At the age of 27, Brisbane Lions’ NEAFL defender Matt Eagles, will play in his first Grand Final this Saturday night against the Sydney Swans at the SCG.

“Me personally, I’ve never played in a Grand Final, so I’d love to get the win obviously,” he said.

The Lions bravely won their ticket to the Grand Final after defeating Sydney University in Saturday afternoon’s preliminary final at the Gabba.

An unanswered six goal haul in the first quarter set the Lions up for the rest of the afternoon, never sacrificing their lead.

Eagles had the honour as Captain for the afternoon.

“It was a great feeling running the boys out.  Being captain, running through the banner, getting the win so we can go through to the Grand Final,” he said.

Brisbane have met the Swans three times this year and secured two victories.  The last time they met, in Round 19, the Lions won by 19 points at the Gabba.

“The two times that we’ve won against Sydney our contested ball has been really good.  I think that’s the key.  This work we’re just working on lifting that,” he said.

The team gathered for training this morning at Coorparoo with the energy upbeat and excited about the Grand Final this weekend.

“Vibe is great out here.  Just having a lot of fun and getting around each other.”

It’s an incredible feat for the Club to have a team playing in the NEAFL Grand Final.  Only a year earlier, the side won just three games during the 2016 season.

“Yeah it’s a great turnaround, coaching staff and medical staff have been great, we’ve got a really healthy list.  We’re putting pressure on the Senior side as well,” Eagles said.

“We’d all love to win the flag.”