Saturday Fallout: Fifth straight prelim for blitzing Lions as Crows thrashed

It was the first five minutes of near-perfect footy which essentially booked Brisbane into the prelim against Hawthorn.

Much like Usain Bolt sprinting out the blocks, the Lions kicked five goals within 433 seconds of the game starting - the fastest first five goals in a finals game on record, according to Champion Data.

That set the tone for their 53-point thrashing of the Crows.

It was a statement which had to be made after their disappointing, shock loss to the undermanned Swans last week.

What would hurt the Crows even more though is the fact that Zac Bailey, who was eyeing off a move to Adelaide but chose to sign a mega-contract extension with the Lions, showed the Crows just exactly what they missed out on. He booted three goals, amassed 23 disposals and laid five tackles - incredible stats.

Also, ex-Crow Charlie Cameron turned the Gabba into a karaoke night, having 'Take Me Home, Country Roads' constantly playing throughout the night thanks to his five majors.

Sadly for Adelaide great Taylor Walker, who made his 319th and final AFL appearance, it was an emotional night. During the three-quarter time break, Tex knew that Adelaide were going to lose - hence his career was about to be over - and visibly held back the tears during their huddle. Thankfully, Tex was able to kick two send-off goals in the final quarter to cap a remarkable career for the key forward.

Now locked into their fifth consecutive preliminary final, and three-peat dreams still alive, the Lions will look to complete this exact thrashing next week against the Hawks on Saturday night at the MCG.

Connor Scanlon

Fremantle v Geelong

The scenes during the third term when Jeremy Cameron kicked his second goal to put Geelong up by 10 points were familiar and worrying as Justin Longmuir began to look increasingly bemused.

On top of that, the anxiety of the stadium was palpable and you wondered how far away a Wharfie Time return may be.

Enter Luke Jackson and the tall forward posy of Freo.

Four goals in a row top end the third term which has been dominated by the Cats for the best part of 25 minutes showed how far this side had come since their abysmal showing against Hawthorn last weekend.

Jackson, however, was the most influential during this passage. Slotting two clutch goals and setting one up with a masterful display of ruck craft was poetry in motion as “Dogga” brought the crowd back to life.

A chaotic last term saw the Dockers stretch their lead slightly, but the Cats refused to go down without a fight and the likes of Patrick Dangerfield and Bailey Smith shone through as disciplined workhorses.

But it would prove futile as Freo saluted their Optus Stadium faithful for the last time in 2026, where they only lost once, in pursuit of victory against the emotionally charged Swans at the SCG.

Geelong would feel they let this one slip in the first half. Letting the fans get so involved early as Shai Bolton slotted the first two goals in quick succession would have been rage inducing for Chris Scott and it meant they were chasing tail for the rest of the game.

Alas, what we saw was a high-scoring, star-dominated clash of two brilliant sides and we can only hope the remaining games this season share some of that recipe.

Ethan Clark