Seventeen points down. Less than five minutes left. Fremantle had one hand on the first premiership in their history and Brisbane’s bid for football immortality was disappearing by the second.
What followed was scarcely believable, even for a Lions team that has made a habit of surviving the impossible.
Charlie Cameron gave them life. Zac Bailey turned hope into genuine belief. Then Logan Morris, with the Grand Final on the line, took a contested mark inside 50 and kicked Brisbane in front with 64 seconds remaining.
By the time Morris kicked another with just 11 seconds left, the MCG was shaking and Brisbane had completed an extraordinary Grand Final escape.
The Lions are premiers for a third consecutive season, defeating Fremantle 14.12 (96) to 12.17 (89) in front of 100,023 at the MCG.
Three premierships in three years. Brisbane now stand alongside their own 2001–03 champions and Hawthorn’s 2013–15 side as the only teams this century to win three consecutive flags.
A Grand Final That Refused To Settle
From the opening minutes, there was little indication this game would ever settle into a comfortable rhythm.
Cameron kicked the first goal — remarkably, the first time Brisbane had opened the scoring across their four consecutive Grand Final appearances — before Josh Treacy answered for Fremantle. In slippery conditions, both teams left opportunities behind during an absorbing opening term, with the Lions taking a one-point lead, 3.5 (23) to 3.4 (22), into quarter-time.
The second quarter became a contest of punch and counter-punch. Fremantle’s smaller forwards were creating problems, while Patrick Voss was dragging Harris Andrews into uncomfortable positions and becoming an increasingly dangerous target. At the other end, Conor McKenna produced another superb finish from a difficult angle for Brisbane.
The lead kept changing hands, but neither side could escape. By half-time there had already been 10 lead changes, and the scoreboard reflected the deadlock perfectly at 6.7 (43) apiece.
It was the second consecutive Grand Final to be level at the long break. Fremantle emerged from it looking ready to take control.
Fremantle Make Their Move
Jye Amiss kicked the opening goal of the second half and Fremantle’s strength in the air was becoming increasingly difficult for Brisbane to contain. By that stage the Dockers had taken 10 contested marks to Brisbane’s two, despite conditions hardly appearing made for tall forwards.
Then came a brutal turn. Captain Alex Pearce collapsed while running and was forced from the game with an Achilles injury, leaving Fremantle to reorganise an undersized defence. Rather than retreat, however, the Dockers initially surged, with Isaiah Dudley kicking his second goal.
Brisbane eventually found their response. The Lions strung three goals together, Oscar Allen helping bring them back before Cameron — despite appearing troubled by an ankle problem only minutes earlier — put them ahead 61–60.
Fremantle answered immediately through Hayden Young, who struck again late in the quarter with a superb snap from a tight angle. The Dockers went to three-quarter time leading 10.12 (72) to 9.8 (62) and, after a Grand Final that had swung repeatedly all afternoon, were one quarter from history.
A Chase That Helped Keep Brisbane Alive
The Lions attacked early in the final term but initially could not make it count. Hugh McCluggage and McKenna missed opportunities before Morris finally kicked Brisbane’s first goal of the quarter, cutting the deficit to three.
Fremantle did not blink. Michael Frederick converted from around 35 metres to restore a nine-point advantage with 7:32 remaining, and soon the Dockers had an even bigger opportunity.
Treacy broke towards an open goal square with the chance to put one hand on the cup, but Ryan Lester refused to concede it. The veteran Lion chased from behind and applied just enough pressure to throw Treacy off as he kicked from only metres out, sending the shot wide. In a Grand Final ultimately decided by seven points, it became one of the afternoon’s enormous defensive moments.
Fremantle found another blow barely a minute later anyway. Voss marked metres from goal and kicked his third, stretching the lead to 17 points with about four minutes remaining and triggering “Wharfie Time” around the MCG. After everything the Dockers had survived, their first premiership suddenly felt close enough to touch.
It lasted only seconds.
Four Goals That Changed Everything
Cameron pounced and kicked his third to drag Brisbane back to 11 points, then Bailey followed almost immediately. In the space of barely a minute, a 17-point lead that had looked decisive was down to five and the mood inside the MCG had completely changed.
Fremantle were suddenly trying to protect a premiership rather than chase one, with Brisbane throwing everything forward. The Lions kept coming until, with 64 seconds remaining, Morris took a contested mark inside 50 and was handed the kick that could turn an extraordinary comeback into a premiership.
The 21-year-old went back and converted, putting Brisbane ahead 90–89.
There was still enough time for Fremantle to answer, but the Lions would not give the game back. Instead, Morris found himself with another opportunity as the clock disappeared and, with 11 seconds remaining, kicked his third to push Brisbane seven points clear.
This time, the Lions knew they had it.
The siren confirmed an astonishing 14.12 (96) to 12.17 (89) victory. Brisbane had been 17 points down with the premiership slipping away, then kicked four unanswered goals in the final minutes to rip it back from Fremantle.
The Lions Join Their Own Immortals
Cameron and Morris finished with three goals each, while Oscar Allen and Kai Lohmann kicked two apiece. Voss led Fremantle with three, with Young, Dudley and Amiss each adding two.
For the Dockers, there will be moments that linger. Pearce’s injury forced a reshuffle of their defence, Treacy came desperately close to stretching the lead at a critical stage, and with fewer than five minutes remaining they were 17 points ahead in a Grand Final.
They had pushed the reigning premiers to the brink, but this Brisbane generation has spent four Septembers building a remarkable resistance to pressure. The heartbreak of the 2023 loss to Collingwood was followed by the breakthrough against Sydney in 2024 and another premiership against Geelong last year.
Now comes the flag that completes the three-peat.
Earlier this season the Lions were 6–6. A week ago they had to survive another MCG thriller against Hawthorn just to reach the Grand Final, and on Saturday their three-peat appeared all but gone with minutes remaining.
Cameron started the rescue and Bailey accelerated it. Lester’s desperate chase suddenly looked priceless, before Morris supplied the two kicks that will be replayed in Brisbane for years.
Twenty-three years after the Lions of 2001, 2002 and 2003 completed one of football’s great premiership runs, another Brisbane side has climbed alongside them.
Back-to-back-to-back — and this time, they had to come back from the edge to get there.
Match Details
2026 AFL Grand Final
Fremantle Dockers 12.17 (89) lost to Brisbane Lions 14.12 (96)
Quarter-time: Brisbane 3.5 (23) – Fremantle 3.4 (22)
Half-time: Fremantle 6.7 (43) – Brisbane 6.7 (43)
Three-quarter time: Fremantle 10.12 (72) – Brisbane 9.8 (62)
Final: Brisbane 14.12 (96) – Fremantle 12.17 (89)
Margin: Brisbane by 7 points
Date: Saturday, 26 September 2026
Venue: MCG, Melbourne
Crowd: 100,023
Goals — Brisbane: Charlie Cameron 3, Logan Morris 3, Oscar Allen 2, Kai Lohmann 2, Conor McKenna 1, Sam Draper 1, Levi Ashcroft 1, Zac Bailey 1
Goals — Fremantle: Patrick Voss 3, Hayden Young 2, Isaiah Dudley 2, Jye Amiss 2, Josh Treacy 1, Murphy Reid 1, Michael Frederick 1
Published 26-September-2026
