AFLW is FINALLY BACK and we're kicking off our season at Brighton Homes Arena against last year's Grand Finalist, North Melbourne thanks to our partners at Ipswich City Council.

Who: Brisbane Lions vs North Melbourne 
Where: Brighton Homes Arena
When: Sunday 1st September at 3:05pm (local)
Gates Open: 1:45pm, entry from gates 1 & 6
Entry Conditions: Please read here

Weekly Notices: 
- It's Father's Day! Bring him along for some epic AFLW action
- Courtney Hodder, the human highlight reel, is celebrating her 50th game!
- 34 degrees expected on Sunday
- Stay hydrated
- Urban Utilities have installed two new water stations (Near Gate 1 & 4300 Hill)
- Bring refillable bottles
- Misting zones installed
- It's gonna be a hot contest and a hot temperature! Make sure you slip, slop, slap. And we'll hook you up with free water refills, and multiple misting zones to cool off 💦 

Tickets → On sale now for just $15!!

We encourage fans to buy tickets online, before arriving at Brighton Homes Arena. Those who are hoping to buy from the ground will need to scan one of the available QR Codes to do so. The event is a Mobile Online Ticketing event, this means your phone is your ticket, for the best experience, we recommend you download, login and add tickets to your mobile wallet via the  Ticketmaster App before you get to the venue. Our enhanced digital tickets means that you won’t be able to use screenshots of tickets to get into the venue, please transfer any additional tickets prior to arrival.

Please ensure your mobile phone is charged to allow your tickets to scan on arrival at the venue, If you do have issues with this, or accessing your ticket, please visit our Box Office with your ID and Order Number and our team can assist you on the day. Any other questions on Mobile Ticketing head to Ticketmaster Mobile Tickets

Parking → Secure a park at Car Park 3 

Lions Park → The kids will enjoy face painting, bungee trampolines and footy drills.

Food & Drinks → We took your feedback from last year and added a heap of new food and drink options for the 2024 season!

The on-site cafe, Roar Espresso will be pumping out all the fan-favourite footy feeds you all love. 

Plus we'll have six epic food trucks parks in the stadium: Joy Turkish Truck, Catch & Kiss Truck, Little Malaysia Truck, Motha Trucker, Mrs P Ice Cream and Brazzo Boys

We also have two shipping container outlets, the Captain's Bar, Coffee Cart, XXXX Bar, and Youi Community BBQ.

Make sure you check out the Youi Community Hill and Canteen while you’re visiting our new home at Brighton Homes Arena. This space has been proudly developed in partnership with Youi and Brisbane Lions Football Club to celebrate our passion for footy and community. ‘The Hill’ is a gathering spot for all local players and supporters to come together and roar with pride for our Lions. Our ‘Community Canteen’ helps local clubs raise funds that go directly back to the community. This weekend, you can support local legends  by purchasing sausage sangas and drinks from the ‘Community Canteen’. While Youi and the Lions created this space, we want you to make it your own. Go Lions!

Lions Shop → Our main shop is located near gate 1, inside next to reception. We will also have a Lions Pop Up Shop outside on the concourse available between 1:45pm til final siren for you to get your merch fix! 

Address  → 16 Eden Station Drive, Springfield Central 4300.

Train → The easiest way to get to Brighton Homes Arena is by train to Springfield Central Station. Your event ticket entitles you to TRAVEL FREE, to and from matches, on the Queensland Rail City Network (excluding Airtrain). Starting at Redcliffe you can get a direct train to the Springfield Central, stopping right at our Gate 1 entrance. Jump on from all the major stations in the city; Bowen Hills, Fortitude Valley, Central & Roma Street and you'll be out at Springfield Central in roughly 30mins!
 
Remember to always plan your trip: Additional Springfield Line Information - Additional Translink Event Information

Bus → Several route services service Springfield Central / Orion Shopping Centre including Route 526, 527, 528.

Drive → Our address is 16 Eden Station Drive, Springfield Central. Exits 32. Paid parking is available for purchase in Carpark 3. Limited street parking is available. Additional street parking is available on Australia Ave or in the Springfield Park 'n' Ride located on Springfield Greenbank Arterial, a short walk from Gate 1.

Accessible Parking → Accessible parking is available at Springfield Central Station accessible parking. Spaces are on a first come basis.

Drop Off/Pick Up → Vehicle drop off and pick up is available at Springfield Central Train Station. Vehicles cannot remain here and will need to find parking offsite. 

Bike & Walking → Bike and walking paths are available to access the stadium, including a dedicated path parallel to Mountain Creek. Bike racks are available at Springfield Central Station.

Arena map:

Watch → Free to air on 7Mate or stream on Fox Sport, Kayo, AFLW Official App or AFL Live Official App

Hard to forget, we won the flag!

BRISBANE      0.0     2.1    3.2     7.2     (44)
NORTH           1.0     2.2     4.3     4.3    (27)

In 2024 we dive a little deeper in our match previews, uncovering the stats and data that make the match up on our doorstep each week.
This week we have a Grand Final rematch on our hands!

Perfect record

Five matches, five wins. That is Brisbane’s AFLW record against North Melbourne. Since entering the competition in 2019, the Kangaroos have beaten 16 different opponents - but not Brisbane.

They’ve had their chances. In both 2023 meetings, Brisbane trailed at every break, most notably an 18-point deficit at half-time in Round 4, but was in front when it mattered.

Even winning the inside-50s hasn’t helped North Melbourne. At Arden Street in October 2022, the Lions won by 7 despite losing the inside-50 count 23 to 43. In the Grand Final, Brisbane lost the inside-50s by 13 but won the match by 17.

Backing up is hard to do

Brisbane should beware that every AFLW premier has lost its next match to its Grand Final opponents. Brisbane gained immediate retribution after all three times it lost the decider, defeating Adelaide in Round 1 of 2018, Western Bulldogs in Round 4 of 2019, and Melbourne at Brighton Homes Arena in the final round of last year’s home-and-away season. On the flip side, the Lions had a horror follow-up to its 2021 triumph against Adelaide in the opening round of season 6, losing not only the match but Kate Lutkins to a ruptured ACL and Dakota Davidson to a foot sprain.

Daks and Bre on the board

Speaking of ‘Daks’, the charismatic forward has never failed to score against North Melbourne. Aside from missing last year’s famous victory in Launceston, Davidson hit the scoreboard once each at the Gabba, Whitten Oval and Arden Street before her crucial double strike in the last quarter of the Grand Final. Her five goals are the most for any player in Lions v Kangaroos matches ahead of Jasmine Garner with four, and both Sophie Conway and Emma King with three.

One name creeping up on that list is Bre Koenen. Twice in 2023, Koenen was moved from her familiar role in defence to take on the Roos’ midfield, which was no surprise to those who remember her QAFLW years in the midfield for University of Queensland. The aim was to put some physical pressure on Ash Riddell, Jasmine Garner and co., but Bre scored in both matches as well. Could Craig Starcevich pull the same move this Sunday?

Fifty Shades of Great

There isn’t much Courtney Hodder hasn’t done in the AFLW and much of it ends up on highlight reels. A goal of the year here, a mark of the year there, a classic goal in one Grand Final, 18 tackles in another – has anyone reached the 50-game milestone in the AFLW with more packed into her career?

One area where Hodder has room for improvement is her scoring record against North Melbourne. In five matches, she has just two goals and five behinds. There’s no issue with her tackling record: 9.4 tackles per match against the Kangas,  well above her career average of 5.9. If Hodder maintains that kind of forward pressure and finds a way to hit the scoreboard more often, the highlight reel may become a full-length feature.

Touches v tackles

North Melbourne is a high disposal team. Ash Riddell has crazy disposal numbers against Brisbane, her five games yielding 25, 28, 22, 31 and 20 touches. Only four Brisbane players have recorded 20 or more disposals in a match against North; equal to Riddell’s worst haul. In Launceston last year, Jasmine Garner got 30 touches and still played second fiddle to Riddell’s 31.

Brisbane has countered that with tackle pressure. 10 times, a Lion has made 10 or more tackles against the Roos, led by Hodder’s 18, whereas only Mia King has completed 10 tackles against Brisbane (at Whitten Oval in Season 6).

New players, old style

Hodder has never done the forward-50 tackling all by herself, though. Mikayla Pauga averaged 2.8 tackles per match with the Lions, usually as a small forward, and she often spent only half the game on the field. With Pauga gone, those tackles and pressure acts need to be replaced from somewhere.

Charlie Mullins showed in 2023 that she was made-to-order for the Lions style, averaging 3.6 tackles in two-thirds of a match. Both of those figures may increase this year. Shanae Davison’s numbers in three seasons for West Coast weren’t much worse (2.3 tackles per match) and that was within a very different game plan. Even Sophie Peters, usually a midfielder, has shown her strong tackling ability in junior football and the state league and could be pushed forward.

In defence, the Lions will miss the pressure provided by the retired Phoebe Monahan. In this case, the answer is Kate Lutkins.

The personnel have changed a little. The style? Probably not.

NORTH Melbourne took nine months of frustration out on Brisbane at Brighton Homes Arena on Sunday, destroying the premiers by 44 points in a one-sided Grand Final re-match.

Leading by 12 points at half-time, the Kangaroos unleashed one of the best quarters in AFLW history to put the game away in the third, kicking six unanswered goals to shellshock the Lions.

The 12.6 (78) to 5.4 (34) triumph was North Melbourne's first in six attempts against Brisbane.

Unlike last season's decider at Ikon Park, it was North Melbourne that ran all over their opponents in oppressive conditions that reached 34 degrees.

They were better around the contest, better when the ball was in space, cleaner at ground level, worked harder to support their teammates and were more desperate defensively in an ominous warning to the other 17 clubs in the competition.

Jasmine Garner (28 disposals, one goal, six clearances) was again instrumental in the win, but it was her running mate Ash Riddell (31, a goal and 11 score involvements) that stole the show.

From the moment Vikki Wall kicked the game's first major, the visitors were never headed.

Alice O'Loughlin was terrific with two goals from 19 touches, while Tahlia Randall kicked just one goal in the rout, but dished off four others in an excellent key forward performance.

North's intensity was right up from the opening minutes, kicking the only two goals of the first quarter to take a 12-point lead.

They constantly thwarted Brisbane's forward attacks, setting up well defensively to take repeated intercept marks in the blustery conditions, with Emma Kearney prominent.

Try as they might, the home team just couldn't make inroads during the second term despite nice set shots from Dakota Davidson and Taylor Smith.

North kept its two-goal lead with Riddell's clean hands and snap from close range a nice reward for an excellent first half.

The Lions have some soul-searching to do after a lacklustre opening to their premiership defence.

As always, Ally Anderson (29 touches that included 15 clearances) tried her heart out, but she had little support on a day the Lions looked flat-footed and off the pace.

One of the best quarters you'll see
The game was still in the balance at half-time, but by the final change it was out of reach for Brisbane as North Melbourne uncorked a quarter to remember. Starting with a clever finish by Garner, Bella Eddy kicked her first following some poor Lions defending and added another minutes later following some slick hands from Randall. O'Loughlin continued her excellent game with a second goal and by the time Kate Shierlaw and Vikki Wall added more pain for the hosts, the shellshocked Lions were done. It was as good as you could play in 20 minutes of football.

Davison's rotten luck
After making the long off-season move from West Coast to Brisbane, Shanae Davison's club debut was short-lived. During the opening minutes, the Lions defender took a fine intercept mark at half-forward, but as she stumbled backwards, put her right arm down to break her fall. Immediately in pain, the 23-year-old left the field with what was a suspected broken wrist.

BRISBANE                     0.2       2.3       2.3       5.4 (34)
NORTH MELBOURNE     2.2       4.3       10.4     12.6 (78)

GOALS
Brisbane: Smith, Davidson, Conway, Anderson, Postlethwaite
North Melbourne: Wall 2, O'Loughlin 2, Martin 2, Eddey 2, Shierlaw, Riddell, Garner, Randall

BEST
Brisbane: Anderson, O'Dwyer, Conway
North Melbourne: Garner, Riddell, O'Loughlin, Kearney, Wall, Eddy, Wright

INJURIES
Brisbane: Davison (wrist)
North Melbourne: Nil

Reports: Nil

Crowd: 3,395 at Brighton Homes Arena