AFL grand final live updates: Covers on three months early as AFL braces for 17-year first

Brisbane coach Chris Fagan admits Saturday’s grand final could be his last game at the helm.

The 65-year-old said during Friday’s grand final parade that he will sit down and speak with the club in the aftermath of the game to determine what comes next – though this is something he has done annually across the last few years.

Speculation about Fagan’s future has increased this time around, however, after three-time Lions premiership coach Leigh Matthews suggested he may retire at the end of 2026.

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The panel who will vote for this year's Norm Smith Medal has been released.

The Norm Smith is awarded for best-on-ground on grand final day.

• Andrew McLeod (chair): Crows legend and two-time premiership and Norm Smith winner (1997, 1998)
• Shaun Burgoyne: Four-time premiership winner (Port Adelaide 2004, Hawthorn 2013-2015)
• Chris Judd: Premiership captain (West Coast 2006), Norm Smith winner in a losing grand final (2005, Swans), two-time Brownlow medal winner
• Michael Voss: Three-time Lions premiership winner (2001-2003)
• Lauren Wood: Herald Sun footy reporter

This year’s AFL grand final will either be won by a team raising its inaugural premiership cup, or by a side completely a three-peat.

Regardless of the outcome, history will be made on Saturday afternoon when Fremantle and Brisbane clash.

For Brisbane, they are looking to complete the trilogy. Three premierships in a row, cementing themselves as not just the best club of the 2020s, but potentially the entire 21st century to date.

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Lachie Neale, it’s fair to say, has had a tumultuous 2026. It started with his very public split with wife Jules, leading to his decision to step down as Brisbane captain, and ended with ultimately overturning a one-game suspension

The appeals board’s call to free him has given us a juicy narrative however, with Neale fighting for a Lions three-peat and attempting to cost Fremantle, the team that gave him his start, its inaugural premiership.

It is also expected to be his last game for Brisbane, given he will reportedly join Collingwood as an unrestricted free agent this off-season and is set to sign a three-year deal to finish his career at the Pies.

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The worst of the rain is forecast to fall between about 1-3pm.

Kylie Minogue is scheduled to play her 20 minute set at 1.40pm.

While the rain itself carries no inherent danger to the performers, slippery stages do. Lightning is not believed to be a concern today.

However, the AFL will not want the heavy staging to damage the playing surface and risk injury to players.

As a result, there is a contingency plan in place should the rain really pelt down in the lead up to Kylie’s performance.

Exactly what that might look like is not clear. Hopefully it doesn’t mean she’s relegated to the tiny stage in the stands Meatloaf made famous for all the wrong reasons.

Kylie deserves better than that!

It's the 26th and the covers are on at the MCG.

That might be a sentence usually reserved for the 26th of December and the Boxing Day Test, instead, it's AFL grand final day.

But as rain lashes Melbourne, the covers are indeed on at the 'G in a bid to protect the surface.

Despite Melbourne's reputation for dreary and rainy weather, wet grand final days aren't all that common.

The last one was back in 2009 when Geelong came back in the final quarter to defeat St Kilda.

AFL boss Andrew Dillon admits he is fine with Brisbane star Lachie Neale being free to play in this year’s grand final, after his intentional striking charge was downgraded to a $10,000 fine on Thursday.

Two days after a mammoth four-hour hearing at the tribunal which found him guilty of striking Hawthorn’s Jack Ginnivan, Neale and the Lions fronted the appeal board in hopes to get his sanction cleared due to the small details that were absent in the ruling made on his case earlier this week.

While the AFL brought new “sharper” footage to the board on Thursday, the vision was not eligible to be used. The AFL’s barrister delivered a 45-minute address to prove the league’s position to be correct.

But the short delivery proved not enough to uphold the decision, with Neale and the Lions celebrating his chance to compete for a third-straight premiership.

READ ABOUT THE APPEAL BOARD HEARING HERE

The AFL is bracing for a cold and wet grand final on Saturday, with up to 10mm of rain forecast for the morning and early afternoon.

After a warm and sunny week in the lead-up, including 25 degrees for Friday's grand final parade, Saturday will be a top of 16 with rain expected during the game and in the lead-up.

The AFL has opted to move the traditional grand final curtain raiser, an under 17s game between the best young talent in the country, from the MCG to Footscray's Whitten Oval out of concern for the rain and potential damage to the turf.

Of course, a wet and windy day has implications for the pre-game entertainment too, headlined by Australian pop icon Kylie Minogue.

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Hello and welcome to nine.com.au’s LIVE coverage of the 2026 AFL grand final.

The Brisbane Lions are hunting a three-peat at the MCG this afternoon, but the Fremantle Dockers will be hoping to stand in their way and win the flag.

Follow along for all the updates.