The Roar Deal

198 home & away games, 15 Lions wins, two or three emotional crashes on the Roar Deal, and after all of it, we find ourselves in a familiar situation:

It’s all coming down to the final round.

After another late season QClash fizzer, we return to the MCG as we near the end of August.  

Hopefully we’ll be doing the same at the end of September, with this Friday night’s game against Collingwood set to play an enormous role in determining what our finals run might look like.

Remarkably, with one game to go, both a 3rd place finish and a qualifying final at the SCG and a 7th place knockout final at the Gabba are still on the table.

Welcome to the Roar Deal, with the ladder predictor due to get a big workout in the week ahead with so many possibilities still on the table.

This week on the show:

-Ruby Svarc joins the show after a dominant win over Essendon

-Which Lions will make the All Australian squad?

-Go to haveyoursay.statedevelopment.qld.gov.au to suggest a Chris Fagan statue!

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 whiplash is back!

Worryingly bad to unbelievably good is a pattern we’ve seen from the Lions a few times in recent years, and Friday night’s domination of the Hawks has given us another dose.

A loss would’ve spelt the end of our Top 4 hopes, and a strong Hawthorn win might’ve felt close to the end of our premiership aspirations.  

It didn’t take long, though, for our nerves to turn to sheer delight, as the Lions put on an absolute masterclass to remind the rest of the competition just what we’re capable of.  

In what was probably our best game of the season, the Lions ended up with an unexpected percentage booster against the third-place Hawks.

The pressure was awesome, the skill level was amazing, and our premiership hopes are well & truly alive.

This week on the show:

-We celebrate Chris Fagan’s historic milestone

-How will the Lions AFLW side go without Taylor & Bree?

-Dom’s 5 most hated sides

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 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!

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