Fremantle chase first flag as Brisbane eye historic three-peat at MCG
The Dockers head into the AFL grand final off the competition's best home-and-away season, but the two-time reigning premiers stand between them and a maiden title.
Fremantle will attempt to end 32 years without a premiership when they meet Brisbane in the AFL grand final at the MCG, according to Guardian Sport.
The Dockers arrive as the season's benchmark side, having posted a club record 19 wins and claimed a second minor premiership on the back of a 14-match winning streak.
That run of form made Fremantle the team every other side in the competition had to measure themselves against for much of the campaign, a position the club has never previously occupied so emphatically.
But the closing stages of the home-and-away season complicated that narrative. A pair of late stumbles offered the first hint that the weight of the club's premiership drought could yet be a factor on the biggest stage.
Brisbane arrive at the MCG as two-time reigning premiers, meaning a third straight flag would represent a genuine slice of history for the Lions rather than simply another trophy.
The framing of the contest, as Guardian Sport sets it out, is one of contrasting identities: a Fremantle side built on defensive solidity against a Brisbane outfit whose firepower has carried them to back-to-back titles.
Fremantle's case rests on the idea that the meanest defence in the competition is the surest route to a maiden premiership, particularly against opponents who have shown they know how to win when it matters most.
Brisbane's counter is simpler: they have already done this twice, and their attacking depth gives them the tools to make it three in a row against a team still searching for its breakthrough moment.
Neither club has anything left to prove about their credentials this season. Fremantle's minor premiership and record win tally stand as the statistical case for their superiority across the year, while Brisbane's status as reigning champions twice over speaks for itself.
What decides the flag now is which version of each team turns up at the MCG: the Fremantle that won 14 straight, or the one that stumbled at the death, against a Brisbane side that has made finals football look routine for two seasons running.