BRISBANE has come from the clouds to snatch a spot in a preliminary final against Geelong as Joe Daniher booted two goals in the last four minutes in a stunning five-point triumph over Greater Western Sydney on Saturday night.

The Lions trailed by as much as 31 points early in the final term but then booted the last six goals of the game to overrun the Giants for a 15.15 (105) to 15.10 (100) victory at Engie Stadium.

GIANTS v LIONS Full match coverage and stats

Daniher gave Brisbane hope when goaling with a set shot from outside the boundary to reduce the margin to one point after Sam Taylor was penalised for insufficient intent to keep the ball in play in the dying stages.

The Lions key forward then made it two in as many minutes when he outmarked the GWS defender and nailed the set shot to give his side the lead for the first time since early in the opening term. 

The Giants locked the ball in their forward line and pushed hard to find what would have been a match-winner, but the hosts ran out of time as Brisbane’s defence held firm.

The Lions had earlier fought back from a 44-point deficit halfway through the third term after the Giants booted seven consecutive goals, kicking five of their own in nine minutes before the home side steadied.

When GWS skipper Toby Greene snapped the first goal of the final term to extend his side’s lead there was little warning of what was to come as Brisbane surged home.

Daniher finished with four goals to have the better of a critical battle with Taylor, while Lions small forwards Charlie Cameron and Kai Lohmann both booted two majors.

Dayne Zorko turned around a difficult night as he had his influence limited by Giants forward James Peatling (two goals) until bobbing up for two goals of his own in the second half. 

Hugh McCluggage (24 disposals), Will Ashcroft and Jarrod Berry (both 27) were important for Brisbane as they first tried to stay in the contest, while Lachie Neale (19) was among those to step up as the visitors mounted a comeback.

GWS paid the price for letting lightning strike twice, as for the second consecutive week the Giants saw their opponents overrun them in the last term to be bundled out of the finals in straight sets. 

Jesse Hogan threatened to tear the game apart and finished with a game-high five goals, while Greene showed signs of returning to form with three majors, but it was too little too late. 

Tom Green again showed that he has a game built for finals with 33 disposals and 10 clearances, while Josh Kelly and Callan Ward (both 21) ensured the Giants set the tone in the midfield until the Lions launched one of the unlikeliest of fight backs. 

Coniglio ruled out after nasty collision
GWS midfielder Stephen Coniglio has played through the second half of the season under duress due to a shoulder concern, so hardly needed to cop the brunt of a collision with Harris Andrews in full flight. The Lions co-captain had his eyes set on Giants young gun Aaron Cadman leading hard for a mark near the boundary as Andrews then attempted to spoil. Coniglio was in the wrong place at the wrong time as the key defender went through the Giants’ former skipper to send him crashing to the turf, taking several minutes to get to his feet before soon being ruled out with a cheekbone issue.

Toby dribbles a goal from the arc in return to form
Toby Greene turned in a horror show the last time these two sides met with a career-low four disposals as Brisbane defender Brandon Starcevich shut him out of the game. The GWS skipper more recently had limited impact in his side’s qualifying final defeat to Sydney, but showed from the early exchanges that he was set for a change of fortunes against the Lions. Greene found space in the centre square to set up Aaron Cadman for the Giants’ opener then added his own crafty goal before the first break. The 30-year-old later reminded the Lions that he needs little space, as he intercepted a handball then brushed off a tackle before dribbling a cheeky checkside through from 45m out.

Lions kick 'em when it counts
Brisbane had suffered from wayward kicking for much of the season and arguably paid the price for booting a combined 16.27 to GWS's 30.15 in a pair of defeats when these sides met earlier in the season. The Lions were again made to rue their at times woeful kicking for goal as they trailed by 25 points at the last change with 9.13 on the scoreboard. But when Jaspa Fletcher slotted a long bomb on the run to give Brisbane a hint of hope it was almost no surprise when the often-maligned Joe Daniher nailed a pair of tough set shots in the final four minutes to snatch the victory.

GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY            5.3       8.7       14.8      15.10 (100)
BRISBANE                                           3.5       4.10      9.13      15.15 (105)

GOALS
Greater Western Sydney: Hogan 5, Greene 3, Peatling 2, Cadman, Briggs, Green, Ash, O'Halloran
Brisbane: Daniher 4, Cameron 2, Lohmann 2, Zorko 2, Ah Chee, McInerney, Bailey, Hipwood, Fletcher

BEST 
Greater Western Sydney: Green, Hogan, Peatling, Kelly, Whitfield, Greene
Brisbane: McCluggage, Daniher, Berry, Ashcroft, Zorko, Dunkley

INJURIES 
Greater Western Sydney: Coniglio (cheekbone)
Brisbane: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
Greater Western Sydney: Xavier O’Halloran (replaced Stephen Coniglio in the second quarter)
Brisbane: Conor McKenna (replaced Logan Morris in the third quarter

Crowd: 18,357 at Engie Stadium