In the grand final briefing, your wrap of footy news
- Brisbane Lions defender Ryan Lester says his goal-saving tackle on Josh Treacy is little more than a blur.
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tackle → say → blur
- The Brisbane Lions can thank Charlie Cameron for making “Wharfie Time” a grand final flop.
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Time → thank → Cameron
- Retiring Fremantle forward Sam Switkowski prefers a titanic, heartbreaking defeat to Brisbane to being on the wrong end of a one-sided drubbing.
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Switkowski → retire → drubbing
- Fremantle are shattered for captain Alex Pearce, whose devastating game-ending Achilles injury in the Dockers’ heartbreaking grand final defeat will likely also eat into his 2027 campaign.
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injury → shatter → campaign
The desperate tackle that halted Freo’s premiership momentum
Hannah Kennelly
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that → halt → momentum
With less than seven minutes to go in the final quarter, Fremantle’s Josh Treacy sprinted towards goal and looked certain to extend the Dockers’ lead and help them clinch their maiden premiership.
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them → go → premiership
The 34-year-old launched himself towards Treacy’s legs, performing a tackle that left the Docker flat on his back and sent his kick wayward, preventing what would have been a crucial goal.
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what → launch → kick
Standing wide-eyed in the beer-soaked change rooms after the Lions’ extraordinary seven-point win on Saturday afternoon, Lester was lost for words when asked about the tackle.
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Lester → stand → tackle
“Oh God, I don’t even know what happened,” he told this masthead.
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he → know → masthead
“I got him and the rest is a bit of a blur.”
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rest → get → blur
With his daughter Georgie clutching his leg, Lester said he found it difficult to articulate the magnitude of what the Lions had just achieved.
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Lions → clutch → what
In the early 2000s, the Lions achieved a historic hat-trick under Leigh Matthews.
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Lions → achieve → Matthews
Fast-forward 23 years, and Chris Fagan’s team have repeated history, clinching a third straight premiership and cementing themselves in AFL history.
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team → repeat → history
The significance was not lost on Lester.
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significance → lose → Lester
“Growing up, I looked at the Brisbane Lions and Hawthorn and those teams were just immortal … like unbelievable, and for us to join them is pretty cool,” he said.
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he → grow → them
“Particularly for me, like in 2022, I only played three games in the senior team ... so I feel really lucky the way my career has turned out and so lucky to be a part of this special team.”
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career → play → team
When the bells from AC/DC’s Hells Bells blared, and with huge waves crashing on the big screen, Fremantle fans in the crowd rose to mark “Wharfie Time”.
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fans → blare → Time
But Lester said the Lions were ready.
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Lions → say → ?
“We spoke about that [Wharfie Time] and then we tried to obviously use that for their motivation,” he said.
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he → speak → motivation
Bomber turned Lion Sam Draper said the team had rehearsed for Wharfie Time and they were prepared for a hostile crowd.
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they → turn → crowd
“We thought when they hit that trigger, that’s when we go up a notch,” Draper confirmed.
“I think the boys responded well.
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boys → think → notch
I think like last week we handled that well [against Hawthorn].
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we → think → Hawthorn
“So, yeah, the boys went crazy at the end of there.”
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boys → go → end
Just 12 months ago, Draper was preparing to leave Essendon and enter the trade period as an unrestricted free agent, after another injury-plagued year at the Hangar including a devastating Achilles rupture in mid-April that ended his season.
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that → prepare → season
On Sunday, he stood with a premiership medal around his neck and was overcome with emotion.
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he → stand → emotion
“It doesn’t feel real,” he said.
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he → feel → ?
“I got really emotional towards the end when I saw the high-performance team,” he said referencing his bought of injuries.
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he → get → injuries
“I just thanked them for believing in me.”
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I → thank → me
Charlie seizes his moment and history
Marc McGowan
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Charlie → seize → McGowan
The Brisbane Lions can thank Charlie Cameron for making “Wharfie Time” a grand final flop.
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Time → thank → Cameron
The evergreen small forward kicked the opening goal of the match – before unleashing his engine-revving celebration as Take Me Home, Country Roads blared across the MCG – but it was his third that turned the game.
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that → kick → game
Eighty-one seconds after Fremantle cult hero Patrick Voss thought he had blasted through the sealer, Cameron swooped and snapped truly.
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Cameron → think → sealer
It provided a swift end to Wharfie Time, the Dockers’ trademark fan-driven activation, which the AFL approved them to use just once in the match.
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AFL → provide → match
“As a forward, your job is about creating opportunities and moments,” Cameron told this masthead.
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Cameron → create → masthead
“I was like, ‘If I get an opportunity here, I’m going to back myself in’.
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I → get → myself
That’s the good thing about playing finals footy – you get the spotlight to showcase yourself, and when I had that snap, I was like, ‘I’m ready to go again, give me another one’.”
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I → ’ → one
Cameron needn’t have worried.
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Cameron → worry → ?
Zac Bailey kicked another shortly after before Logan Morris became the match-winner with the last two goals to transform what had largely been a dirty day for him until then.
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what → kick → him
These Lions now join Leigh Matthews’ and Michael Voss’ 2001-03 immortal teams as three-peat premiers.
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Lions → join → premiers
Related Article
Cameron has played a major role in Brisbane becoming a juggernaut under Chris Fagan, including 410 goals – 64 in finals – in 208 matches for the club.
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Brisbane → play → club
…and 47 more, not listed.
The Aporia
