The Brisbane Lions’ sudden-death semi-final against the GWS Giants on Saturday night will bring an unlikely “first” for six or even seven players – a visit to the Sydney Showgrounds.
Will Ashcroft, Jaspa Fletcher, Kai Lohmann, Logan Morris, Jack Payne, Darcy Wilmot and Harry Sharp have never played at the ground, which is home to Sydney’s Easter Show, hosted the baseball during the Sydney Olympics, and has been the GWS Giants homeground since 2012.
The prospect of playing a final at a venue having never played there before is an oddity that has fallen to only four Brisbane players in 38 finals in the past.
In 1995, when Brisbane made their finals debut against Carlton at the MCG, the game was Trent Bartlett’s eighth game overall and his first at headquarters.
In 1997 Nick Trask played his fifth game and his first at Waverley in the elimination final against St. Kilda, and in 2000 Damian Cupido’s sixth game was his first at the MCG in a semi-final against Carlton.
Then during the second Covid year of 2021, Tom Fullarton played in the qualifying final against Melbourne at Adelaide Oval having never played at the home of football and cricket in South Australia.
Jaxon Prior is technically not a member of this unlikely group but from a practical viewpoint he is. He made his finals debut in the same game at Adelaide Oval as Fullarton after having been there for the Round 16 game against Adelaide, when he was the unused medical substitute.
The first-time visit to the Showgrounds for Ashcroft, Fletcher, Lohman, Morris, Payne and Wilmot awaits as the Lions prepare for their sixth game at the venue, which has an official capacity of 23,500 and a record AFL crowd of 21,924 when GWS played Sydney in 2017.
The Lions have a 2-2 record at the Showgrounds against GWS, having lost there in 2015 and 2018 before winning in 2019 and 2020, before losing to Melbourne there during the second Covid season of 2021.
The venue, also home to the Sydney Thunder in cricket’s Big Bash, has especially fond memories for Oscar McInerney, Lachie Neale, Harris Andrews and Zac Bailey.
McInerney, set to play his 150th AFL game there on Saturday night, debuted at the ground in Round 6 2018 in what was Zac Bailey’s third game, Cam Rayner’s sixth game and Charlie Cameron’s sixth game for the Lions.
Lachie Neale played his 150th AFL game at the Showgrounds in Round 16 2019, celebrating with three Brownlow Medal votes after 31 possessions and a goal in a 20-point win. Lincoln McCarthy picked up two votes for 22 possessions and three goals, and Marcus Adams played his first game in Brisbane colours.
And in Round 7 2020, Harris Andrews picked up three votes as the Lions held the Giants to 10 goals and won by 20 points. Bailey earned one vote for 18 possessions and two goals.
Bailey also received one medal vote against Melbourne at the Showgrounds in 2021, when Brisbane led by 20 points at halftime and lost by 22.
The forecast sell-out on Saturday night will present a new proposition for the Lions, whose biggest crowd at the Showgrounds was 12,268 against the Giants in 2019.
Charlie Cameron, coming off two goals in his 20th career final against Carlton last weekend, needs one goal against the Giants to equal Jonathan Brown in third spot on Brisbane’s all-time finals goal list.
Cameron has 31 to trail Brown (32), Jason Akermanis (34) and Alastair Lynch (36).
