The two best teams of the 2020s battle it out for their second premiership of the decade, as Geelong faces Brisbane in the 2025 AFL Grand Final.
The Cats will be trying to win their 11th V/AFL premiership, and their third under coach Chris Scott, after triumphs in 2011 and 2022.
The Lions will be trying to win their 13th V/AFL premiership (8 as Fitzroy, 4 as Brisbane), and second under coach Chris Fagan, after triumphing in 2024.
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Brisbane can become the first team to go back-to-back as AFL premiers since Richmond (2019 and 2020).
The Lions and Cats are the two winningest teams of the 2020s, and the winner will become the first team to win two premierships in the twenties, staking a clear claim as the best club of the decade thus far.
This is the first time the Grand Final has seen a rematch of a qualifying final since 2018, when West Coast beat Collingwood twice in one finals series.
However in the four Grand Finals involving a rematch previous to that, the qualifying final loser won the Grand Final – including 2003 (Brisbane def Collingwood) plus 2005, 2006 and 2015.
This is the 47th time in V/AFL history two Grand Finalists have played four games against each other in one season (excluding drawn Grand Finals). It hadn’t happened since 2005, when Sydney and West Coast met four times; the Eagles winning both games in Perth, the Swans winning in Sydney and in the Grand Final.
The match gets underway at 2:30pm AEST from the MCG.
The pre-game entertainment featuring Snoop Dogg will start at 1.30pm (AEST).
Watch the best Grand Final day coverage on Fox Footy with all the build-up, as well as exclusive Fox Footy commentary on the game from 6pm AEST.
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CRYSTAL BALL: 38 AFL experts tip the premier, margin, Norm Smith and first goalkicker
ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE: When Snoop Dogg will perform and drama behind his choice
GRAND FINAL SPRINT: Two big names, Giants star locked in amid change from traditional format
TEAMS: Lions make call on Neale; Cats settle on veteran to fill star void
GF THIS DECADE DESERVES: Why there’s more than a flag on offer in Cats v Lions
TRADE ANALYSIS: Why rivals must ‘look out’ as Cats, Lions trade coups loom
9AM — ‘EXPECTATION GROWING’ FOR LIONS STAR’S 11-YEAR FIRST
Superstar dual Brownlow Medallist Lachie Neale appears all but certain to be Brisbane’s sub for Saturday’s Grand Final against Geelong.
Neale on Thursday night was named in the Lions’ line-up to take on the Cats in the 2025 AFL Grand Final, replacing the injured Jarrod Berry (shoulder).
The Lions co-captain on Friday lifted the premiership cup with Geelong skipper Patrick Dangerfield in front of thousands of fans at Yarra Park after the traditional AFL Grand Final parade.
Neale on Friday said he’d pulled up well from several strong training sessions across the previous week, but added he didn’t know whether he’d be named the sub.
But 7News Melbourne reporter Mitch Cleary said on Friday Neale was likely to start the Grand Final as Brisbane’s 23rd man.
On Saturday morning, Cleary wrote on X that Neale “will be Brisbane’s starting sub today”, with prelim final sub Bruce Reville to come into the 22.
Neale RARING to go for Grand Final | 02:27
SEN reporter Sam Edmund added on X: “Strong word now that Lachie Neale is the starting sub for Brisbane today. Is it a concession from the Lions he’s unlikely to get through an entire Grand Final? Huge call, regardless.”
Neale hasn’t started as a sub since Round 1, 2014 when he played for Fremantle against Collingwood. He was the Dockers’ sub in their 2013 Grand Final loss to Hawthorn.
Triple premiership Lion Jonathan Brown said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if Neale was Brisbane’s sub.
“I think Brisbane would’ve taken note of what GWS did three weeks ago with Josh Kelly … he pretty much dragged back them back into the game against Hawthorn,” Brown told Fox Footy on Friday.
“They’ll decide after the captain’s run … but they’ll have to roll the dice.”
Lions coach Chris Fagan wouldn’t be drawn into a definitive answer on the Neale-sub prospect.
“I’m not going to talk about the line-ups. They come out an hour before the game and we’ll leave it until then,” Fagan told reporters.
8.30AM — AFL BREAKS AWAY FROM TRADITION WITH MUSIC CALL
This decision is not going to make some people happy.
According to Channel Seven’s Mitch Cleary, the AFL has given the Brisbane Lions and Geelong Cats the go-ahead to play music after every goal is scored in Saturday’s grand final.
The Lions have embraced post-goal music, even compiling a playlist with each player’s individual songs ahead of each season, while the Cats also got around the trend recently.
But while fans have largely embraced the move at the Gabba and GMHBA Stadium, the rest of the AFL world hasn’t exactly been keen to get on board.
In fact, a recent AFL Fans Association Facebook poll found 78 per cent of fans and 77 per cent of supporters at the MCG did not want music played after goals.
Even Cats coach Chris Scott admitted music after goals is “not my thing at all” in response to the Macarena being played during a game earlier in the year.
Meanwhile, the MCG reportedly received hundreds of complaints after post-goal music featured at the Geelong-Brisbane preliminary final in 2022, prompting the AFL to bin it for the decider.
6AM — ONLY LION WHO CAN GO ‘STEP FOR STEP; WITH ‘AFL’S LEBRON’
Brisbane star Josh Dunkley is set to spend time on superstar Geelong skipper Patrick on Dangerfield at times during Saturday’s decider.
Triple All-Australian Nick Dal Santo said Dangerfield was a “huge threat”, but Dunkley would be an appropriate match-up.
“If he (Dangerfield) plays in the midfield, I think Josh Dunkley is the only player that could probably go step for step with him – and it’s still a huge challenge,” Dal Santo told Fox Sports News’ AFL Tonight. “If he goes forward, clearly he’ll have to hand him over.”
Fox Sports News reporter Drew Jones suggested Dangerfield, who produced one of the great individual finals performances in Geelong’s preliminary final win over Hawthorn, had “shown himself to be the AFL’s LeBron”.
“No matter what, LeBron will take his team as far as he can go – regardless of how his teammates are playing – and then when his team is good and he locks in, he takes them all the way,” Jones said. “I think that’s the sort of performance we saw from Dangerfield.”
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