure. We fought so hard all night, it looked like we were out of it a couple of times, but we kept coming back. I'm just so proud of the group, it's awesome."
Disbelief at the Lions comeback!
Wow! - Take a breath Chris....
- Mike
Brother, I need a drink. What on earth was that game?!
Daniher speaks after match-winning heroics
Joe Daniher, the man of the moment, speaking with Cameron Ling after the siren.
I cannot believe how they've pulled that off. An absolute HEIST.
"Yeah it was fantastic mate, we hung in there didn't we? Looked gone a couple of times but we did enough to not let it get out of hand and we got there. The wind was helping me out a bit, it's nice to get a result mate."
FT: Brisbane 15.15 (105) def. GWS 15.10 (100)
THE LIONS HAVE DONE IT!
HOLY HOLY SMOKES!
The Giants cannot quite believe what has gone on. They've collapsed from 44 points up in the third quarter.
Joe Daniher, you absolute STAR!