The Brisbane Lions condemned the Sydney Swans to their fourth consecutive defeat in a grand final, with a 60-point smashing following a second-quarter blitz.
After opening the game with the first two goals, the Swans' normal brand of football escaped them, with stagnant ball movement and a lack of pressure allowing Brisbane total control of the contest.
In an all-round display from the Lions, here are the four key statistics that Brisbane controlled to secure their fourth AFL premiership.
A glaring issue for the Swans was their lack of pressure on the Lions, which allowed Brisbane's midfielders to run rampant around stoppages, tallying clearance after clearance.
Sydney recorded just 45 tackles for the match, well down on their season average of 58.3. Although typically ranked 13th in the league for tackles, Sydney's grand final performance ranks five tackles below the worst season average in the league, as Richmond averaged 50.5 tackles per game in 2024.
Opposingly, Brisbane had one of their best pressure performances of the year. The Lions recorded 64 tackles in the grand final, nearly 10 more than their season average of 54.6. Brisbane's 64 tackles places them equal-third compared to all other 17 clubs' season averages, whilst their own season average was ranked second-last.
It highlights Brisbane's surge in form in the finals series, as well as their adaption to the tense grand final arena.
Josh Dunkley was a standout with 11 tackles, as Dayne Zorko and Hugh McCluggage each recorded six. McCluggage led the Lions for pressure acts with 29, whilst Dunkley and Zorko had 24 and 18 respectively.
Sydney's lack of pressure also allowed the Lions to cleanly possess the football. With a playstyle reliant on uncontested possessions, Brisbane lapped up their afforded time and space, producing a disposal efficiency of 81%. It's the highest disposal efficiency ever recorded in a grand final since the AFL first began tracking the data in 2012, trumping Hawthorn's 78.7% in 2015.
In perhaps the strongest purple patch in a grand final since Melbourne's 2021 blitz against the Bulldogs, the Lions' six goals in 14 minutes were produced by their ability to win the clearance. Whilst the full-time clearance count suggests an even contest, the Lions won the second-quarter clearance battle nine to four.
Lachie Neale recorded three, whilst Will Ashcroft, Jarrod Berry, Joe Daniher, Brandon Starcevich, Dunkley and McCluggage all tallied one in the second term. It translated into a pivotal 11 scoring shots from 16 inside 50s, as Brisbane scored 7.4 to Sydney's 1.2.
The Lions also produced multiple scoring efforts from stoppage clearances, including Ashcroft's crowning moment deep inside 50.
Contrastingly, Sydney struggled to get a hand on the ball in the middle stages of the match, regularly losing the clearance in the second and third quarters. Junk time clearances evened the statistics, however it was too little, and too late, as Luke Parker and Chad Warner's goals showed glimpses of what we had expected the Swans to produce from the outset.
As the two strongest scorers from turnover in the competition, the watch on unforced errors was an intriguing by-product heading into the big dance. Ultimately, it was Sydney who buckled on gameday, recording 62 turnovers compared to Brisbane's 53.
Unnecessary taps instead of proper disposals from Tom Papley and Justin McInerney highlighted Sydney were overwrought on the grand final stage, as the Lions continuously corralled the Swans into making mistakes.
The Swans had a disposal efficiency inside 50 of just 38.8%, a significant decline from their season average of 49.9%.
The summarising moment of Sydney's efficiency - a late chase from Daniher affected Errol Gulden into kicking straight to Cameron Rayner's chest, who perfectly lofted a kick over the Swans' defence to Callum Ah Chee, who strolled into open grass from the 50m arc to kick his fourth goal at the end of the third term.
Opposingly, Brisbane were effective in possession, with their 53 turnovers approximately nine less than their season average. Their disposal efficiency inside 50 was also a stunning improvement on their season average, with a rate of 66.7%, up 14.8% on their season average.
Coming into the grand final, the Lions were 11-1 when they recorded 100 uncontested marks, whilst the Swans were 7-0. Looking at the result, it's unsurprising Brisbane dominated this aspect of the game.
Brisbane sought to chain together strings of uncontested marks immediately, recording 45 in the first quarter. Whilst their lead was slim at that stage, the Lions were on top across the rest of the ground, and were able to control the tempo of play.
As the game wore on, and Sydney's pressure remained non-existent, Brisbane could chip around as they pleased, cutting through Sydney's defence time and time again. By the final siren, the Lions had recorded 158 marks for the match, 47.5 more than their season average.
Brisbane's 158 marks is the second-highest amount of marks recorded this season, the only game to trump it being Brisbane's 164 marks in their 119-point smashing of Richmond. It's also the most marks ever recorded in a grand final, and the equal-20th most in an AFL match ever.
This demonstrates how significantly Brisbane controlled the tempo of the match, effectively giving Sydney no chance at orchestrating a comeback, as continuous uncontested marks halted any slight Sydney momentum.
The Lions also managed 22 marks inside 50, a vast improvement on their season average of 13.3, and allowed for 30 scoring shots, the most in their finals campaign.
Ultimately, whilst Brisbane had the upper hand across the majority of statistics, it was their uncontested marking that shut the Swans out. Despite the major statistical talking point leading into the game being uncontested marking, the Swans were still unable to shut down Brisbane's primary gameplan, allowing the Lions to stroll to a drought-breaking premiership.