This sounds a lot like 2016
#1 seed and minor premier dropped first final and scored 55 points
Geelong defeated the reigning premier
Please let it be a Sharks premiership in the NRL too !!! 
I think looking back, some may point to Round 23 as a defining moment for Fremantleās finals trajectory.
The team were flying high then with a 11-1 record in the previous dozen games, and a lot of people started to call it a legitimate contender for the flag. (5 of those wins were 3QT comebacks, too.)
And the mood suddenly seemed different after the 57-point loss to Brisbane.
Had Fremantle won, the 2 seed may have been locked up. Instead, the final ladder position was 6th.
Which unfortunately meant any loss would be a one-and-done.
It might not have to go this way, but it did.
Same goes with GWS - reverse any (or both) of their losses to the Western Bulldogs and they wouldāve had a double chance.
Instead, theyāre left to ponder what couldāve been.
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Liam Baker won the John Worsfold Medal as the Eaglesā best and fairest player for 2025, becoming the first man since Steve Malaxos in the Eaglesā inaugural 1987 campaign to be crowned club champion in his first year at the WA club.
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Brings me memories of West Coast 2016. They won over the reigning premier Hawthorn in the penultimate round at home. Lost key ruckman Nic Naitanui to an ACL that night.
Despite finishing 6th and having a home final at the old Subiaco Oval, they lost to 7th-placed Western Bulldogs despite being heavy favourites that year and ended their season.
For my Pies, the turning point was the 4th quarter of Round 24, 2025 vs Melbourne. We were down by 15 points in the 3rd minute and an elimination final beckoned. 3 goals saved our season and we snuck into 4th place with Gold Coast tanking to Port a few minutes later.
Dimma also broke his elimination final hoodoo. 0-4 in elimination finals before last night
2013 - lost to a team that shouldāve been 9th
2014 - kicked against the wind
2015 - lost against North
2022 - lost against Brisbane
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Fremantle didnt deserve to play finals. They probably should have lost to port a few weeks ago. Iām not sure if they have the right coach and players at the club to go the night step.
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Worth noting, this was the first time since 2003 (!) that they had qualified for finals but failed to get past the first week.
And who did they lose to - Essendon.
Gold Coastās win means Essendon are the only team in the 18-team era that has not won a finals match, and their drought is now 21 years and counting.
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Another note. Geel vs GC will be like 2020 but instead of the Gabba itās at the MCG, and instead of Richmond, itās Gold Coast and instead of Dusty itās Anderson/Rowell. Also Geelong have another retiring favourite son in Dangerfield. Only similarty will be Chris Scott vs Damien Hardwick IV and Dimma has 1 more flag than C Scott
So nothing like 2020
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Aged like milk
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Dangerfield was so heartbroken he couldnāt defeat Adelaide by 125 points in the Grand Final that he will retire with a year to go on his contract obviously.
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My narrative of a Geelong flag over Adelaide is false
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Do Brisbane and Gold Coast airports still have curfews? Given it takes two hours to fly from Melbourne to Brisbane/Gold Coast, if either team plays in the preliminary final against Collingwood on the Saturday, I think the AFL will need to schedule the twilight clash a bit earlier, to allow either Lions or Suns to warm down, pack up, and travel to the airport, so that their flight can land before the curfew.
Which starts at 11pm local time.
Brisbane is 24/7
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UPDATE 11/9
Herald Sun reports Bailey Smith texted photographer Alison Wynd this morning, expressing remorse for his actions and said he wanted the pair to move forward and put the incident behind them.
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