A Grand Final is all that could follow a remarkable weekend of football that left Fremantle still dreaming of a first AFL premiership and Brisbane on track for a rare three-peat.

Fremantle is one win away from claiming its biggest slice of history as it hunts the club’s first AFL flag while playing in just its second Grand Final. The Dockers have spoken about their understanding that the players who break the premiership drought – the current second-longest in the competition – will be “immortal”. The minor premiers can take confidence from their win against Sydney being the eighth time this season they have overturned a deficit at the last change to surge to victory.

Brisbane has its own opportunity to make history on Saturday as it aims to join Melbourne as the only clubs to twice win three consecutive premierships. The Lions have endured a rollercoaster campaign with dominant displays mixed with lacklustre performances, but combined their best and worst into the one game against Hawthorn. The back-to-back reigning premiers had to draw on all their finals experience to get over the line in an all-time classic preliminary final and book their place in a fourth straight decider.

Where and when: MCG, Saturday September 26, 2.30pm AEST

WHAT HAPPENED THIS YEAR?

Round 12: Fremantle 15.13 (103) defeated Brisbane 10.18 (78) at the Gabba

Fremantle took another step in proving its premiership credentials at the same time as it piled more misery on Brisbane. The Dockers opened up as much as a 51-point lead over the two-time reigning premiers before holding off a late rally to rubberstamp their status as the team to beat with an 11th consecutive victory. Freo’s three-pronged attack of Jye Amiss (four goals), Patrick Voss (four) and Josh Treacy (three) imposed themselves on the game from the start, while Andrew Brayshaw (24 disposals) and Shai Bolton (21) added a spark in the midfield. Zac Bailey (30, one goal) and Will Ashcroft (22, two) inspired the Lions’ belated fightback that fell short as their side slumped to a third straight defeat.

THE STATS THAT MATTER

Fremantle

Fremantle is edging towards its first AFL premiership even while winning only three quarters across its three finals this year. The Dockers showed they are almost unstoppable when they are up and running as they surged past the Swans in the final term with 24-6 inside-50s, 12-2 forward-half intercepts and when booting 5.4 to 0.1. The minor premiers have had few issues getting the ball forward this season and are ranked second for inside-50 differential at an average of +6.5 a game. Justin Longmuir’s side has maintained this strength across the three finals when +6, +13 and most recently +18 for inside-50s, though it has not always been able to take full advantage with cautious ball movement making it harder for its key forwards to fire. Josh Treacy (two goals), Jye Amiss (four) and Patrick Voss (five) have had minimal impact on the Dockers’ three finals, but have plenty of room for improvement in the Grand Final.

Brisbane

Brisbane's hopes of securing a premiership three-peat were quickly fading until its star-studded onball brigade took command against Hawthorn. The Lions have been an offensive powerhouse while averaging 118 points to claim 12 wins in their past 14 matches, with a strength at stoppage key to their success. The two-time reigning premiers are ranked a clear No.1 for clearance differential this season at an average of +5.3 a game, as well as being a leader in points scored from clearances. The Lions were particularly dominant at centre clearance in their preliminary final with eight goals scored from the source - the most in any final since 1999 - to help turn the tide against the Hawks. Chris Fagan's side has shown it has the firepower to win a shootout and can take extra confidence from seven of the past eight premiers outscoring the opposition from centre clearances on Grand Final day.

IT'S A BIG WEEK FOR ...

Fremantle

The luckless Hayden Young has too often been as notable by his absence as by the influence he can have on games, especially while playing only 26 of the Dockers’ 50 matches over the past two seasons. The powerful midfielder sent a reminder of just how important he remains to the Dockers as he gave the side a jolt with a clutch goal after the three-quarter time siren in the preliminary final. The 25-year-old then helped drag the minor premiers into the Grand Final as he gathered eight disposals with three score involvements in the final-term surge against Sydney. Fremantle has found a way to get the best out of Young as a high-impact burst player while he has averaged 67 percent game time in three finals. But the gun onballer is peaking at just the right time to have a huge say on their hopes of claiming a first premiership.

Brisbane

Hugh McCluggage has been unable to hit his usual heights during an injury-riddled campaign as a series of recurring calf issues have restricted him to 16 matches. But the 28-year-old could be saving his best for the pointy end of the season after he was crucial to the Lions’ fightback then laid a clever tackle in the dying stages of the preliminary final against Hawthorn. After being awarded a free kick that gave him a chance to claim back the lead for his side, McCluggage still had to have the class and composure to nail the nerve-wracking shot for his third second-half goal. The 2025 All-Australian finished with 23 disposals – the second-most he has gathered in a game since round nine – eight score involvements and six tackles in a timely return to form, and is primed to again be a key cog in Brisbane’s engine room.  

PREDICTION

Fremantle has ridden a wave of momentum into the club’s second Grand Final in its 32nd season to now be within reach of a breakthrough premiership. The minor premiers have relied on powerful bursts to win a pair of finals while only outscoring the opposition in three of their past 12 quarters. Brisbane has also blown hot and cold across the finals with much the same form as it showed early in the home-and-away season. But with a deep well of finals experience and match-winners across every line, the Lions have enough battle-hardened talent to cement their place as one of the best sides of the modern era. Brisbane by 11 points.

THEY will forever be known as The Unstoppables.

Just when you think the Brisbane Lions are over, just when you think they are done, just when you think this is it, they always have one more punch to throw.

GRAND FINAL Full match coverage and stats

And on Saturday, they produced the most remarkable, unbelievable premiership-winning performance the game has ever seen. It will live long in the memory of every footy fan as the most incredible comeback on the biggest stage.

Brisbane is premier once more after an incredible comeback in Saturday's Grand Final that has devastated Fremantle as it was on the verge of its first-ever flag.

The Lions saluted by seven points in dramatic circumstances after kicking the last four goals of the game to clinch the 14.12 (96) to 12.17 (89) win at the MCG.

In scenes that will now live in footy folklore, the Dockers looked set to triumph for their first premiership after jumping to a 17-point lead with under five minutes to play in the last quarter.

It led to the Dockers' pressing their 'Wharfie Time' button to ignite the crowd after Patrick Voss' third goal, but Chris Fagan's men did not back down, with goals to Charlie Cameron, Zac Bailey and two goals to Logan Morris in the final minute seeing the Lions steal the win from Freo's grasp.

Morris had been quiet throughout the day but his contested mark and cool set shot to put the Lions ahead, and then his sealing snap in the dying seconds sees him become a three-time premiership player in his third season.

After Kylie Minogue's brilliant pre-game show, perhaps it was fitting the man with 'On A Night Like This' as his goal song delivered the biggest hit.

Fremantle's Shai Bolton was awarded the Norm Smith Medal for best on ground, the first medal winner from a losing side since Chris Judd in 2005 and the fifth ever.

Drought-breaking history was about to beckon for the Dockers.

But then things changed in the most shattering means for Fremantle and most brilliant fashion for Brisbane, with the club equalling its 2001-2003 three-peat.

Will Ashcroft was again superb with 31 disposals, and Josh Dunkley, who won his fourth flag, had 21 disposals and 12 tackles in a phenomenal effort.

It was tight throughout the whole contest, with Fremantle's 17-point lead after Voss' goal the largest of the day.

One point split the teams after a tense but attacking first term. Cameron's left foot rove got Brisbane out of the blocks, and quickly had the Lions' fans singing in the aisles, but it went largely goal for goal after that as Fremantle quickly found the tempo.

The Dockers were buoyed by a strong term by forward pair Josh Treacy, who kicked their first goal, and Voss, who was playing a defensive job on Lions co-captain Harris Andrews, while Isaiah Dudley's running goal was reward for his long effort.

Kai Lohmann has proven himself as a big-game finals performer before and slotted a classy finish after a clever handball from teammate Morris, before Murphy Reid, who was best afield in the first quarter with nine disposals, kicked a snap out of a pack to draw the Dockers to within a point at quarter-time.

Any fears Fremantle would be overawed by the occasion were quickly dispelled. In the cold and slippery conditions, the Dockers were winning the midfield and stoppages battle and feeding a forward line growing in confidence. Caleb Serong, in particular, was a dominant force around the ball with eight clearances in the half.

Voss kicked two goals for the second term as Fremantle got out to a seven-point break, before Sam Draper's long bomb tied things up again.

If finals are a game of inches, this was a game of centimetres and there were tight moments everywhere: Michael Frederick's tackle on Bailey to save a certain goal, Conor McKenna's toe poke through jumbled legs, Dunkley's smothers and the umpires being hotter on the 15-metre marking distances than we have seen in some time.

With scores level at half-time in the Grand Final for the second successive year, Fremantle's status as the second-half specialists was going to determine this year's flag. The Dockers' start to the third quarter was absorbing; Treacy marked early but missed, Amiss landed his goal from close range and Reid continued to create around the ball.

The Dockers dominated the term but struggled to get ascendancy, until Dudley provided another spark; he tapped the ball to himself, it bounced back up, he ducked under a tackle and finished his shot to take a 15-point lead.

But as everything looked set to turn purple, Brisbane did what Brisbane does; three goals in six minutes to Lohmann, Oscar Allen and Cameron and they had regained the lead.

Fremantle produced yet another centre clearance and this time Young, on his non-preferred right foot, banged home a goal to restore the Dockers' advantage.

Then, with 30 seconds to go in the term, Young snapped a goal from the Dom Sheed pocket of the MCG, with Fremantle recovering from the loss of skipper Alex Pearce midway through the quarter to hold a 10-point lead into the last change.

But nobody was prepared for what was left to come in the final quarter.

The Unstoppables. Never count them out.

FREMANTLE       3.4    6.7    10.12    12.17 (89)
BRISBANE          3.5    6.7     9.8      14.12 (96)

GOALS
Fremantle: Voss 3, Young 2, Dudley 2, Amiss 2, Treacy, Reid, Frederick
Brisbane: Cameron 3, Morris 3, Lohmann 2, Allen 2, McKenna, Draper, L.Ashcroft, Bailey

BEST
Fremantle: Serong, Young, Voss, Reid, Jackson, Bolton 
Brisbane: Dunkley, W.Ashcroft, Zorko, Cameron, Wilmot, Gallop, Lohmann

INJURIES
Fremantle: Alex Pearce (Achilles) 
Brisbane: Nil

Crowd: 100,023 at the MCG