Geelong and Brisbane will compete for a place in the Grand Final when they meet at the Gabba on Saturday night.

The preliminary final clash will be televised on Channel Seven, with the first bounce at 7.40pm AEDT.

“We have done a lot of hard work to get to this position, 18 teams are down to four and it is exciting,” Assistant Coach Matthew Knights told media on Wednesday.

“It’s a wonderful position to be in and should be embraced by all.

“I know our players are looking forward to this contest and meeting it head on, it’s going to be really exciting for them.”

The Cats are unlikely to make any changes to the team that defeated Collingwood by 68-points.

“It will be pretty hard to change the line-up that performed well against Collingwood, so at this stage it looks unchanged, but nothing has been formalised yet.

“We always leave selection pretty late, that is just the way we do it as a coaching group, we don’t decide to early in the week who the 22 is, so we will look at that as the week goes on.”

For and Against: Played 233 games | Won: 133 | Drawn: 2 | Lost: 98

Geelong has won two of the past three meetings between the two sides by an average winning margin of 23 points.

Last time they met: R6, 2020 – Geelong 11.7 (73) def Brisbane 6.10 (46)

Down by 10 points and two rotations at half time, the Cats bombarded Brisbane with seven unanswered goals in an extraordinary third term to setup a 27-point victory.

It started with Sam Menegola and Patrick Dangerfield in the midfield, while Gary Ablett produced his vintage best across half-forward and Tom Hawkins was involved in everything in attack as the Lions rolled over.

Broadcast & Match Details

Saturday 17 October from 7.40pm AEDT.
Watch: Seven, Fox Footy, Kayo
Listen: K Rock Football

Impressive Gabba Record

Both teams are undefeated at the Gabba this season. Geelong has won all four of its matches by an average of 56 points, while Brisbane is a prefect 10-for-10.

Geelong’s forwards have particularly enjoyed playing at the ground this season kicking 59.37 from four visits.

To tag or not to tag

Geelong’s midfield set the tone early in their big win against the Pies. This week they face a new challenge against a Brisbane midfield which features the best player in the game, Lachie Neale.

Neale leads the competition this season for disposals with 27.1 per game, but the Cats are yet to decide whether to tag the star onballer, one of the other Lions mids or simply back themselves in head-to-head.

“We traditionally do not play a heap of tag even though (Cam) Guthrie has done some really nice jobs for us this year on different players, I think (Brandan) Parfitt at times has played on opposition mids and gone to work," Knights said.

“We tend to back ourselves in a bit there, but we will nail that plan later in the week if we do go with one, but I have (Dayne) Zorko, Neale and even (Jarrod) Lyons as very unheralded in there, so they have a number of guys, (Hugh) McCluggage – where do you start and where do you stop. A lot of clubs have deep midfields and they’re no different.”

Hawkins on facing Andrews

One matchup everyone is looking forward to is the battle between the All Australian bookends Tom Hawkins and Harris Andrews.

Hawkins kicked three goals from 15 disposals last time the two sides met and will take confidence from that performance into the game on Saturday night.

“He’s got some great strengths with his one-on-one ability as good as anyone and the way that he reads the game is second to none, so he is a great player,” Hawkins said.

“We have played on each other a bit over the past four or five years - I will take confidence from the last time we played, have a look at what I did on the weekend and just go out there and play my game.”

THE GARY Ablett show will have a final act.

A Grand Final act, to be completely accurate, after the champion Cat helped steer Geelong to a commanding 40-point win over Brisbane in Saturday night's preliminary final. 

It means although this year's flag decider has been shifted to Queensland, in what is the starkest example of COVID-19's impact on football, the 2020 premiership will head back to Victoria as the Cats take on fellow powerhouse Richmond at the Gabba next Saturday night.

It is the first time since 2011 – when the Cats overcame Collingwood to claim the premiership – that it will be an all-Victorian Grand Final. 

Ablett was no bit-part player in the Cats' 11.16 (82) to 6.6 (42) win over the Lions, with his brilliant third term helping elevate Geelong to a comprehensive victory over the home side.

The retiring all-time great kicked two goals for the quarter – one from a controversial missed throw (or score assist) from Patrick Dangerfield and the other a vintage on-the-run chip from the 50-metre line – to ensure he will finish his career under lights searching for a dream third flag with the Cats in his 357th game. 

Geelong's win broke a run of four preliminary final defeats and sets up a monster clash with the Tigers to decide the unprecedented premiership with both sides based away from home for more than 100 days. Chris Scott will be shooting for his second flag with the club as senior coach. 

It was a disappointing finals exit for the Lions, who joined Port Adelaide as bowing out at the last hurdle despite qualifying final victories and a week's rest.

Brisbane hung in against the Cats for the first three quarters but the Lions will rue the way they played in the penultimate clash, with their dare, flair and line-breaking run missing. 

Gary Rohan booted three goals and Tom Hawkins also kicked two in a strong forward performance, while the Cats' midfield unit of Mitch Duncan (22 disposals), Sam Menegola (19) and Dangerfield (17) was also important. Tom Stewart in defence was also among the Cats' best. 

Nothing came off for the Lions, with Brownlow Medal favourite Lachie Neale (24 disposals, two goals) their best in a flat end to such a promising campaign. 

Geelong's early ascendancy set the tone but it took the Cats time to make the most of it.

The Lions, meanwhile, were steered by Charlie Cameron, whose two opening-quarter goals kept them within four points of the Cats at the first break despite a midfield masterclass that saw Geelong record 15 clearances to four.

Geelong could have blown the game apart in the second quarter but failed to capitalise on its opportunities. Hawkins got involved again, while a long-range snap to Rohan extended the Cats' lead to 21 points, before two against-the-play goals to Brisbane saw the Lions claw back within five points by half-time.

But it didn't tell the true story of the clash. Although Brisbane's engine room lifted in the second quarter, Geelong's experienced core had clearly taken the grip over the game at the coalface. 

The Cats had extended that lead to 18 points at the last change and could have had it sealed if not for the inaccuracy. Brisbane kept in the game in the last quarter, with Neale's second long-range bomb giving the Lions some hope in front of a rapturous home crowd. 

But Brisbane was left needing more, and Geelong was in no mood to let it happen. While grinding out the preliminary final win and holding Brisbane at bay, the Cats had one eye already on the Tigers with everything on the line. 

BRISBANE                         2.0       4.3       5.5     6.6 (42)
GEELONG                          2.5       4.8       7.11     11.16 (82)

GOALS
Brisbane: Cameron 2, Neale 2, Hipwood, Rayner 
Geelong: Rohan 3, Ablett 2, Hawkins 2, Miers, Tuohy, Parfitt, Henry

BEST
Brisbane: Neale, Rich, Lyons, Lester, Zorko
Geelong: Duncan, Stewart, Dangerfield, Ablett, Hawkins, Rohan

INJURIES
Brisbane: Darcy Gardiner (knee) replaced in selected side by Jack Payne, Birchall (hamstring) 
Geelong: Nil