It’s been a rollercoaster of a home & away season, with an awful run of injuries, bizarrely bad Gabba form, and our biggest home & away loss since 2018, and yet somehow, despite all that, we’ve ended the season third with another finals match-up against the Cats booked in for next Friday night.

The back to back campaign is about to get a lot more serious, and it seems we’re as much a chance as anyone after a strong but inaccurate win against the Hawks. This week on the podcast, we take advantage of the pre-finals bye to look back on the year that has been, relishing in what Chris Fagan has called the best home & away season the club has had under his tenure.

Also this week:

-We're doing a watch party again for the Cats final!

-The Lions AFLW team have bounced back with a dominant win in the west

-Is Dom starting to regret his marathon pledge?

And much more!

The whiplash strikes again! This week though, it’s the good kind of shock, as the Lions dominate Freo over in the West to erase the pain of the Swans loss and make another statement to the competition. The formula seems straightforward enough: When our hopes are high, we’re disappointed. When our hopes are low, we’re elated.

It’s hard to know just what that means for the next six weeks, but at any rate, we’re now locked in for a seventh straight finals campaign - an achievement that eclipses even the dynasty Lions of the early 2000’s, and makes us the first reigning premier to make finals since 2022. The question now turns to what role we’ll play in that finals campaign.

There’s a world of difference between third and eighth, and yet it looks likely to be one or the other, with the margins tighter than ever at the top of the table. This week on the podcast, we preview Sunday night’s Hawthorn match-up, with the home & away season set to end with a bang as we look to eradicate our Gabba woes when it matters most.

Also this week:

-Mike has joined the AFLW All Australian panel

-Could ‘Two Tall Forwards’ be about to make a comeback?

-Dom isn’t emotionally ready for the wizard hats

And much more!

From a disappointing loss to the Gold Coast, to an extraordinary win against Collingwood, back to a disappointing loss against Sydney - it’s hard to know what to make of where things sit now.

Last week, we seemed set for top-two. Now, it’s going to be a battle just to make the top eight The mood is flat once again on the Roar Deal, with the highs of last week a distant memory now as season 2025 returns to its precarious position ahead of a must-win clash against Freo over in the west.

Also this week:

-We preview the opening of the 2025 AFLW season

-Who should Lions fans barrack for in the other games this weekend?

-Comparing the future prospects of Will and Levi

And much more!

Cancel the funeral - this season still well & truly has a pulse!

2025’s most shocking loss has been followed by 2025’s most extraordinary win, with the Collingwood MCG hoodoo broken in emphatic style as the Lions make a statement to the competition with September on the horizon. Our best seems once again to be the best, and the equation seems simple now: if we can play like that six more times, we’ll be the first non-Victorian side to win back-to-back AFL premierships since - well - us in the early 2000’s.

This week on the Roar Deal, the misery of late July is replaced by the excitement of early August, as we enjoy all that Saturday night was, and all the possibilities it opens up for the eight weeks ahead.

Also this week:

-David King’s weirdest moment with Fages yet

-The crystal ball’s stunning return to form

-Is it finally time for Tom Doedee?

And much more!

It’s been quite a while since we’ve sat down for an episode of the Roar Deal in full doom & gloom mode, but Saturday's crisis in Carrara has us not too far from that ballpark. It was our heaviest defeat since the 2022 Prelim Final loss to a red-hot Geelong side, and also our heaviest home & away defeat we’ve had since 2018.

It's also put Dom in a real mood this week on the podcast, with Mike doing his best to lift Dom out of the slump ahead of a season-shaping game against Collingwood this Saturday.

Also this week:

-Why Dom feels so much resentment to Damien Hardwick

-Is Murray Davis a senior coach in waiting?

-The worst footy-related birthday celebration of all time

And much more!

The Gabba crowd is back! During a tense finish against the Dogs on Friday night, the Lions faithful found our voice again to bring the boys home, and we couldn't be happier about it. 

Now, attention turns to the highest-stakes QClash yet, with the Lions needing a win to stay up the top of the ladder (and maybe even move within sight of top spot), while the Suns suddenly need to win to keep their finals hopes alive. 

Also this week:

-Could this be the most diverse top 8 in AFL history?

-The small defender dilemma 

-Dom's idea to revolutionise the Brownlow

And much more!

And now things get interesting! With the Carlton win behind us, the fixture ahead is starting to look a lot like an early dose of finals footy. The coming weeks hold matches against teams currently sitting in 9th, 5th, 1st, 10th, 8th, and 6th, with not one easy win among them.

It’s rare to be in mid-July with the prospect of the minor premiership and the possibility of missing finals altogether both remarkably still on the table. It’s going to be a sprint to the finish line this year, and it all begins with a Friday night blockbuster against a Dogs side who suddenly find themselves outside the top 8 and desperate for a win.

This week on the Roar Deal, we’ll be talking through the first Gabba prime time, premiership-shaping blockbuster since all the way back on Easter Thursday.

Also this week:

-Could a Suns home final be played at the Gabba?

-Mike Drop returns with Essendon’s fixturing firmly in Mike’s sights

-Dom's becoming self-conscious about his saying

And much more!

We’re back from the bye with another win, and finals are suddenly coming into focus. We’ve just got to get there first, though, with three more wins needed to guarantee another September run. And with the Bulldogs, Suns, Collingwood, Swans, Dockers and Hawks still to come, it’s far from guaranteed - but a win over the struggling Blues this Thursday would go a long way to shoring up a spot.

After taking a bit of a bye ourselves, the Roar Deal is back, fresh and reinvigorated for the second chapter of the 2025 season with an in-depth preview of Thursday's Carlton match and the countdown underway to our first watch party of the year.

Also this week:

-Is Zac an All Australian?

-Dom’s most outlandish bet yet

-A deep dive into the problems with the 2025 Gabba crowds

And much more!

Just when things were starting to look a little bit bleak, the Lions have pulled out their best performance for 2025 to demolish the 22-year Kardinia Park hoodoo and send us into the bye safely in second place.

This week on the podcast, we pause for a mid-season review, looking through all that has worked this year and what we'll need to do to make another run at September from here.

Also this week:

-Our thoughts on All Australian squad contenders

-What’s going on with Cal Ah Chee’s contract situation?

-Why Dom misses the days of Video Ezy & Blockbuster

And much more!

We've suffered two losses in a row for the first time in 2025, and this week on the podcast, our concern levels are starting to grow. The general sentiment has been that accuracy was the culprit once again, but Mike has found a few other stats that have us a little alarmed.

And we look ahead to our last stop before the mid-season bye - a trip to the one venue we haven’t conquered since 2003. Will this be the week that we start our run of form to another flag? Will the accuracy issues sort themselves out? And will this finally be the week that we leave Geelong with the four points?

Also this week:

-The crystal ball is officially on a streak

-Dom’s idea to revolutionise stadium seating

-More bizarre Lions-related music from the early 2000s

And much more!