Lions roar early and run away from Crows to book Hawthorn prelim

Brisbane beat Adelaide 21.18 (144) to 13.13 (91) in the second semi-final at the Gabba on Saturday, 12 September. The 53-point win sends the Lions to a preliminary final against Hawthorn at the MCG, one victory short of the Grand Final The Guardian.

In the AFL, a semi-final is sudden death. Win and you live. Lose and your season is over. The winner goes to a preliminary final, and the winner of that goes to the Grand Final. Scores read as goals, behinds and total points. Brisbane kicked 21 goals and 18 behinds for 144 points. Adelaide managed 13 goals and 13 behinds for 91.

Brisbane settled it early. The Lions kicked five goals in the first seven minutes and 13 seconds. That is the fastest any team has kicked five goals to start an AFL final.

It was clean, fast ball movement. Adelaide could not get hands on it. By half-time Brisbane led by 38 points and the Crows were chasing all night.

Charlie Cameron kicked five goals for Brisbane. Zac Bailey kicked three goals from 23 disposals, which is the combined count of kicks and handballs. Will Ashcroft collected 30 disposals through the midfield. Hugh McCluggage kicked two goals, including Brisbane's 19th Nine.

Adelaide kept pushing. Captain Jordan Dawson finished with 30 disposals and eight tackles. A tackle is recorded when a player stops the ball-carrier and earns a free kick or a stoppage.

The night also closed a career. Taylor Walker played his 318th and final AFL game. He kicked two goals in the last term to give the travelling fans something to cheer.

The result flipped the form lines. Brisbane entered after a 53-point loss to Sydney. Adelaide arrived after a 22-point elimination final win at home, 14.6 (90) to 9.14 (68), the club's first finals victory since 2017 ABC. But Adelaide had never beaten Brisbane at the Gabba, and that record held. The AFL's official match report called it "Shock and roar: Lions' deadly onslaught sends Crows packing" AFL.com.au.

What makes this stand out is the speed of the turnaround. Seven days after being well beaten, Brisbane looked sharp from the first bounce. The ball started at 7:35pm AEST in front of a loud Gabba crowd, though some Crows supporters said surging airfares had priced them out of the trip.

For fans, this means a Brisbane-Hawthorn preliminary final in Melbourne. Winner goes to the Grand Final. Loser goes home.