Starcevich set for another grand final

Grand finals are as different as they are the same for Craig Starcevich.

No-one in Saturday's AFLW grand final at Ikon Park will have had more experience at the pointy end of the season than the Brisbane coach.

He played in Collingwood's historic 1990 premiership team and was strength and conditioning coach at the Lions, again under legendary coach Leigh Matthews, for their 2001-03 flag dynasty.

Last year, he coached the Lions women's team in their grand final loss to Adelaide.

"I was thinking about it, this week - they all feel different," he said.

"They're all nerve-wracking and they all have their little intricacies.

"Playing - I'd much rather have some control over the outcome, rather than sitting up in the box."

Starcevich said the Lions learned some invaluable lessons a year ago, when there was a drawn-out controversy for their grand final venue against Adelaide.

The Lions hoped to play at the Gabba, but eventually the game went to Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast.

"We got caught up in the whole Gabba thing, even though we denied it, it was there," he said.

Then there were all the peripheral issues, such as tickets for family and friends.

"Having had one rehearsal with it last year, if you like, we're probably a little bit better placed in dealing with it," Starcevich said.

"It lets you concentrate on what you need to."

Speaking at the pre-grand final media conference, Starcevich was open-minded about whether they need to discuss last year's heartbreak ahead of Saturday.

"That disappointment drove the pre-Christmas period, more than anything else," he said.

"We'll get together this afternoon and get a bit of a gauge there as to whether we need to actually address it, in the first place, or whether we trust our instincts, that the group's ready to go."

Key forward Sabrina Frederick-Traub is one of the AFLW's most formidable players and she looms as a game breaker for the Lions.

Bulldogs coach Paul Groves said they would have plans to combat her influence.

"It's going to be a good challenge for a couple of our players, to roll through her and defend her," he said.

"I'm hoping she has an off day and we can squash her a little bit.

"But you want the best players on the park.

"There's a little bit of focus, but nothing that consumes us."