The Roar Deal

Just over a week ago, the final siren sounded on the 2025 AFL Grand Final, cementing the legacy of this current Brisbane Lions group, their coach, and the club as a whole, as the Lions became the first side to 5 premierships in the 21st century. Following that perfect Saturday afternoon, it’s been a week full of replays and joy, as we all come to terms with an achievement that was beyond comprehension not that long ago.

This week on the Roar Deal, as we return to the Coorparoo studios for the first time since the 2025 flag was won, it’s time to begin another few months of basking in the golden light of back-to-back premierships.

Also this week:

-We’re headed back to the Powerhouse with Chris Fagan next month!

-The latest on the player movement space

-Dom’s marathon journey begins

And much more!

Welcome back to the promised land.

In one of the most remarkable Grand Final performances in recent history, the Lions have taken down perennial heavyweights Geelong in 24-minute blitz to go back to back and stamp their mark as a generational team. 

In this special in-depth podcast recorded in Mike’s hotel room the day after the 2025 Premiership was won, we recount our experiences of a Grand Final day we will never forget. 

Also this week:

-Why Fages wanted to borrow Mike’s pants 

-Dom’s moment with Joe Daniher’s parents  

-The marathon preparation begins 

And much more! 

The build-up to the 2025 AFL Grand Final continues in our live episode from Fitzroy's Royal Derby Hotel, joined by special guests Simon Black and Sam Graham!

When we walked out of the MCG on Grand Final Day in 2023 with broken hearts, we all feared that might have been our one chance with this group. Who would’ve thought back then the last week of September was about to become a semi-permanent fixture!

There are storylines everywhere out of the prelim. Hugh’s bounce back, Motty’s ascendency to elite status, Harris toying with the Magpies, Will Ashcroft making a statement about just who the real father-son gun is, and that’s before we even mention Ty Gallop. And now, our premiership defence now moves to its final stage: one more win, and this team writes themselves into the history books as one of the all-time greats.

This week on the podcast:

-The unbelievable form of Ty Gallop

-Our plans for Roar Deal Grand Final week events

-Dom's starting to get worried about the marathon

And much more!

Following a QClash domination in which the Lions looked anything but battered and weary, we’re through to our fourth consecutive prelim. There were many bleak days where the thought of seeing the Lions featuring on footy’s penultimate stage were nothing but sheer fantasy - now, remarkably, Saturday’s match will be the fifth prelim we’ve played in over the last six years. 

This week on the Roar Deal, all is well again as dreams of another visit to the promised land just start to look a little bit more real. 

Also this week:

-Why was Joe Daniher at Morningside Footy Club?

-Dom's deep fears of wizard hats on Grand Final Day

-Our tentative Grand Final week plans

And much more!

After a strong end to the home & away season, the whiplash that has defined 2025 has returned - and this one hurts more than all the others combined. Following the most disappointing finals effort the Lions have turned in since 2022’s Prelim, our hopes of another September to remember have suddenly nosedived.

The news of Lachie Neale & Eric Hipwood’s season ending injuries only sours things further, with the growing optimism of the last few weeks suddenly feeling a long way away. And now, in a scenario that has felt unthinkable for much of the last fifteen years, we find ourselves preparing for a knockout semi-final… against the Suns.

We’re the first reigning premier to make the finals since Melbourne in 2022, who found themselves up against a young, ambitious QLD side who knocked them out in straight sets away from home. Will history repeat itself this weekend, or will the good side of the whiplash work its magic again, resigning Damien Hardwick to the same fate he faced the last time he coached a knockout final at the Gabba in 2022?    

Also this week:

-Mike recaps a wild 48 hours in Perth covering the first Suns final

-Is it finally time to return to two tall forwards?

-The AFLW Lions are following the same script as the men

And much more!

A year ago, we lived the September of our dreams.

Jaspa on the run, Joe’s goal from the boundary, Motty’s mark in the middle, Cal’s goal to put us ahead, Cam Rayner sealing it on the left, and Hippy’s Aker tribute in the big dance - they are all the stuff of legend, and memories each of us will treasure for the rest of our lives.

Now, twelve months on, it’s time to write some more folklore. This Friday night, the premiership defence gets underway, with an enormous qualifying final against Geelong making up the first part of the climb back to the summit. We preview the fourth match-up against the Cats in September in the last five years, and with them holding a 2-1 record, we’re hoping to even the ledger.

Also this week:

-Dom celebrates Zac Bailey's All Australian selection (extensively)

-Could Jordan Ridley get to Brisbane in the trade period?

-Who is subbing in for Mike at the watch party?

And much more!

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!