With the Sydney Swans and Brisbane Lions facing off in the first non-Victorian premiership decider since 2006, fans are left with a tough choice. The article explores the dilemma for supporters from different regions and backgrounds, considering factors like past rivalries and recent upsets.
A composite image of Jack Heeney of the Sydney Swans and Dayne Zorko of the Brisbane Lions ahead of the 2024 AFL grand final .A composite image of Jack Heeney of the Sydney Swans and Dayne Zorko of the Brisbane Lions ahead of the 2024 AFL grand final .The first non-Victorian premiership decider since 2006 takes place at the MCG on Saturday.
It wasn’t always this way. After their controversial move from South Melbourne in 1982, the Swans spent some long, arduous years in expansion-club purgatory. The club weathered the empty stands, dismal ratings, financial bailouts and talk of upping sticks to Canberra, doggedly carving out a place for themselves in Sydney’s unforgiving sporting landscape. The good times, when they finally came, were all the sweeter for being hard earned.
Now they’re as much a part of the harbour city’s fabric as the Opera House on their jerseys – a glitzy, moneyed outfit that’s become a regular in finals footy. With success comes resentment – the ‘snobs’ tag from their cross-town and cross-code rivals is one that’s stuck – but that won’t bother a team this close to another flag.
Besides a case of the mid-season wobbles, the Swans cruised to the minor premiership and emphatically dispatched Port Adelaide in last week’s prelim. They showed enormous grit to run down the Giants in the first week of the finals, a classic in which star midfielder Isaac Heeney had the touch of God about him.The Swans have played in seven grand finals since moving to Sydney, but they’ve only won two. If they lose, schadenfreude levels across the nation will skyrocket.
The finals have transformed the Lions into a different beast. The 31-point deficit they ran down in the final quarter of their semi against the Giants will go down in club history. A week later they did it again, clawing back Geelong’s 25-point lead to win a nailbiter prelim. Brisbane fans are daring to dream like it’s 2001 again.
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