Title town: Lions tap into Broncos’ success in flag bid
Shayne Hope |
The Brisbane Lions have turned to advice from a rugby league star in their bid to complete an unprecedented grand slam for the Queensland capital with victory in the AFLW grand final.
Brisbane is already home to the AFL, NRL and NRLW premiers, following a golden week for the Lions and Broncos through September and October.
A triumph for Craig Starcevich’s Lions women over North Melbourne at Ikon Park on Saturday night would mark the first time a city has held all four titles across the country’s two biggest football codes at once.
On Friday, Starcevich revealed Broncos NRLW star Julia Robinson had been invited to address the Lions in the build-up to their shot at glory.
“It was enlightening,” Starcevich said.
“The city’s definitely up and about in terms of their footy codes at the moment and it would be lovely to finish it off for them.”
Lions captain Bre Koenen said her group took plenty away from Robinson’s visit as they try to emulate the Broncos’ success.
“She spoke really well and solidified a few of the themes that we’ve had across the week,” Koenen said.
“It was nice to hear that and what they went through was quite similar in every aspect.
“It was nice to reaffirm that what we’re doing is heading in the right direction.”
As a club, the Lions have reached three consecutive AFL grand finals and four straight AFLW deciders since moving to their new headquarters at Springfield.
The run has brought about two men’s premierships (2024-25) and one women’s flag (2023) so far.
“You can imagine what it’s like walking into work every Monday,” Starcevich said.
“It’s a buzzing environment and it’s a fantastic place to be.”
The Lions overcame a rocky start to the season, which included a 29-point defeat to North in round five, to qualify for their seventh grand final in 10 AFLW seasons.
But they will start as underdogs against a Kangaroos outfit that is on a record-breaking 26-game winning streak.
North have won the last three clashes between the sides, since the Lions triumphed in the 2023 grand final.
“Our last three games haven’t been so good against North but I reckon we’ve grown a fair bit since round five,” Starcevich said.
“We’ve put together a pretty good back half of the year.”
Starcevich dismissed the theory Melbourne had given Brisbane a blueprint on how to beat North, when they gave the reigning premiers a huge scare in their preliminary final.
The Demons kicked the first three goals but were overrun in the finish as the Kangaroos flexed their considerable muscle.
“You know that game whack-a-mole? It’s a little bit like that, something else pops up,” Starcevich said.
“They’ve got so many strengths and there were a couple of things that Melbourne did pretty well, but there will be something else pop up that we’ll have to deal with.”
AAP
