THE LIONS will prepare for week one of the finals with the possibility of being without star Sophie Conway after she was injured during the team’s win against the Saints on Sunday.
The defending champions beat the Saints by 27 points on their home deck at RSEA Park in their final game of the regular season.
Star midfielder Conway kicked two goals with 27 disposals and once again devouring the field with 458 metres gained before suffering the injury late in the game.
She came down heavily on her right shoulder before being helped from the field and will undergo scans in the lead up to finals next weekend.
Rising star Taylor Smith showed her consistent quality level of play with a double for another week, as the 24-year-old sharpshooter shared the top goal kicker of the year award with Aishling Moloney.
Brisbane sat in second place on the ladder at points throughout the game, however with the Hawks beating Richmond earlier in the day, the Lions finished third for the year and will clash with the Hawks next week in the first week of finals on the road.
This is the first finals appearance for the Hawks after finishing 14th last season.
The Lions finished the regular season higher than they did last year before going on to win the 2023 Premiership against this years minor-premiers, the North Melbourne Kangaroos.
The Lions will now play their eighth finals series in nine seasons, having won two premierships.
The game will kick off at 12:05 at IKON Park, Melbourne on Sunday afternoon.
The winner will be progress to the preliminary finals with the loser getting a second chance next week in the semi-finals.
AFLW Finals week one
Qualifying final: Kangaroos (1st) vs Adelaide (4th)
Qualifying final: Hawthorn (2nd) vs Brisbane (3rd)
Elimination final: Fremantle (5th) vs Essendon (8th)
Elimination final: Port Adelaide (6th) vs Richmond (7th)
