Jubilant Tigers get around Jack Riewoldt after the Richmond spearhead snapped the winning goal. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
When the Gabba is rocking, more and more Queenslanders come knocking. The Brisbane bandwagon might just overflow in September.
And with Chris Fagan at the helm of a team riding a serious wave of momentum, who knows how far it will travel?
The Lions’ biggest crowd in almost a decade was on hand to witness Lincoln McCarthy’s spectacular mark and goal sink Geelong in the final two minutes on Saturday, sending the home side skyrocketing to the top of the ladder.
For all the excitement and energy that has built around Brisbane on its nine-match winning streak, this was the test it had needed ahead of the finals.
The Lions passed it, and while clearly not unbeatable, and with bigger tests to come, they are a genuine force to be reckoned with. The look of sheer pride and joy on Fagan’s face as he hugged his players after the siren said it all.
The symbolism of McCarthy being the centerpiece in the match-winning play should not be lost. Here was a former fringe Cats forward, playing against his old side, reaching new heights by climbing on to the back of an opponent in only his 50th game after making his debut more than seven years ago.
McCarthy has had a new lease on life since heading north during last October’s trade period and has become a poster-boy for a savvy recruiting strategy that has netted Brisbane the likes of Lachie Neale, Luke Hodge, Charlie Cameron and Jarryd Lyons, among others.
The 25-year-old told Fox Footy post-match that he didn’t want to die wondering when deciding whether to fly for the mark. It’s a mentality permeating through the entire Lions organization this season after a decade without a sniff of finals action.
Remarkably, the club hasn’t won a minor premiership in any incarnation – be it the Bears, Fitzroy or the merged entity – since 1913. Victory over Richmond next week would secure a fresh slice of history and confirm two home finals at the Gabba.
But the Tigers will be no pushovers. Once again, the 2017 premiers proved their mettle on the big stage, this time in arguably the most thrilling contest of the home-and-away season.
Damien Hardwick’s men coughed up seven goals in the opening 27 minutes against top-four rivals West Coast on Sunday, but gradually clawed their way back after the break.
As rain tumbled in the second half, the match became an arm wrestle as momentum came in waves. Neither side gave an inch in what many tipsters have already pointed to as a grand final prelude. Few neutral supporters will be disappointed if it proves to be the case.
The epic battle was eventually settled by a Jack Riewoldt snap shot, the key forward off-balance as he wobbled a hurried kick through the middle.
The aforementioned teams are almost locked into the top four. If Richmond beats Brisbane in the final round, the quartet of flag fancies will likely be tied on 64 points apiece, with only percentage splitting them.
The margins are almost as fine in the middle rungs of the ladder, where the Western Bulldogs are the frontrunners for the last available finals spot after a disastrous weekend for the two South Australian clubs.
The fact Adelaide could lose to Collingwood by 66 points – the Crows’ heaviest defeat in a total of 74 matches at Adelaide Oval – and still temporarily replace woeful Port Adelaide in the top eight was telling in a finals race that’s become a case of “last man standing”.
Few sides yet to confirm a finals spot seem capable of seeing the September door and bursting through it. The Bulldogs wedged a foot in place with an impressive interstate win over Greater Western Sydney, and will play finals if they can beat the Crows in Ballarat next week. The way it’s going, they might play finals anyway.
Port Adelaide had a top-eight spot there for the taking but produced its worst performance of the season in an insipid 86-point loss to North Melbourne.
The Kangaroos had kicked a club-record low score the previous week, tallying just 1.8 (14), but piled on more goals in the opening few minutes against Port Adelaide than they could in an entire match against Geelong – and finished with their highest score of the season.
Ben Brown starred, kicking 10 goals to take the Coleman Medal lead from injured GWS spearhead Jeremy Cameron, but it was the performance of veteran ruckman Todd Goldstein that turned most heads.
The 31-year-old wound back the clock and had a whopping 17 score involvements in a dominant display against Paddy Ryder and Peter Ladhams, one that might prompt Ken Hinkley to recall Scott Lycett from the SANFL next week.
It was a round when the competition bid farewell in one way or another to a host of champions. Jarryd Roughead was at the top of the list and kicked a bag of six goals as Hawthorn belted Gold Coast.
Hayden Ballantyne sat atop Aaron Sandilands’ shoulders in a fitting way for the two Fremantle stalwarts to bow out, while Dale Thomas saved some of his best for last with Carlton.
The “Teague Train” gathered further momentum as the Blues’ saluted against St Kilda in front of almost 52,000 fans on a rare sunny Saturday afternoon in Melbourne’s bleak August, sounding a further warning to the rest of the league that they are no longer pushovers.
Maybe it’s time for the marketing department to dig out the old “they know we’re coming” slogan for 2020? Ok, maybe not.
Essendon secured its finals berth with a rousing win over Fremantle that was the perfect response to a fortnight under the blowtorch, but lost David Zaharakis to injury in a blow to its hopes of going deep in September.
The match featured an unusual incident when Lachie Schulz collided with umpire Alex Whetton, who remarkably attempted to blow his whistle while tumbling to the ground before being taken off with concussion.
Schulz and Whetton weren’t the only men who crashed to the Optus Stadium turf. Michael Walters will no doubt come under scrutiny from Match Review Officer Michael Christian after his theatrical display to win a free kick after being bumped shoulder-to-shoulder by Marty Gleeson.
Walters was otherwise outstanding with 36 disposals and two goals as he reached the 150-game milestone.
After all that, it’s worth noting that one game hasn’t yet rated a mention. The less said about lowly Melbourne’s defeat to Sydney, the better.
