The Brisbane Lions really feel uncomfortable heading into the AFLW grand ultimate as favourites after all the time perceiving the competitors viewing them as underdogs.
The Lions will host Melbourne in Sunday’s decider on the new Michael Voss Oval with greater than 7000 spectators anticipated to end up in sweltering situations tipped to rise above 30C.
Craig Starcevich’s staff earned the fitting to be at their new state-of-the artwork Springfield facility for the grand ultimate after edging out the Demons for the minor premiership by simply 0.3 per cent.
The Lions have dominated the seventh season of AFLW, beating Melbourne by 15 factors in round-four, and have been in a position to blow rivals away because the fittest facet within the competitors.
Despite being in a fourth grand ultimate and gunning for a second premiership, the Lions have carried a chip on their shoulder because the inaugural competitors in 2017.
“The fact that we’ve been branded from the start as being underdogs, that’s carried through to this day,” Starcevich instructed reporters on Saturday.
“It feels unusual to be thought about (as favourites) and we certainly don’t talk about it in that way.
“There’s sufficient that may occur in a sport of footy, and we have all been concerned in loads of video games of footy the place stuff occurs and also you simply obtained to be ready for it.”
Melbourne are attempting to atone for their grand final defeat to Adelaide in April, and in the process send out Daisy Pearce on a high in what could be the iconic skipper’s final AFLW match.
The Demons lost that decider by just 13 points but were never realistically in the contest after the Crows enjoyed all the early momentum.
Pearce said Melbourne had carried the pain of that defeat into this season.
“I did not go into final season’s grand ultimate considering we hadn’t ready nicely, but it surely simply all provides to the expertise,” she instructed reporters.
“Our skill to show up and compete unconditionally has grown rather a lot, not only for grand ultimate week, however week in, week out.
“Just the ability to know what you’re going to get out of each other and go out and compete regardless of what the game throws at you – we’re a different team from that perspective this season.”
Both golf equipment will take unchanged groups into the grand ultimate, with star Melbourne ahead Tayla Harris cleared of shoulder injury after struggling a scare within the preliminary ultimate win towards North Melbourne.
The Lions could have two league best-and-fairest winners on the sphere after midfielder Ally Anderson’s shock win on the AFLW awards on Tuesday evening.
Anderson adopted within the footsteps of Emily Bates final season to make the Lions the primary membership to have two totally different league best-and-fairest winners.
