Brisbane took the long way home. But they learned their lessons, switched up their modes and turned the tables on Geelong, winning their second premiership in a row and the fifth this century. The Lions won it with their audacious kicks, their clean hands and their cool heads. They had the superior talent, they had the fresher legs and they had their back-to-back flags. In the end, it was a rout.
More than anything, they had Harris Andrews, who controlled the air, towelled up Shannon Neale and sagged off to instigate full-ground transitions. In terms of structure, leadership and his risk-reward radar, he was arguably the most important person on the ground, while Neale had an absolute stinker. When the Cats were peppering the goals early in the second half, Andrews outworked the Geelong key forward time and time again.
