BELLE Dawes has the potential to be the gamebreaker in Brisbane's qualifying final clash with Hawthorn on Sunday. 

Over the last two seasons, she has been the point of difference through the Lions' midfield, since club champion Emily Bates opted to move to the Hawks in early 2023. Last year she enjoyed a breakout season, winning a second premiership and establishing herself as a staple of the Lions' onball group, and has now taken another step forward, becoming the key to unlocking the side's success.

Notably, Dawes' breakout last year was under the guise of then-Brisbane midfield coach Daniel Webster, who will coach against her for the first time on Sunday.

Dawes is second at Brisbane for disposals, clearances, inside 50s and tackles this year, and as an impact player, and energiser, she is arguably the side's most important. 

Belle Dawes' 2024 surge

*career best

Typically assumed to be the hard nut, winning bulk contested possessions, and burrowing deep into the scramble, it is in fact Dawes' powerful movement through stoppage that makes her so dangerous. 

That is only made possible, however, by the constant, reliable presence of Ally Anderson. The AFLW's 2022 (S7) best-and-fairest winner, Anderson is – fairly – widely considered Brisbane's best midfielder. Anderson averages a club-high 27 disposals per game this year, while also leading the club for clearances with 5.6 each week.

With such a solid, no-fuss player such as Anderson holding strong at the contest, Dawes' dynamic drive through stoppage creates headaches for opposing midfield groups. 

Always on the move, something that Dawes is particularly good at is giving the stoppage air. It's a step back from the contest, or setting up a few metres further back at the reset. With this space, she is able to power through the zone at top speed, ready to receive a quick clearing handball from Anderson, or Courtney Hodder, and send the ball forward.

This movement makes her tough to defend, and her pure strength adds another layer of difficulty for direct opponents.

Importantly, when things don't quite go right, her follow up work is just as valuable.

She plays with a surging mindset, finding ways to tap the ball forward or to a teammate, or turns on the defensive pressure once the ball has been lost. 

While Webster will no doubt have a plan to combat a Brisbane midfield that he knows so well, including the movement of Dawes, and those feeding her the ball, it is one thing to have a plan and another thing to execute it.

And if there's anyone that is going to rise to the occasion of a big game, it's Belle Dawes.