Brisbane v Fremantle: The Tactical Battle

The most interesting thing about the 2026 Grand Final is that Brisbane and Fremantle have already shown each other two completely different versions of this matchup.

In Round 23 last year, Brisbane travelled to Perth and demolished Fremantle by 57 points, 15.11 (101) to 5.14 (44).

Nine months later at the Gabba, Fremantle turned the matchup around, winning 15.13 (103) to 10.18 (78) after at one stage leading by 51 points.

Those two games provide useful tactical evidence for Saturday, but there is an important qualification.

Brisbane in 2026 is not quite the same Brisbane that dismantled Fremantle in Perth.

The Lions still have the ability to control possession through marks and short kicks. At one point this season they were averaging 105 uncontested marks per game, the most in the competition, and they used 94 uncontested marks when they thrashed Hawthorn in Round 22.

But their most significant evolution has occurred at the source.

Brisbane has become a far more dangerous centre-bounce and clearance team.

In 2025, the Lions ranked ninth for centre-clearance differential and just 16th for scoring differential from centre bounce. During 2026 they rose to second and first respectively, with the arrival of Sam Draper playing a significant role. They enter the Grand Final ranked No.1 in the AFL for overall clearance differential at +5.3 per game.

So the 2025 Perth game should not be viewed as the Brisbane blueprint.

It is better understood as one of the gears Brisbane can use.

Their preferred 2026 method is considerably more aggressive:

win the contest, get the ball moving and attack before the opposition can organise.

And the preliminary final against Hawthorn was perhaps the clearest example yet.

Brisbane's new weapon: score directly from the source

Brisbane's comeback against Hawthorn was not built around patiently accumulating uncontested marks.

It was built through the middle of the ground.

After struggling during the second quarter, including repeatedly sending high balls towards Hawthorn's intercept defenders, Brisbane took control of the match after half-time through its midfield. The Lions dominated centre clearance, kicked seven goals to one in the third quarter and ultimately generated eight goals from centre clearances across the match.

That was the most goals from centre clearances by any team in an AFL final since 1999.

That statistic tells us much more about Brisbane's 2026 identity than the 147 uncontested marks it accumulated against Fremantle last year.

The Lions now possess a route to goal that almost bypasses defensive systems entirely.

Win the centre clearance.

Get the ball moving forward.

Create a one-on-one.

Score.

There is no opportunity for Fremantle's defenders to set up behind the ball if the ball is arriving inside 50 ten seconds after the centre bounce.

That is likely to be Brisbane's first objective on Saturday.

Sam Draper has changed the equation

One reason Brisbane has become so much more dangerous from centre bounce is Sam Draper.

Through his first 17 matches for Brisbane, the Lions had the best clearance differential in the competition and ranked second for scoring differential from clearances.

Champion Data also had Draper second in the AFL for hit-outs to advantage, while Brisbane won the clearance 50 per cent of the time when he attended the ruck contest.

Draper gives Brisbane something different.

He is not simply trying to manufacture a neutral ruck contest.

His athleticism can create a genuinely attacking clearance.

That changes the mentality of the players underneath him.

Will Ashcroft, Lachie Neale, Josh Dunkley, Hugh McCluggage and Zac Bailey can position themselves with the knowledge that Brisbane has a realistic opportunity to win clean possession rather than merely scrap for the next ball.

And when Brisbane wins clean possession, its forwards become enormously dangerous.

But Brisbane still has its old control game

This is where the 2025 Fremantle match remains relevant.

Brisbane recorded an extraordinary 147 uncontested marks that night.

The Lions repeatedly kept possession, took the available kick and made Fremantle's defensive structure move from side to side.

Fremantle could not generate the pressure and turnovers it wanted because Brisbane simply refused to give the ball back.

That created an uncomfortable choice.

Sit back, and Brisbane could maintain possession.

Push aggressively towards the ball-carrier, and space could appear somewhere else.

Eventually Brisbane broke the game open after half-time.

The important distinction for this Grand Final is that Brisbane probably does not want to begin by playing that way.

If it is winning centre clearance and moving the ball cleanly, the Lions will attack.

But if Fremantle establishes its pressure system and closes Brisbane's direct routes forward, the Lions have another option.

They can slow the match down.

They can retain possession.

They can make Fremantle defend for longer periods.

So Brisbane's ability to take uncontested marks remains important, but more as a countermeasure to Fremantle's pressure than as the centrepiece of Brisbane's attacking game.

That makes the Lions unusually difficult to defend.

They can hurt Fremantle by accelerating.

And, if Fremantle overcommits to stopping that acceleration, Brisbane can hurt it by slowing down.

Fremantle's first job: stop Brisbane before the ball gets out

That creates a fairly obvious priority for Fremantle.

The Dockers cannot allow Brisbane repeated clean exits from centre bounce.

Once Ashcroft, McCluggage, Bailey and Brisbane's forwards are running towards goal, much of Fremantle's excellent defensive organisation becomes irrelevant.

The Dockers therefore need to turn Brisbane's clean-clearance game into a scramble.

The difference between a Brisbane midfielder receiving the ball in space and that same midfielder receiving it while being tackled is enormous.

A clean Brisbane clearance can become an immediate inside 50.

A pressured clearance can become a high kick, a sideways possession or another contest.

That extra second allows Fremantle's defence to organise.

And that is exactly what Fremantle wants.

Will Ashcroft becomes the obvious target

Lachie Neale's availability remains unresolved at the time of writing, with Brisbane taking his one-match suspension to the Appeals Board on Thursday.

But regardless of the outcome, Will Ashcroft looms as one of Fremantle's biggest problems.

Ashcroft has again been outstanding through September and leads the Gary Ayres Award entering the Grand Final.

If Neale does not play, the responsibility on Ashcroft increases again.

Fremantle therefore has an interesting decision.

Does it allow Ashcroft to play naturally, or does it give someone such as Matthew Johnson a more accountable role?

Johnson successfully went to Neale during the Round 12 meeting at the Gabba before later being released from the assignment.

The likely instruction against Ashcroft would not necessarily be:

Stop him getting the football.

That is extremely difficult.

It is more likely:

Don't allow him to get the ball, give it off, keep running and get it back.

Ashcroft is particularly dangerous when he becomes part of multiple possessions in the same chain.

Fremantle needs to make his first possession difficult and then prevent him becoming the next receiver.

Hugh McCluggage: the player Fremantle cannot forget

Attention on Ashcroft creates another problem.

Hugh McCluggage enters the Grand Final after an influential preliminary final in which he finished with 23 disposals, eight score involvements and three second-half goals.

His importance is slightly different.

If Fremantle collapses numbers around Ashcroft and Brisbane's inside midfielders, McCluggage can become the player released into space.

That is where Brisbane can turn a congested stoppage into attack.

The inside players absorb Fremantle's pressure.

McCluggage receives outside it.

And once he is facing Brisbane's goal rather than wrestling inside the contest, the entire geometry of the possession changes.

Fremantle therefore cannot commit everybody to stopping Brisbane's first possession.

It also needs to defend the second.

Josh Dunkley: Brisbane's defensive midfielder

There is another midfielder whose importance can be overlooked because his role may be less spectacular.

Josh Dunkley gives Brisbane a way of attacking Fremantle's midfield without sacrificing Ashcroft or McCluggage.

Against Hawthorn, Dunkley spent time limiting Will Day while still influencing the contest himself.

A similar principle could apply against Fremantle.

Caleb Serong, Andrew Brayshaw and Hayden Young all present different problems.

Brisbane does not necessarily need Dunkley to follow one of them everywhere.

But around stoppage, the Lions can use him to disrupt Fremantle's most dangerous midfielder while allowing Ashcroft and McCluggage greater licence to attack.

That balance, one midfielder absorbing responsibility so others can play aggressively, is central to Brisbane's midfield structure.

Luke Jackson: the contest continues after the hit-out

For Brisbane's rucks, the challenge with Luke Jackson is not finished when the ball leaves the ruck contest.

Jackson's ability to become another midfielder after the hit-out is what makes him particularly dangerous.

He enters the Grand Final second behind Ashcroft in the Gary Ayres Award.

So Brisbane's instruction should effectively be:

Ruck against him, then stay involved with him.

If Jackson contests the tap and immediately becomes a ground-level player, Fremantle can effectively add another midfielder to the clearance.

Brisbane therefore needs body contact after the ruck contest and midfielders prepared to recognise when Jackson has joined the next phase.

Allow him clean follow-up possessions and Fremantle can turn a neutral stoppage into a forward surge.

Fremantle's objective: territory and repeat pressure

Fremantle's game is less dependent on winning every individual clearance.

The Dockers want territory.

They enter the Grand Final ranked second in the AFL for inside-50 differential at +6.5 per game and have won the inside-50 count in all three finals.

Their final quarter against Sydney showed the model at its best.

Fremantle generated a 24-6 inside-50 advantage and a 12-2 advantage in forward-half intercepts during the term.

That is classic Fremantle.

Get the ball forward.

Keep it there.

Pressure Brisbane's exit.

Intercept the next possession.

Go again.

Once that cycle begins, Brisbane can spend extended periods simply trying to escape.

That is how Fremantle can prevent the Lions playing the game on their terms.

The danger for Brisbane: Fremantle attacking from half-back

This was a weakness for Brisbane earlier in 2026.

Through the first ten rounds, the Lions had fallen from third in the AFL in 2025 to 16th for preventing teams moving the ball from behind centre into forward 50.

That weakness is particularly relevant against Fremantle.

When the Dockers beat Brisbane at the Gabba, their ability to sweep the ball from half-back whenever given space was one of the defining features of the match.

Fremantle pressured Brisbane's possession and then attacked quickly in the opposite direction.

That is precisely the scenario Brisbane has to prevent.

Because once Fremantle wins possession and gets beyond Brisbane's first line of pressure, the Lions' defenders can suddenly find themselves running towards their own goal.

And that is when Fremantle's forward structure becomes dangerous.

Brisbane's pressure is therefore just as important as its clearance work

The focus on Brisbane's improved stoppage game should not obscure the other major feature of its 2026 football.

Pressure has been a major barometer.

By July, Brisbane was 6-0 when it recorded a higher Pressure Factor than its opponent, and 9-2 when it won the scores-from-turnover battle.

That relationship makes sense.

Brisbane's midfield can generate scores directly from stoppage.

But its pressure can generate a second kind of attack: forcing the opposition to turn the ball over before it escapes.

That becomes especially important against Fremantle because the Dockers' half-back transition was so damaging in the Gabba meeting.

Brisbane cannot simply attack.

Its forwards and midfielders need to defend aggressively once possession is lost.

If Fremantle's defenders are allowed to look up and select their next possession, Brisbane's backline is vulnerable.

If the kick leaving Fremantle's defence is hurried, Andrews and the Lions' intercept defenders become much more powerful.

Harris Andrews: Fremantle's biggest structural problem

This might be the most fascinating tactical battle of the Grand Final.

Harris Andrews is most damaging when he is not simply defending his direct opponent.

Brisbane wants him reading the football, leaving his man when appropriate and influencing contests elsewhere.

Fremantle found a clever way of disrupting that in Round 12.

Patrick Voss began with a defensive role on Andrews.

Rather than allowing Andrews to roam around helping teammates, Voss occupied him.

And Fremantle's clean ball movement then created opportunities elsewhere.

The result was dramatic:

Jye Amiss - four goals
Patrick Voss - four goals
Josh Treacy - three goals

Eleven goals between Fremantle's three tall forwards.

Contrast that with the 2025 meeting in Perth.

There, Brisbane's defence controlled Fremantle's forwards. Treacy kicked two goals, while Amiss and Voss were held goalless.

That difference tells us something important.

The question is not simply:

Can Andrews beat Treacy, Amiss or Voss?

It is:

Can Fremantle prevent Andrews from defending everybody else?

Patrick Voss: attack by sacrificing

That creates an unusual possible instruction for Voss.

His first responsibility may occasionally be not to get the football.

If he can take Andrews somewhere uncomfortable, prevent him dropping into the hole and create a genuine one-on-one for Treacy or Amiss, Voss has helped Fremantle without recording a possession.

Andrews, meanwhile, has to decide when to respect Voss and when to leave him.

If Voss attempts to drag Andrews away from the dangerous area simply to remove him from the next contest, Brisbane does not necessarily want Andrews blindly following him.

Communication between Andrews and the other Brisbane defenders becomes critical.

Treacy, Amiss and Voss must separate

The other requirement for Fremantle's key forwards is straightforward.

They cannot all occupy the same space.

If Treacy, Amiss and Voss converge beneath one high ball, Brisbane wins.

Andrews can attack the contest, another defender can spoil and Brisbane's small defenders can attack the ground ball.

Fremantle instead wants to stretch Brisbane.

Treacy can provide the physical target higher up the ground.

Amiss can find space closer to goal.

Voss can occupy Andrews.

The more decisions Brisbane's defenders have to make, the more likely Fremantle creates an isolated contest somewhere.

What went wrong for Fremantle in Perth in 2025

It is worth returning to the 2025 game because the final margin obscures how it developed.

Fremantle kicked 0.5 in the first quarter and was 3.8 at half-time.

Despite that poor conversion, the Dockers had reduced Brisbane's advantage to just seven points at the main break.

Then Brisbane broke the match open.

The Lions dominated the third quarter at stoppage and kicked five goals to one.

McCluggage finished with 28 disposals and eight clearances, while Zac Bailey had 28 possessions, two goals and ten score involvements.

Notably, Brisbane achieved it without Neale.

So Fremantle's problems were really a combination of three things.

It allowed Brisbane to retain possession too easily.

It failed to convert enough of its own opportunities.

And once the scoreboard pressure increased, its ball movement became increasingly desperate.

The 147 uncontested marks mattered because Fremantle spent enormous periods defending without being able to generate the turnovers it wanted.

But that is only half the lesson Brisbane should take from the game.

The other half is that when Brisbane eventually got control at stoppage, the match blew apart.

That part looks remarkably similar to Brisbane in 2026.

What Fremantle changed at the Gabba

The Round 12 meeting this year looked completely different.

Instead of allowing Brisbane to possess the football comfortably, Fremantle swarmed the Lions early.

The Dockers regularly outnumbered Brisbane around the contest, restricted the Lions' movement from behind centre and then swept forward from half-back when given space.

Matthew Johnson occupied Neale early.

Voss occupied Andrews.

And Fremantle's forward movement gave Amiss, Treacy and Voss opportunities before Brisbane's defence could organise.

That is essentially the Fremantle blueprint for Saturday.

Don't allow Brisbane clean possession at the source.

Don't allow Brisbane comfortable possession behind the ball.

And when Brisbane turns it over, attack before Andrews can control the next contest.

Brisbane's forward line: make Fremantle defend different problems

The 2025 meeting also showed how Brisbane can challenge Fremantle's defence.

Logan Morris kicked four goals.

Charlie Cameron kicked three.

Cam Rayner kicked two.

Zac Bailey kicked two.

That spread is important.

If Brisbane becomes predictable and continually targets one tall forward, Fremantle's defence can organise around it.

But if Cameron is dangerous at ground level, Morris provides a marking target, Bailey arrives from midfield and players such as Kai Lohmann find space, Fremantle has to defend several different kinds of threat.

The preliminary final against Hawthorn reinforced the point.

Brisbane kicked 20 goals and had nine individual goalkickers, with Lohmann kicking five, Cameron, Hipwood and McCluggage three each, and Morris two.

That is difficult to scheme against.

The tactical battle in one sentence

At its simplest:

Brisbane wants to win the contest and attack before Fremantle can organise; Fremantle wants to prevent the clean first possession, control territory and repeatedly attack Brisbane's defensive structure.

The important correction is that Brisbane's short-kicking game should not be viewed as its main weapon.

It remains available.

It may become very important if Fremantle gets its pressure and defensive structure established.

But Brisbane's most dangerous version in 2026 is much more aggressive.

Sam Draper has helped transform the Lions' centre-bounce game.

Ashcroft and Brisbane's midfielders can now convert those ruck advantages directly into attack.

And when that works, Brisbane does not need 15 possessions to break down a defence.

Sometimes it needs three.

What to watch in the first 10 minutes

The most revealing early indicator will be Brisbane's centre clearances.

Not simply whether the Lions win them, but what the wins look like.

If Draper is giving Brisbane's midfielders clean access and Ashcroft, McCluggage or Bailey are bursting forward from the stoppage, Fremantle has a serious problem.

If the Dockers can turn those stoppages into ugly, pressured contests and force Brisbane to play from behind the ball, the game begins to move towards Fremantle's preferred shape.

Then watch Brisbane after it loses possession.

If Fremantle's half-backs are receiving the ball with time to look up and attack, the pattern from the Gabba meeting may be returning.

If Cameron, Lohmann, Morris and Brisbane's midfielders are forcing hurried exits, Andrews becomes much more influential behind them.

And finally, watch three individual battles.

Who does Fremantle send to Will Ashcroft?

Does Patrick Voss again try to occupy Harris Andrews?

Can Brisbane prevent Luke Jackson becoming another midfielder after the ruck contest?

Those answers should tell us a great deal about how the game is developing.

The fascinating part is that both teams already possess evidence that their approach can work.

Brisbane's 2025 victory showed it can frustrate Fremantle by retaining possession, denying the Dockers turnover opportunities and then breaking the game open once it controls stoppage.

Fremantle's 2026 victory showed it can reverse the equation: pressure Brisbane's possession, attack from half-back, manipulate Andrews and give its forwards opportunities before the Lions' defence is organised.

But Brisbane has added another dimension since that 2025 meeting.

Its ability to score directly from centre bounce has become one of the most potent weapons in the competition.

That means the Grand Final may ultimately be decided before either side has the opportunity to establish its preferred defensive structure.

If Brisbane wins cleanly at the source, it can go straight through Fremantle.

If Fremantle turns the source into a scrap, the Dockers can force Brisbane into the territorial battle they want.

That may be the defining contest of the 2026 Grand Final.