Fremantle and Brisbane are level at 6.7.43 at half-time in the AFL grand final at the MCG, after a scrappy, rain-sodden first half in which neither side could dominate.
The Dockers and Lions traded the lead repeatedly in the second quarter. Josh Treacy marked outside 50 and kicked long to full forward, where Patrick Voss clunked the set shot to give Fremantle the first strike. Brisbane replied through Levi Ashcroft, who converted from 30 metres after Kai Lohmann tapped to his own advantage. Conor McKenna scuffed a dribbler through from the pocket, and Sam Draper dumped a 52-metre shot through the middle. But Fremantle answered again: Isaiah Dudley burned away from traffic, took a bounce, and threaded a 40-metre pass to Voss, who slammed it home. Karl Worner missed from 55 metres to tie the scores.
Earlier, Brisbane opened the scoring when Charlie Cameron found space and goaled. Fremantle hit back immediately when Treacy marked strongly and flushed a kick from outside 50 despite the wet conditions. Oscar Allen, Kai Lohmann, Murphy Reid and Jye Amiss all featured in a tight opening quarter. Logan Morris won a dubious free and butchered the shot. The umpires ruled a Treacy mark too short, allowing Oscar Allen to mow him down in a huge tackle. No shot after the siren.
The pre-match was dominated by Kylie Minogue, who performed Love at First Sight, In Your Eyes, Confide in Me, Padam Padam, The Loco-Motion and Can’t Get You Out of My Head at the MCG. G Flip and Mike Brady, with Up There Cazaly, also performed. A handful more than 100,000 fans were expected, with purple the colour of choice. Rain greeted the teams and ponchos piled into the MCG.
Fremantle were unchanged from the side that edged Geelong in the semi-final and ran over Sydney in the preliminary final. Brennan Cox could not force his way back after a calf injury. Brisbane were also unchanged from the team that beat Hawthorn in a classic preliminary final. Lachie Neale had a one-game ban overturned on appeal. Noah Answerth missed out after an ankle injury. Jarrod Berry missed last year’s decider with a shoulder injury. Brisbane are hunting a premiership three-peat.
At half-time, the game remained there for the taking. Both sides had been pretty scrappy given the conditions, with occasional bursts of class. It seemed a question of who could turn a burst into a three-goal run and take control.
