SUMMARY

Brisbane has earned the vital home qualifying final at a venue it is undefeated at this season, setting Port Adelaide a massive challenge in week one.

The Lions enter their fifth consecutive September campaign relatively stable and on a four-game winning run, while the Power have enjoyed a bounce-back season after the disappointment of 2022, stabilizing their year in the past three weeks after a rocky month that threatened to derail their campaign.

The Lions are settled and will regain Lincoln McCarthy (calf), with the major selection questions resting with the Power as Charlie Dixon (foot), Scott Lycett (knee) and Trent McKenzie (knee) push their cases to return.

Todd Marshall is ready to resume after missing round 24 with a hip complaint. 

Brisbane v Port Adelaide at the Gabba, 7.25pm AEST 

NO LATE CHANGES

SUBSTITUTES
Brisbane: Jarryd Lyons
Port Adelaide: Travis Boak

Where and when: Gabba, Saturday September 9, 7.25pm AEST

WHAT HAPPENED THIS YEAR? 

Round one: Port Adelaide 18.18 (126) def Brisbane 11.6 (72) at Adelaide Oval

It has been almost six months since these teams last met, with their previous clash coming 12 months before that. It makes it hard to read much into head-to-head form. In round one this year, the Power piled on eight goals in a dominant third quarter to outgun the Lions at Adelaide Oval by 54 points, with Jason Horne-Francis leading the surge alongside Connor Rozee and Zak Butters. Todd Marshall capitalised in attack with four goals and eight marks. The Lions got the job done at the Gabba 12 months earlier, winning by 11 points.

THE STATS THAT MATTER

Brisbane
The Lions lead the competition this year for average points scored from turnover (55.6) and points from turnover differential (+14.4) – an indicator that the past three premiers have ranked No.1 in. Chris Fagan's men will hope their high scoring game, which is built off territory dominance and an ability to lock the ball in the front half, will help them make the next step after last year's nightmare preliminary final loss against Geelong.

Port Adelaide
The Power's major weapon is the gun midfield pairing of Zak Butters and Connor Rozee and young sidekick Jason Horne-Francis. Together, they have helped Port rank No.1 in the AFL for points scored from centre bounce differential. If they can get on top in the middle against the Lions and control centre clearances, they have proven they can lock the ball in their own attacking half thereafter. 

IT'S A BIG WEEK FOR… 

Brisbane
Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale is the leading clearance player in the game, and it's a status he lived up to in the Lions' opening final last year with 15 clearances and 39 disposals. He is the player who shapes as the match-winner for the Lions, but Butters and Rozee are obstacles. Can the 30-year-old lead his team to a home preliminary final and move a step closer to the premiership he deserves after a brilliant 243-game career.   

Port Adelaide
The defender who has the ability to play a match-winning role for Port is Aliir Aliir, helping turn the tide after the Power ranked last among finalists for points conceded this season (82.9 a game). Aliir is an elite one-on-one defender and averaged 3.2 intercept marks a game this season. If he can lift in that second area and support the backline while taking care of his man, the Power will be in a better position to win.

PREDICTION

Brisbane by 12 points. The Lions last lost at home in round 23 last season and are on a 12-game streak at the Gabba. Aside from missing Will Ashcroft, they have an incredibly settled team and all the motivation you could need after last year's finals campaign took a sour turn. They look ready this year.

BRISBANE has stormed clear in a frenetic qualifying final shootout against Port Adelaide to move within two wins of breaking the club's 20-year premiership drought.

Port threatened a Gabba upset when it rallied to lead in the second quarter and then surged again to trail by just nine points in the third term.

LIONS v POWER Full match coverage and stats

But the hosts had the answers in a 19.9 (123) to 11.9 (75) win on Saturday night.

Cam Rayner (three goals) and Hugh McCluggage (26 disposals, nine clearances, four scoring assists, one goal) starred as usual Brisbane weapon Lachie Neale was held to just a single first-quarter touch and finished with 19 in total.

Joe Daniher also kicked three of his five goals in a crucial third term run after 200-gamer Charlie Cameron had booted two in an instant in his 200th game.

Port now hosts Greater Western Sydney in a knockout semi-final while Brisbane will host the winner of Melbourne-Carlton in a preliminary final at the Gabba - they haven't lost at the ground in 12 games this season - to earn a shot at their first flag since 2003.

The Power will be ruing some errant kicking, the visitors scoring from 20 of their 48 forward entries but missing crucial set shots when the game was in the balance.

Usually reliable, Todd Marshall sprayed two shots from close-range that didn't even register, Ollie Lord the unlikely source with a career-high four goals.

Willem Drew kept Neale under control but McCluggage stepped up, his poise and positioning ensuring Brisbane's offence flowed.

Connor Rozee played that role for the Power, often emerging out the front of stoppages to slice up the Lions' much-improved defence.

The 36,020-strong crowd were still singing Cameron's trademark Country Roads goal celebration song when the small forward raced onto another chance and kicked his second in a memorable third-quarter moment.

Marshall had the reply but McCluggage stayed calm, finding Daniher with another exquisite kick forward that prompted the Lions' decisive burst.

Earlier Jason Horne-Francis imposed himself on the contest with a series of barging runs and Port finally found their radar to boot three in quick time and snatch a two-point lead.

But Rayner popped up again to steal it back with his third goal, before McCluggage and Dayne Zorko took their chances in the closing stages of the half to rebuild a 16-point advantage.

Brisbane rookie Jaspa Fletcher, who kicked a key third-quarter goal, and teammate Callum Ah Chee were both rock solid when questions were asked.

Port coach Ken Hinkley substituted Darcy Byrne-Jones to inject veteran Travis Boak with seven minutes to play.

But no sooner did Trent McKenzie and Dylan Williams hobble off with injuries, Brisbane surged clear in that time to ensure no nervous fourth-quarter moments.

You can't keep Charlie down
Charlie Cameron is a player fans come to watch and the small forward likes nothing more than a big stage to ply his trade. Cameron has kicked 20 goals in his past seven finals and has only failed to hit the scoreboard in September once, and that was in an Adelaide jumper, so when he was scoreless from two possessions in the first half there was a feeling something wasn't right. And this in his 200th game! So it came as no surprise when the dynamic small forward kicked two goals in a matter of seconds in the third quarter, revving up his motorbike and the crowd to get the game back in Brisbane's command.

Lord not the saviour but he's starting to shine 
Port Adelaide has had issues with key forwards throughout the season, with Charlie Dixon and Mitch Georgiades' injury-restricted campaigns seeing Ollie Lord thrown into the senior side arguably ahead of time. The 21-year-old looked out of his depth on occasion, but not on Saturday night. With Todd Marshall's kicking unusually unreliable and Jeremy Finlayson well held, it was Lord that stood up, kicking four goals and creating headaches for the Brisbane defence. He may still be wet behind the ears, but Adam Kingsley will need to pay Lord respect next week or he may return another career-best bag. 

These Lions aren't making up the numbers
Preliminary finals are not an unknown quantity to this Brisbane outfit, but there's a feeling after four failed finals campaigns under Chris Fagan, this one is different. The way the Lions dispatched the Power on Saturday reeked of ruthlessness. They didn't take their foot off the pedal till the final siren despite knowing they had secured a week off, and while percentage amounts to nothing at this time of year, late-game injuries can be the cruelest of blows. With another game at 'the Gabbatoir' there's a real feeling they'll be back at the MCG before October, and they couldn't care less about their record at the Home of Footy.

BRISBANE             3.3    8.4    16.5    19.9 (123)
PORT ADELAIDE    1.4    5.6     9.9     11.9 (75)

GOALS
Brisbane: Daniher 5, Rayner 3, Fletcher 3, Cameron 2, Zorko, McCluggage, McCarthy, Lyons, Hipwood, Bailey
Port Adelaide: Lord 4, Marshall 2, Powell-Pepper 2, Byrne-Jones , Rozee, Rioli

BEST
Brisbane: Daniher, McCluggage, Rayner, Dunkley, Fletcher, McInerney
Port Adelaide: Rozee, Butters, Houston, Aliir, Lord, Lycett

INJURIES
Brisbane: Nil
Port Adelaide: Trent McKenzie (ankle), Williams (hamstring)

SUBSTITUTES
Brisbane: Jarryd Lyons (replaced Deven Robertson in the fourth quarter)
Port Adelaide: Travis Boak (replaced Darcy Byrne-Jones in the third quarter)

Crowd: 36,020 at the Gabba