The late season shocker strikes again.

In both of the last two seasons, just as we seemed on track for a strong finals tilt, the Lions dished up a couple of late July and early August defeats that had us all worried.

In 2024 it was losses to the Giants and Collingwood that took away our top 4 hopes. Last year, it was a Swans resurgence and a Suns smashing that dented our confidence.

This year, we were hoping the late season curveballs might be behind us, only to find ourselves on the receiving end of maybe the worst one yet.

Chris Fagan has been warning about the sledgehammer for a few weeks now, and here it is.

An almost incomprehensible 76-point loss to Carlton has torched our percentage, derailed our winning streak, temporarily seen us fall out of the top 4, and raised significant questions about what lies ahead from here.

This week on the show:

-Is Dom ready to make 2026's wild bet yet?

-We talk through the selection dilemma in front of the Lions now

-Our favourite Jarrod Berry memories

And much more!

The Roar Deal is sponsored by Kartable. Planning for later or needing now? Streamlined pricing and procurement for all of your trade materials, supporting services & site deliveries. 

June began with the Lions sitting precariously in 9th spot following three consecutive losses.

Fast forward a couple of months, and July ends with us entrenched in the top 4 by both a win and percentage, with our seventh win in a row coming on a perfect Brisbane winter’s day at the Gabba.

Port Adelaide have been lauded for their defensive profile all year, and it was there in full force once again on Sunday. That is, at least, for the first three quarters, before a Lions masterclass blew things open.   

It’s capped off an incredible streak of the Lions at their best, with these last 7 wins coming at an average winning margin of 7 goals.

And now, with August arriving, we’re hoping the next two months might be just as good as the last two.

This week on the podcast:

-Why have we still heard no word on the Bailey front?

-Hugh’s back to his best

-Our assessment of the Ty Gallop incident

And much more!

The Roar Deal is sponsored by Kartable. Planning for later or needing now? Streamlined pricing and procurement for all of your trade materials, supporting services & site deliveries. 

The current era of Brisbane Lions success began with a shock win over reigning premiers West Coast in Round 1, 2019.

What none of us would have guessed that night, was that we would make it until at least 2027 without losing to them again.

Our eighth win in a row over the Eagles has kept our top four hopes alive, with the four-hour flight home no doubt feeling much nicer with the four points in hand.

A Crows upset over the Swans has them breathing down our necks though, leaving no margin for error as Josh Carr’s new-look Port Adelaide side make their way to the Gabba.

You wouldn’t think that playing 16th one week and 15th the next would be quite so anxiety inducing, but that’s seemingly the way of things in 2026.

Also this week:

-What went wrong in the ruck?

-Brainstorming ways to get Oscar Allen back into the side

-Our thoughts on Ken Hinkley’s Tasmania appointment

The Roar Deal is sponsored by Kartable. Planning for later or needing now? Streamlined pricing and procurement for all of your trade materials, supporting services & site deliveries. 

We needed percentage, and percentage is what we got.

Sunday twilight against the side in last spot was hardly ever going to give us a blockbuster, but it proved to be everything the Lions needed, gaining just enough percentage to sneak back over the top of the Crows after their demolition of the Gold Coast.

With Hugh & Zork back at last, the lineup is looking more and more like a side that could take us all the way back to the promised land.

Not that we can think that far ahead, though, with a couple of banana peel games on the horizon.

Both West Coast and Port Adelaide have caused a couple of upsets this season, and will no doubt be lining up to put a dent in our hat trick aspirations in the coming fortnight.

Also this week:

-Dom’s renewed hope that Zac might be staying

-Who does Starce go to this Saturday night?

-How does Oscar Allen fit back into the side?

And much more!

The Roar Deal is brought to you by Kartable - Planning for later or needing now? Streamlined pricing and procurement for all of your trade materials, supporting services & site deliveries. 

The despair of May gives way to the delight of July!

A month ago, we all looked ahead to a stretch of footy that included the Suns, Swans & Cats, fearing that our season might be over on the other side.

Instead, as we reach the other side, we find ourselves back in the top four, with the hat trick dream well and truly revived.

It took twenty-two years for our last win in Geelong. We only had to wait 377 days for the next one, with a first-quarter avalanche setting up a famous win that sets us up perfectly for the run to September.

And just when you think things couldn’t get any better, Hugh McCluggage and Dayne Zorko return to join the party.

Welcome to a very happy recording of the Roar Deal podcast, brought to you by Kartable. Planning for later or needing now? Streamlined pricing and procurement for all of your trade materials, supporting services & site deliveries.

This week on the show:

-The 2026 theme might have been revealed

-Do Essendon deserve AFL assistance?

-Who we'd pick for an AFL penalty shootout

And much more!

And just like that, the season is alive once again.

After the loss to Freo that left us sitting perilously at 6 wins and 6 losses, we were all looking ahead to the next month of footy with a sense of fear and trepidation.

Gold Coast, Sydney and Geelong all loomed as mighty obstacles in the form we’d been showing, with even one win from that stretch seeming unlikely.

But now, following our best performance for the season against the Swans, we’ve ticked the first two boxes and have our eyes set on the third.

Also this week:

-Logan’s three quarter time controversy

-Conor McKenna’s career revival

-Why does Chris Fagan still not get the respect he deserves?

And much more!

The Roar Deal is brought to you by Kartable. Planning for later or needing now? Streamlined pricing and procurement for all of your trade materials, supporting services & site deliveries. 

We started 2026 with a dream burning bright. After the extraordinary joy of back to back flags, hopes were high that we might just be on the cusp of seeing another three peat.

It was a dream that took some heavy hits in the first half of the year. A steady stream of injuries, stars down on form, and a third quarter against GWS that some of us are still having nightmares about dented our belief.

Thankfully, wins over the Suns & Tigers did enough to steady the ship, giving us a chance to enter the bye with the dream still alive. 

Now, as we enter the second half of the season, there’s very little margin for error left. 

The task is clear: from here on out, we need to see the best of Brisbane, and we need to see it pretty much weekly, or 2026 could slip away from us quickly.

Also this week:

-How do the Lions navigate the next stage of their list strategy?

-Dom's finally been convinced by Freo

-What we think the AFL needs to do to stay competitive with the NRL

And much more!

The Roar Deal is brought to you by Kartable. Planning for later or needing now? Streamlined pricing and procurement for all of your trade materials, supporting services & site deliveries. 

It’s been a bit bumpy, it’s been a bit tough, and it’s had one or two existential crises in it - in other words, a pretty customary first half of the season by the Brisbane Lions.

And now, as we get the long-awaited reprieve from the weekly rollercoaster of footy with this weekend’s bye, we’re taking stock of season 2026 following our eighth win for the year against the Tigers, leaving us sitting in seventh spot as we turn for home.

At some stages this season, 8-6 at the bye would’ve seemed a disaster - at other times, it might’ve seemed like a miracle - what we’re hoping, though, is that it might end up being the platform we need for a tilt at the threepeat dream.

Also this week:

-Should the AFL change its timings for the World Cup?

-Twenty minutes of trade talk

-The crystal ball’s greatest ever prediction

And much more!

We are here thanks to Kartable - Planning for later or needing now? Streamlined pricing and procurement for all of your trade materials, supporting services & site deliveries. 

Just when things looked to be fading away, the Lions we know and love returned with a statement backs-against-the-wall win to breathe life into the hat trick campaign.

It was Brisbane at our best from the start of the game, with the confidence and camaraderie back in full force for a win we so desperately needed.

A win over the Suns proved our turning point in 2024, and again in the semi-final last year - now, with the bye nearly in sight, we’re hoping this might prove the launching pad for another surge to September.

Also, the marathon is done! A story that began last July reached its culmination in the Botanical Gardens late on Sunday morning, with Mike Whiting joining Chris Fagan in the supercoach realm of taking on a basket case and turning things around.

We’ve got the full rundown from the Victory Lap, with a gloomy month behind us and joy on the agenda on all fronts.

Also this week:

-Where does Eric come back into the side?

-Our horrific record against Richmond

-Dom's scheme to turn Logan off the idea of Tasmania

And much more!

We are here always thanks to Kartable. Planning for later or needing now? From ‘Sourcing to Site’, for all of your trade materials and supporting services, send us what you need and when. We take care of the rest. Action via the platform or Kartable on Whatsapp.

Winter is here, and while the skies in Brisbane are blue, the forecast on a football front is starting to look bleak.  As June begins, all Lions fans are trying to process a third consecutive loss that has a few too many hallmarks of a great side beginning its slide.

Many of those who’ve been on the journey a while now say that similarities to 2005 are starting to appear, with the sense of an ending growing stronger with every loss.  And yet, the optimistic spin is that the season is still very much alive, the list is very much still talented enough, and this Lions group thrive on this kind of adversity.

Welcome to the Roar Deal, and as we sit here at the halfway mark of the season, things are very delicately poised. We may not be in the abyss just yet, but we are certainly leaning over and taking a good look in.  

Also this week:

-David King has written us off at last  

-Our thoughts on the James Hird story

-Dom’s marathon week is here at last

And much more!

In the good weeks and the bad weeks, we are here always thanks to Kartable - Planning for later or needing now? From ‘Sourcing to Site’, for all of your trade materials and supporting services, send them what you need and when. They will take care of the rest. Action via the platform or Kartable on Whatsapp.