The Pride Of Brisbane Town
The Brisbane Lions have roared into the 2026 Toyota AFL Grand Final, facing off against Fremantle Dockers at the MCG this weekend.
*UPDATE: Lachie Neale has been cleared to play in the Grand Final
The Lions clawed their way into the premiership with a nail-biting nine-point win against Hawthorn Hawks last week.
It will be the third consecutive premiership appearance for the Lions, having defeated Sydney Swans in 2024 and Collingwood Magpies in 2025, as the team vies for another historic three-peat.
With no southern teams competing this year, the 2026 Toyota AFL Grand Final is set to be a classic east coast vs west coast battle for dominance.
Notable will be the absence of midfielder and former Fremantle player Lachie Neale after copping a one-match suspension from the tribunal for striking Hawthorn’s Jack Ginnivan in the preliminary.
The AFL tribunal upheld the ban on appeal, rejecting use of the “exceptional and compelling clause” to downgrade the penalty to a fine.
It’s the first time the two-time Brownlow Medal winner has been banned from playing in his 15-year career, which includes co-captaining the Lions in their past two premiership wins.
The Lions are expected to file an appeal to overturn the decision, which is likely to be heard in the following days. Failing that, their only other option is obtain a Supreme Court injunction.
The exceptional and compelling clause was introduced this year and has been applied only once in favour of Collingwood’s Scott Pendlebury, downgrading his one-match ban for rough conduct to a fine.
However, where Pendlebury’s conduct was graded as ‘careless’, Neale’s strike against Ginnivan was classed as ‘intentional’, resulting in the ban being upheld.
Despite Neale never having been suspended in 320 games, the AFL tribunal noted his record of striking other players.
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In the NRL, Redcliffe Dolphins secured a place in their first-ever preliminary final, having defeated Auckland Warriors 26-16.
The Dolphins host league favourite Sydney Roosters at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Friday. In Sydney, Penrith Panthers will play Newcastle Knights on Sunday in an all-state match-up to determine the grand final line-up.
Canberra, St George Illawarra and Wests Tigers are the only clubs in the past 50 years to make a grand final in their debut finals series.
Off the field, Aussie pop artist Tones And I rejected an offer to perform as part of the NRL grand final pre-game entertainment, citing scheduling conflicts due to previous touring commitments with US rapper Macklemore.
It was initially reported that she turned down the opportunity because she refused to perform her massive 2019 hit ‘Dance Monkey’, although both her management and ARLC chair Peter V’landys claim the setlist was never an issue.
V’landys has wished Tones And I well and says that the approximately $1 million assigned for pre-game entertainment will now be invested in grassroots football to support underprivileged kids that can’t afford to play.
It could the second time in as many years that Brisbane claims victory in both the AFL and NRL after the Lions’ and Broncos’ respective premiership wins in 2025.
