THE GABBA -- Brisbane has advanced to a fourth straight AFL preliminary final, after defeating fellow Queensland outfit Gold Coast by 53 points at the Gabba on Saturday night.
The Lions dominated at the contest all night, with the midfield starring in front of 36,628 fans. They'll meet Collingwood at the MCG for a place in the Grand Final next Saturday evening.
Here are three things we learned from the game:
Dimma didn't show enough respect to the Lions' stars
Suns coach Damien Hardwick no doubt would have watched and re-watched Geelong's dismantling of the Lions in last week's qualifying final.
Surely he saw how effective Oisin Mullin was on Hugh McCluggage, who was kept to his lowest disposal count in three years. Surely he saw that close-checking Cam Rayner was effective in keeping his influence to a minimum (back-to-back free kick goals aside). And surely he saw Will Ashcroft and Josh Dunkley as Brisbane's best in the middle that night, with the Lions' reliance on them only set to grow in the absence of co-captain Lachie Neale.
Yes, the Suns are always reticent to 'tag', or even. When you have three of the league's best prime movers running through the midfield in Matt Rowell, Noah Anderson, and Touk Miller, it's understandable. But it was evident early that Brisbane's mids were on top.
At quarter time, the Lions were up 22-7 in tackles, were +28 in disposals, and +5 inside 50s. Save for the first minute in which the Suns kicked two goals, the Lions were well on top, and could have been further in front if not for some sloppy kicking inside 50.
In the second term, the Lions converted the statistical dominance onto the scoreboard, booting six goals to two, and the game was already teetering. At the main break, McCluggage had 21, Josh Dunkley 14 and 11 tackles, and Will Ashcroft had 15 and two majors.
"They stick to their structure pretty much all year, with certain players rolling through there. Different teams throw up different challenges," McCluggage told ESPN after the match.
"I just thought we were able to handle the pressure a lot better than we did last week, to be honest. They threw a few punches and we were able to be composed and calm, and work our way through it."
By not putting enough time into Brisbane's finals-hardened mids, Hardwick put too much pressure on the rest of his team to perform. While Rowell, Anderson, and King initially started hot, too many -- including his impact players -- just weren't able to deliver on the big stage. Ben Long had possibly his worst game of the year (four disposals), Ethan Read (four) was unsighted, and Jy Farrar (seven) was thrown from attack to defence with little impact.
The Lions finished +56 in disposals, +17 in clearances, +29 in marks, and +7 in tackles. It was a smashing, and the game was played on Brisbane's terms all night.
One has to wonder if Hardwick had made some defensive moves earlier, would the Suns have been in the match longer?
No Lachie Neale? No worries, the Norm Smith medallist stepped up
When Brisbane co-captain Lachie Neale limped to the bench in the dying stages of the qualifying final loss to Geelong, things were looking grim for the Lions' premiership defence.
Already down possibly five best-22 players (take your pick from Eric Hipwood, Jack Payne, Keidean Coleman, Tom Doedee, Noah Answerth, and Lincoln McCarthy), Neale missing the rest of the season with a calf injury might have seemed like a nail in the 2025 coffin.
But in the win over the Suns on Saturday night, it was clear the future of the Lions' midfield is in good hands. Will Ashcroft was Brisbane's most damaging player when the whips were cracking, tallying 21 disposals, five clearances, and two goals to three-quarter time. He finished with 28, eight clearances, and 466 metres gained.
His first major was a beauty; up a point with two Suns hanging off him at a forward 50 stoppage, he outmuscled his opponents and snapped the goal which kick-started the Lions' run and the beginning of the end for the Suns.
His run and dash is enviable, and his high footy IQ means he just finds himself in the best spots more often than not.
"If you lose a two-time Brownlow medallist it's always going to be a little bit difficult," McCluggage told ESPN.
"I think Will's been really patient in waiting for his opportunities. Now that Lachie's gone down, he's had more of an opportunity in there.
"I think it's been great for him that he's been able to play a variety of positions, not just inside mid, because it means down the track, if he's getting tagged or whatever else, he can flip forward, mix it up, confuse teams. We've got a lot of weapons in [the midfield]."
If Neale really is to miss the rest of the season -- he's cheekily claimed on Triple M he may be 50/50 if they make a Grand Final -- we know Ashcroft loves the big September stage.
That is some snap from the stoppage from Will Ashcroft 😮💨#AFLFinals pic.twitter.com/64rjWokhf0
— AFL (@AFL) September 13, 2025
We could be in for a golden era of Queensland footy
There was a wonderful vibe around Brisbane on Saturday afternoon. A first all-Queensland final, with 'younger brother' Gold Coast visiting Brisbane to face off with the Lions.
It was also the Suns' first final in their home state -- their second, ever -- after last week's incredible elimination final win over Fremantle in Perth.
For every four or five fans wearing Lions maroon around the Gabba, there was one in red and yellow (or pink), the Suns bringing a healthy contingent of support up the highway for a sold out Saturday night.
The Suns say up to 8,000 tickets were sold to Suns members during the member presale, and it seems a few more managed to snag seats in the general sale as well.
And the place was loud. The Brisbane-heavy Gabba crowd (of 36,628) always has voice, but when the Suns got a hot start, the noise was there from those who made the trek up the highway.
And it could be a sight we see more often. We've seen the competition's youngest club in GWS face off with the Swans four times in finals, but football in Queensland could be in for a similar trajectory in coming years.
Brisbane has been a powerhouse up north for many years now under Chris Fagan, and the Suns are finding their feet under Damien Hardwick. The Lions are hardly an old team, so this could just be the start of these two sides meeting in September.
More sold out stadiums in Queensland? It's good for footy. Just ... no more jumper clashes, please.