THE Brisbane Lions had the week off after booking their spot in the AFLW preliminary finals this weekend, and now they know their opponent.
Standing in front of them and a ticket into the 2024 Grand Final is their arch rival, the Adelaide Crows, after they defeated Fremantle by 37 points in the semi-final on Saturday afternoon.
The Crows have three premierships after joining the league in 2017, holding the record for the most in the competition.
In their first season, they met the minor premier Lions in the Grand Final, taking the top prize with a 35-29 scoreline.
In 2019, the Crows took the premiership trouncing Carlton 63-18, claiming the title for the second time in three seasons.
Their third title, won in 2022, saw the Crows 29-16 victors over the Melbourne Demons.
The Lions know what’s in front of them when they host the Crows at Brighton Homes Arena in Springfield this weekend – their shot to defend the title.
From the past three encounters between the two sides, the Lions have won all three, 35-33 in round five this year, 39-37 in the first week of finals last year and 42-39 in week eight last year.
In their most recent clash, it was forward and Lions goal-kicking star Taylor Smith who secured victory with a late match-winning goal.
With 100 seconds left on the clock, Smith sunk the shot from 25m, in front of the ecstatic 6104 Brighton Homes crowd.
The stars of that game were once again the firm of Smith with a double, and Davidson, Hodder, and O’Dwyer with individual majors.
If the Lions come away victorious from their home ground this Saturday, they will play the winner of the other preliminary final in North Melbourne Kangaroos, their opponents in last year’s Grand Final who have been dominant all season, or a Port Adelaide outfit who stormed home last Saturday winning their semi-final 50-49 over the Hawks.
The Lions v Crows preliminary final will kick off at 6.30pm under lights on Saturday night at the Springfield stadium.
