Hello and welcome to Zero Hanger's live coverage of Friday's qualifying final between Geelong and Brisbane at the MCG.

The reigning premiers secured a spot inside the top four after a stirring Round 24 win against Hawthorn, setting up a clash with the Cats.

The Lions have improved on their position from last year and will give them every chance to repeat the premiership glory of 2024.

As per, Geelong have flown under the radar, and claimed another home qualifying final under Chris Scott, making it his seventh top-two finish in his tenure.

Before this final, the Cats and Lions had only faced off in preliminary finals during September.

The tally is two apiece, but the most recent encounter, the penultimate weekend of the 2024 season, went in favour of Brisbane, and we all know what happened next.

The winner will earn the right to host a preliminary final in a fortnight, while the loser will await the victor between Fremantle and Gold Coast.

Follow all the action via our live blog coverage below!

MATCH STATS >>> GEELONG v BRISBANE MATCH CENTRE

 2025-09-05T09:40:00Z 
Geelong WON BY 38 POINTS
MCG
GEEL   
112
FT
74
   BL
    #AFLCatsLions
MATCH CENTRE ▶︎   

KEY STATS

  • Ollie Dempsey - 25 possessions, three goals and three tackles
  • Josh Dunkley - 30 touches, one goal, 11 tackles and five clearances
  • Tom Stewart - 11 intercept possessions, 22 disposals and a goal
  • Oisin Mullin - one goal, seven touches BUT held Hugh McCluggage to 14 possessions and four kicks

FULL TIME

Geelong: 16.16 112
Brisbane: 11.8 74

0:00 - FULL TIME: Geelong has booked itself a home preliminary final after a comprehensive win over Brisbane.

The Lions will wait for their challenger, between Fremantle and Gold Coast.

0:23 - BEHIND: Typical Geelong way, the craft a shot of goal from nothing. But Stengle lets his team down with a behind.

1:00 - GOAL: A free kick to Brad Close inside 50 leads to a pretty easy shot, putting the cherry on top of the cake. Cats 111-74.

Geelong sub - Jhye Clark comes into the game. Jack Martin has been removed.

3:38 - GOAL: Atkins puts the final nail in the coffin. A super forward spoil from Sam De Koning trickles to Brad Close, who finds the tackling machine alone inside 50.

4:32 - BEHIND: Stengle's shot from the boundary is rushed through for a minus score.

6:07 - BEHIND: Brisbane's mini comeback has been halted by villain Cam Rayner's missed shot. Running on his left inside 50, he hits the post. The exact same opportunity he nailed in last year's preliminary final.

6:59 - BEHIND: Zorko finds the ball and snaps it on his left, only for a minus score.

Crowd attendance - 86,364

7:45 - GOAL: A scrappy bit of play finds Josh Dunkley in space inside forward 50, and he hacks it through the big sticks. Cats 98-72.

9:47 - GOAL: Bailey perfectly crumbs a high inside 50 out the back of the contest, and dribbles it through from the goal square.

10:13 - BEHIND: After being recalled to take his shot again, despite kicking the goal, Lohmann misses a simple set shot. Cats 96-60.

12:21 - BEHIND: Geelong are playing Cat and mouse with the Lions. But somehow found Shaun Mannagh inside 50 along the boundary line. He misses.

13:50 - INJURY UPDATE: Lachie Neale looks worse for wear. After returning from a quad injury, the two-time Brownlow medallist is limping around the ground, clutching at his right lower leg. He comes from the ground. Early signs show a calf issue.

14:33 - BEHIND: Geelong is taking the sting out of the game with a patient build-up. But a strong contested mark from Neale inside 50 gets them another shot on goal. Wayward.

16:59 - GOAL: From one end to the other. Mannagh from defensive 50 finds Neale, who gives and gets it from a running Guthrie. The loping tall slots it from 50 out. Cats 96-59.

20:00 - Brisbane have made their sub. Sam Marshall replaces Levi Ashcroft.

KEY STATS

  • Ollie Dempsey has kicked three goals from 22 possessions.
  • Danye Zorko leads disposals with 27. Will Ashcroft has 23 touches and three goal assists.
  • Tom Stewart has 10 intercept possessions.
  • Cats lead clearances (32-28), inside 50s (49-36), tackles (67-43) and contested possessions (111-96). They have also restricted Brisbane to 72 marks.
  • Brisbane came back from 25 pts down in last year's prelim. They currently trail by 31.

THREE-QUARTER TIME

Geelong: 13.12 90
Brisbane: 9.5 59

0:25 - GOAL: Close. Dangerfield. Dangerfield. Dangerfield. Dempsey. The Cats stars are on full display. Cats 90-59.

1:00 - GOAL: Speed kills. Geelong smalls at the fall of the ball, taking the football from one end to the other, ending with a Jack Martin goal from the easiest of spots.

3:49 - GOAL: A scrimmage in the midfield was won by Brisbane, and Ah Chee emerged with the football and pumped it towards Logan Morris. He nails it. Cats 78-59.

5:15 - BEHIND: The Lions have field dominance, but Geelong's defence is holding up. Another rushed behind.

6:31 - BEHIND: Every time Rayner gets the ball, he is met by a chorus of boos, which no doubt contributed to his miss. Admittedly, it was a difficult snap from the pocket. Cats 78-52.

7:07 - BEHIND: A goal-saving lunge from Jack Henry denies Ty Gallop a major. Opportunities for the Lions are few and far between.

7:40 - GOAL: Geelong restoring the margin to reflect their dominance. A bursting Max Holmes from inside the stoppage to within goal-distance is a thing of beauty. Cats 78-50.

10:28 - GOAL: An in-board kick from Callum Ah Chee was chopped off by Jack Bowes, leading to a streaming Bailey Smith inside 50.

15:19 - GOAL: The current MCG villain, Cam Rayner, finishes off the work from his Lions teammates up the field. It's his third goal from the goal square, playing exclusively as a deep forward on Mark O'Connor. Cats 66-50.

15:59 - GOAL: After a mini deadlock, the Cats break the drought. A crumbing Atkins finds Blicavs, who swings the footy on his boot.

19:17 - BEHIND: The Cats start bright with the first clearance, but a wayward set shot from Shaun Mannagh finds its way through the points.

KEY STATS

  • Lachie Neale leads all possession getters with 20 disposals
  • Hugh McCluggage up to seven touches, but six of those are handballs. Mullin with four possessions.
  • Mark Blicavs (six clearances), Tom Atkins (seven tackles), Max Holmes (five inside 50s).
  • Geelong dominating inside 50s (33-21) and tackles (51-26); Clearances evened up (21-19 in Cats' favour), as did contested possession (70-64).
  • Free kicks are 10-9 in Geelong's advantage, but two awarded to the Lions turned the game.

HALF TIME

Geelong: 8.11 59
Brisbane: 7.2 44

2:07 - GOAL: A secondary free-kick to Rayner against O'Connor gets the Lions back into the game. The home crowd doesn't agree. Cats 59-44.

2:14 - GOAL: Overturned. As Tyson Stengle was lining up for a shot, Mark O'Connor gifted the Lions a goal. Cam Rayner, the beneficiary of an off-ball bump.

2:37 - GOAL: They can't be stopped. Precision kicking from one side of the ground to another allows Tom Stewart to receive a handball and launch one from 50. The scoreline is beginning to look accurate to the way the game is being played. Cats 59-32.

3:13 - GOAL: Three in a row for the Cats as they take hold of the contest. A clever dribble kick from Bowes to Ollie Dempsey in the goal square works.

4:07 - GOAL: Mannagh again. Swoops on a loose ball inside the centre square, dances out of traffic and finds Jack Bowes on the lead directly in front. He also doesn't let him down. Cats 47-32.

6-6-6 warning to Geelong.

5:09 - GOAL: Individual brilliance from Shaun Mannagh, with his fast feet, helps set up a Sam De Koning set shot on a 45-degree angle. He doesn't let him down.

7:26 - BEHIND: Will Ashcroft swoops on a forward 50 stoppage and hands it to an under-the-pump Josh Dunkley, who screws a kick through the behinds. Cats 35-32.

10:27 - BEHIND: A rushed behind to Geelong. It takes their tally to 11 behinds. Despite holding the lead, they have kicked fewer goals.

13:44 - BEHIND: Another Cameron shot. Another miss. The left-footer curled it around from the right-side boundary, only to be touched on the line. Cats 34-31.

14:23 - BEHIND: A quick clearance kick from Max Holmes at the top of the 50 trickles through for a minus score.

14:50 - GOAL: Another patient build-up from one end to the other from Brisbane. Started with Ryan Lester and ended with Jarrod Bery. Cats 32-31.

16:09 - BEHIND: A rushed behind for the Cats. All-Australian Harris Andrews knocks it through on the last line of defence, denying Shannon Neale and Jeremy Cameron.

17:15 - BEHIND: A piece of brilliance from Tom Atkins up the field saw Jeremy Cameron crumb a marking contest, hand it to teammate Brad Close, who hit the woodwork from the top of the goal square. Cats 31-25.

18:59 - BEHIND: Mark O'Connor rushes the ball through after the Lions surged it from the centre of the ground.

19:21 - GOAL: Lohmann kicks his second for the night after a free-kick off the ball. An easy left-foot snap for a player of his calibre. Cats 30-24.

KEY STATS

  • Jeremy Cameron 2.3 and a goal assist.
  • Hugh McCluggage one disposal (handball). He's being well-held by Oisin Mullin.
  • Jack Henry had four intercept possessions.
  • Geelong leads inside 50s (17-7), clearances (11-5), contested possession (34-23) and tackles (22-14).

QUARTER TIME

Geelong: 4.6 30
Brisbane: 3.0 18

3:39 - BEHIND: A quick centre clearance from Smith finds Cameron in a one-on-one. From 50, the champ hits the post.

4:13 - GOAL: More for Mullin. The Irish Cat kicks his first goal in the AFL. The run-with player has started on Lions star Hugh McCluggage. Cats 29-18.

5:11 - BEHIND: Blicavs burst through a centre-wing stopped to hoist the ball inside 50. Jack Martin marks and almost converts the shot on goal; Brisbane touches it on the line.

7:41 - GOAL: Wilmot. Bailey. Ashcroft. Lohmann. Goal. The Lions claw one back against the grain. Cats 22-18.

8:59 - BEHIND: Jack Henry's shot from outside 50 goes way left, luckily registering a score.

10:13 - GOAL: A patient build-up from Brisbane through their defensive half led to a Jaspa Fletcher major on the run. A much-needed goal against the flow. Cats 21-12.

12:13 - BEHIND: The Lions must find an answer for Cameron fast. The Geelong spearhead could've had four goals to his name, but has narrowly missed two.

12:43 - GOAL: 85 now for Jezza. The Cats are putting together a nice start as Kenny Rogers' The Gambler rings through the MCG. Cats 20-6.

14:15 - BEHIND: Geelong's fast start continues, but Patrick Dangerfield's missed set shot from where the boundary meets the arc is rushed through for a point.

15:32 - GOAL: A hack kick from Mark Blicavs found Cameron just outside 50, but a chip into the leading lane to Ollie Dempsey led to another Geelong goal. Cats 13-6.

16:40 - GOAL: Cameron backs up his work with a goal, putting the Cats in the lead with a seven-point lead. The key forward takes his 2025 tally to 84.

17:20 - BEHIND: A quick forward 50 entry from Ollie Dempsey found Coleman medal winner Jeremy Cameron in the left-side pocket, but he missed.

18:45 - GOAL: Charlie Cameron kicks the first after a turnover from Bailey Smith on the centre wing. Sam Day finds Cameron surging into an unguarded goal.

20:00 (remaining) - COIN TOSS: Harris Andrews won the toss. The Lions will kick to the City end.

Pre-Game

Geelong starts the game as favourites, although there is plenty of value in the visitors, who have won the past three clashes between the two sides.

Following last year's epic preliminary final, which Brisbane saluted, the Lions were breathtaking in Round 15 at Kardinia Park, claiming an impressive 41-point win.

Earlier this season, the Lions also overcame a tough Cats outfit at the Gabba by nine points.

Both sides have made crucial changes at the selection tables, with two-time premiership coach Chris Scott bringing in three players.

Shannon Neale, Mark O'Connor and Jhye Clark return for Friday's contest.

On the other hand, Brisbane welcomes back dual Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale from a quad injury, as well as utility Jarrod Berry at the expense of James Tunstill and Bruce Reville.

Jhye Clark (Geelong) and Sam Marshall (Brisbane) are the starting substitutes.

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