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

Brisbane coach Chris Fagan pays tribute to Leigh Matthews, who coached the Lions to three straight flags a quarter of a century ago.

Fagan still leans on Matthews and the pair speak regularly.

If the Lions win today, Fagan will match that incredible Matthews feat.

"I talk to Leigh on a regular basis," Fagan tells Seven.

"He's the most supportive bloke you could ever find at a footy club.

"He's been a massive supporter of me from day dot, and maybe the reason I believe in myself a bit more these days."

Lions fans who left it to the last minute to get to Melbourne have been left stranded in Brisbane.

Reduced visibility due to the shocking weather in Melbourne meant air traffic controllers restricted flight movements in and out of Tullamarine.

As a result, several flights out of Brisbane and the Gold Coast were delayed or outright cancelled.

Those delayed are almost certain to miss the start of the match, while those who were booked on cancelled flights will struggle to get on another flight full stop.

The Lions have arrived at the MCG, about two and a half hours before first bounce in the AFL grand final.

The Lions are chasing a second three-peat in a fourth-straight grand final.

Jai Arrow was at the official AFL grand final breakfast this morning. He was given a standing ovation upon his arrival.

The NRL star’s diagnosis with motor neurone disease earlier this year rocked the sporting world and has crossed the divide between the country’s two major ball codes.

Arrow was a special guest of Collingwood in its annual Big Freeze match against Melbourne at the MCG earlier this year. He did the pre-game coin toss.

Arrow’s diagnosis was made public in May, just days before the death of Neale Daniher.

Daniher had been the face of MND in Australia for over a decade, a role Arrow seems to have naturally inherited.

Ponchos are unsurprisingly the functional fashion choice of the day, but there are still plenty who have dressed up underneath them.

Here’s another weather update.

The rain has eased a little bit over the past hour, but the radar is still ugly.

This band is heading in a general south-east direction, so it certainly doesn’t look as if it’s going to stop any time soon.

Having said that, it doesn’t look like it’s going to get any worse either.

What this means for Kylie or any of the other pre-game entertainment is anyone’s guess.

Herald Sun cartoonist Mark Knight has revealed he had to re-draw the Dockers' premiership poster after his original piece was vetoed by the club.

The Dockers’ poster published earlier this week shows a long-haired Docker standing on the bow of a ship called ‘Freo First Flag’, holding the trophy in one hand and an anchor in the other.

Speaking on 3AW this week, Knight – who has been drawing the premiership posters annually since 2009 – said the original poster was of a “big, bad wharfie running with his huge anchor, (with) beautiful anchor tattoos”.

"I sent it off, and the word came back: 'Yeah, nah'," he said.

"They said 'well, it doesn't fit with the direction the club's heading in'. They said they're not celebrating 'uber-masculinity', and the poster was too angry."

Knight said his rough guidelines are usually to not make the mascot resemble any particular player, and the AFL had generally warned against tattoos on the mascot.

The Brisbane poster has three lions, each holding a trophy, to represent what would be a Lions three-peat.

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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