The last two losers of Grand Final’s face off to turnaround the disappointment they have experienced at the hands of Geelong and Collingwood in 2022 and 2023.
As always there’s talk about injured players testing their bodies in a last ditched attempt to make the big day, but in the case of Callum Mills, John Longmire has demons of his own to overcome.
In 2022, Sam Reid was under a massive injury cloud and history now shows that ‘Horse’ made the wrong call, with Reid rendered useless and the Swannies pounded by the Cats.
Longmire and the Swans have the benefit of hindsight however and the fact that their best patch of footy this year was without their skipper Mills and they looked incredible last week, when again he was absent.
The betting suggests it will be close, with the Line set at 4.5pts, but for the Lions to beat the form side of 2024, they have to stop two men. Heeney and the Chad.
Isaac Heeney has reached amazing heights, literally and figuratively, as seen by his screamers and heroics late in the season.
Chad Warner has gone to another level this year, which is supported by his Brownlow tally of 23 votes. He had seven clearances in one quarter last week, such is his ability to turn games. He and Heeney can both do that, so stop them or lose.
Lachie Neale and Dayne Zorko are the two men that the Swans will be putting time into, with the latter making a mess of sides with his dash and delivery off half back. Lachie Neale is vital to the Lions chances, with his clearance work the key to feeding Joey and Eric.
It’s a Lions win for me in a high scoring affair.
