The Brisbane Lions won a third consecutive Australian Football League premiership after overturning a 17-point deficit in the final minutes of the grand final against Fremantle. Brisbane scored four late goals at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to finish 14.12 (96) to 12.17 (89), denying the Dockers a first flag in a match that changed direction almost at the siren.
Fremantle carried a 10-point advantage into the fourth quarter and extended its position late in the game. Patrick Voss's goal with about four minutes remaining put the Dockers 17 points ahead, and the club's celebratory “Wharfie Time” signal sounded around the stadium. Brisbane immediately answered.
Charlie Cameron cut the margin to 11 points, and Zac Bailey struck from the following centre bounce to bring the Lions within five. Logan Morris then kicked a set shot to push Brisbane in front before adding the final goal that secured the seven-point victory. The four-goal sequence reversed what had looked like a decisive Fremantle surge.
The contest had been level at half-time, only the fourth drawn interval at that stage of a VFL/AFL grand final. Fremantle created separation in the third quarter, helped by two late goals from Hayden Young, and led by 10 points at the final change. The Dockers held that advantage through most of the last term before Brisbane's finish.
Conditions added another variable. Rain fell around the MCG before and during the early part of the match, though both teams continued to trade goals. Fremantle also lost Alex Pearce, while a missed opportunity from Josh Treacy close to goal became more significant as the final margin tightened. The supplied match report described a game that remained balanced for long stretches before the rapid final swing.
Brisbane's comeback made it only the second grand final since 1984 won by a team that trailed at three-quarter-time. Geelong's 2009 victory over St Kilda was the other. The result also placed the Lions among only seven teams in VFL/AFL history to win three successive premierships.
For Brisbane, the title extends a run that has defined the competition's recent seasons. For Fremantle, the manner of defeat will be especially difficult: the Dockers were not merely leading in the closing stages but had built their largest and most timely cushion before conceding four goals without reply.
The final sequence captured the difference between the teams. Fremantle appeared to have converted a narrow, rain-affected contest into its long-awaited breakthrough. Brisbane instead won the next centre contests, moved the ball forward with urgency and gave Morris the chances to complete the turnaround. Seven points separated them at the end, but the premiership was decided in a four-minute burst.
