Finals history – the Brisbane Lions and the Geelong Cats

Finals fever has peaked once again, and with the Grand Final approaching, here is a summary of the finals history between this year’s contenders: The Brisbane Lions and the Geelong Cats.

Curiously, not only is this the first Brisbane-Geelong Grand Final, but also the first time any Lions team have played Geelong in the last game of the year. Even the team Brisbane merged with, Fitzroy, only played two finals against Geelong, and neither were Grand Finals.

The first was a semi-final on September 5th  1903 at the MCG when Fitzroy were the Maroons and Geelong the Pivotonians. After 17 rounds, Fitzroy had come out in 2nd and Geelong clung onto 4th, and the winner would play whomever won the Carlton vs Collingwood match. Whilst Geelong sent 500 of their supporters to an MCG packed with around 10,000 spectators, the wind and good passing favoured Fitzroy from the start. They reduced Geelong to 2 behinds by half time to Fitzroy’s 5.9, and despite an even third quarter, Fitzroy were never headed with a 52 point win. Fitzroy would go on to meet minor premiers Collingwood in the Grand Final the next week, but with seconds remaining, Fitzroy’s Gerald Brosnan missed his shot at goal, giving the Pies a narrow win.

The next time the teams played in a final was on 22nd September 1923, also at the MCG. Like before, Fitzroy were 2nd and Geelong 4th. Fitzroy were the reigning premiers going into the game, whilst Geelong were lucky to get 4th place, arguably thanks to adopting the cats monniker during that year. After a poor start, Herald cartoonist Samuel Garnet Wells suggested in one of his cartoons they bring a black cat for good luck. After that cartoon was published on July 6th, Geelong adopted the cat as their mascot and would win 7 of their next 9 games and sneak into the 4 after thrashing Carlton in the last round.

However it appeared a black cat might have caused bad luck for Geelong too, as disaster struck on the eve of the match. Controversially, their captain Bert Rankin (who ironically was featured in that Cartoon carrying a black cat) was omitted from the game, resulting in his resignation from the club. His brother Cliff (their vice-captain), depressed from the decision, also pulled out the night before the game, leaving the club disorganised. On the day of the match, in front of over 56000 fans, Fitzroy dominated a rough game. The loss of Geelong’s stars and inaccuracy saw the team behind by 19 at half time, before Fitzroy blitzed them with an 8 goal third term and went on to win by 35 points. Maroons goal sneak Jim Freake kicked 5, while temporary Geelong vice-captain Lloyd Hagger kicked 4. Fans were so disgusted at the display, that some were reportedly leaving midway into the third quarter. Fitzroy would go on to beat South Melbourne in the final next week, only to then lose to minor premiers Essendon (who exploited their right to challenge rule after losing their semi) in the Grand Final.

It took 81 years, a world war, the introduction of television, the National expansion of the VFL/AFL, and the merger of Fitzroy with Brisbane in 1996 before we’d get another Cats-Lions final. It was the preliminary final of 2004 at an MCG, where despite the redevelopment of Ponsford and Olympic Stands and Members Pavillion, 55768 fans attended. By this point both teams were on opposite sides of success. Brisbane were aiming for a record-equalling fourth straight premiership and were packed full of stars such as Michael Voss, Jason Ackermanis, Simon Black and Jonathan Brown. Geelong on the other hand were a plucky team of young emerging stars on the verge of greatness such as Steve Johnson, Jimmy Bartel, Matthew Scarlett, and the son of a Geelong legend with a shaggy mop of blond hair named Gary Ablett Jnr. Unlike the previous two matches, the cats showed a lot more fight, pushing Brisbane for four quarters and getting within 3 points of an upset during the last quarter. However, a late Blake Caracella goal would ultimately seal Brisbane’s 4th straight grand final appearance. Unfortunately for Brisbane, history would be denied at the hands of Port Adelaide the next week, and Geelong would have to wait another 3 years to break a 44 year drought.

Geelong would finally get their vengeance in the 2020 preliminary final at the Gabba with a 40 point win (in front of a COVID restricted crowd of 29,121), and then the 2022 preliminary final at the MCG by 71 points (in front of 77,677 fans). By then Brisbane were the plucky young squad on the verge of greatness, and Geelong were the perpetual finals regulars, going on to capitalize on their 2022 win by thrashing Sydney in the Grand Final. However, the tide again turned in last year’s preliminary final at the MCG, where in front of 93,066 fans, the two played a back and forth classic. Brisbane were on the canvas early in the third quarter with a 25 point deficit, but clawed their way back into the lead in the last term. Whilst Geelong snatched the lead back in the dying minutes, clutch goals from Brisbane’s Callum Ah Chee and Cam Rayner would seal a 10 point Lions win, acting as the Launchpad towards Brisbane’s 4th premiership.

Their most recent encounter was only 3 weeks ago in the Qualifying Final, with Geelong winning by 38 points against the reigning premier in front of 86,187 people at the MCG. However, come Saturday, September 27th 2025, will the boys of Corio Bay take home the cup, or will Fitzroy’s spiritual successors go back-to-back and take it back up north?

Regardless, history will again be written in Melbourne.

Researched by RHSV Volunteer Ashley Smith