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!

It was a final quarter of nightmares, with 10 shots at goal not enough to conjure just the single goal we needed. As a result, we find ourselves with our first loss away from the Gabba since last August, as a fired-up Adelaide outfit stamp themselves as contenders.

Now, the Giants await, hoping to exact a little payback for last year's semi-final miracle and cash-in on our flat Gabba form.

Also this week:

-What's really going on with Oscar?

-Dom pitches alternative bizarre hats to take on the wizard

-A double barrel Mike Drop

And much more!

It's the end of an era, with Greg Swann announcing that his time in Brisbane will come to an end as he moves into a new role at AFL HQ. This week on the show, we reflect on Swanny's legacy at the Lions, while also reviewing a largely forgettable match against the Bombers.

Now, a red-hot Adelaide await, with the fixture suddenly getting quite a lot harder. It's top-eight sides all the way through to the bye from here, with not much respite left between now and September. We talk through the possible team changes ahead of Friday night's Crows clash, and explore what the Lions will need to do to shut down the competition's most dangerous forward line.

Also this week:

-How do we get in on the Fages/Leigh dinners?

-More wizard hat hate

-Dom's idea for a new Noah Answerth merch line

And much more!

We needed to bounce back, and we couldn't have asked for much more than that! Following a statement win against the Hawks, the doubts have receded and hope is in the air again.  

With the Bombers waiting on the other side of a five-day turnaround, the season feels back on track, with only one big headache - how do we fit Kiddy Coleman and Oscar McInerney into this team? 

Also this week:

-Dom's report from the Lionhearts function in Melbourne 

-An update on the re-recording of the club song 

-How should we refer to the Roar Deal family going forward? 

And much more! 

Is the premiership hangover here at last? That's what many of us are starting to worry about, following a really disappointing match against the Demons that saw us notch up our second loss for the season. This week, with Mike back from Darwin, we talk through how high the concern level is (and how high it should be) following the Melbourne fadeout. 

Now, as our attention turns to the Hawks, another hoodoo is in sight. With six years having passed since our last victory over Hawthorn, we look at what the Lions need to do well to finally break this frustrating streak. 

Also this week:

-We're finally back in prime time in the second half of 2025

-A Mike Drop on the Hawks forward line 

-We've tracked down the audio of the early 2000's Lions CD 

And much more!