It started as an avalanche in reverse. Few would have fancied the Brisbane Lions going into this QClash against the Gold Coast Suns: on paper, no match for their opponents, in either experience or talent. Yet, within 18 minutes, the Lions had seven goals on the board and had opened up a 44-point lead. By half-time, it was 46.
For the women of the Adelaide Crows, inspiration to make history as the inaugural AFLW premiers, came from an old-school, perhaps even slightly daggy source.
Erin Phillips had 28 possessions to lead Adelaide to the first AFL Women's premiership, while the Brisbane Lions were inconsolable at the grand final being their first defeat.
The Brisbane Lions have delayed announcing the appointment of their coaching panel to select a replacement for Justin Leppitsch and it may not be complete until the end of the finals series.Â
Brisbane Lions football director Leigh Matthews will not be on the selection panel to appoint the club's next coach.
The old proverb says a fish rots from the head. And Leigh Matthews is the biggest fish.
On paper, it doesn't look like the Gold Coast Suns made great strides in 2016, but given a better run with injuries expect significant strides in 2017.
Both Gold Coast Suns coach Rodney Eade and his Port Adelaide counterpart Ken Hinkley spoke of the need to be ruthless as their teams approach the off-season with a view to hauling themselves up the ladder next year.
Gold Coast Suns coach Rodney Eade said his side was mentally and physically cooked after last week's 71-point loss to Collingwood. They didn't look exhausted as they opened brightly against Port Adelaide at Metricon; the simpler problem was that they couldn't finish off their work.
For the first six minutes of this match, it looked like being another day at the Gabbatoir – with the Lions to the slaughter.
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