Brisbane dominate the grand final middle stages

The Brisbane Lions beat the Sydney Swans in the 2024 AFL grand final after a decisive second-half surge turned a tight contest into an emphatic premiership win. The Guardian Australia report described Brisbane’s victory as a long-awaited triumph that revived memories of the club’s earlier title era while adding a fresh chapter under coach Chris Fagan.

At half-time, Brisbane already led by 46 points and had one hand on the trophy. The grand final then followed a familiar pattern for one side and a disastrous one for the other: Brisbane kept finding score after score, while Sydney struggled to produce a response. By the final siren, the Lions had made the match effectively untouchable.

Eric Hipwood was one of the most striking figures in the win. The forward, long criticised at times during his career, produced a memorable goal and celebration that became one of the symbols of Brisbane’s command of the day. The report framed his performance as part of a wider team effort rather than a solo act, but it was clear he contributed to the emotional lift that carried the Lions through the key passages.

Will Ashcroft, meanwhile, won the Norm Smith Medal for best afield, becoming the youngest player ever to receive the award. His influence around the ball and his calm use under pressure helped set Brisbane apart during the middle period when the match opened up. The report also noted that he was still very early in his senior career after returning from ACL rehabilitation.

There were several other contributors. Lachie Neale played through heel issues, Darcy Fort outperformed Brodie Grundy in the ruck battle, Callum Ah Chee added four goals and Kai Lohmann kicked four as Brisbane’s attack broke the game apart. The Lions’ scoring burst between the second and third quarters, the report said, produced 12 goals to Sydney’s two and became the defining passage of the final.

For Sydney, the defeat was heavy and plain. The Swans could not match Brisbane’s energy once the Lions accelerated, and the match slipped away rapidly. The article compared the result unfavourably with Sydney’s earlier grand final loss to Geelong, but also placed this defeat within a longer season in which they had still been minor premiers.

The significance for Brisbane is that the club’s history now includes multiple eras of success. The Guardian said Leigh Matthews, who coached the earlier premiership run, presented the trophy to Fagan’s team, a symbolic handover linking the club’s past to its present. That image framed the victory as both a football result and a statement about continuity.

In the end, the grand final was defined by one team’s ruthless middle surge and the other’s inability to arrest it. The Lions finished as convincing champions, and the MCG became the stage for a premiership that felt both emphatic and cathartic.