No less than three teams in the last decade have gone on to win the grand final despite losing to their grand final opponent in the first week of finals.
In 2003, the mighty Brisbane Lions were able to win their third flag in a row when they thrashed Collingwood by 50 points on grand final day. This was a remarkable turn around after the Lions were comfortably beaten by Pies in the qualifying final to the tune of 15 points, the exact margin Fremantle defeated the Cats by 10 years later.
In 2005, Sydney and the Eagles played out a thriller that saw the Eagles triumph by four points. Fast forward three weeks later and the Swans turned the tables to beat the Eagles by the same margin on grand final day.
In 2006, again the Eagles and Swans played out a tense qualifying final with the Swans triumphing at Subiaco by 1 point. The two teams would then go on to meet on grand final day with the Eagles tipping the tables to take out a famous one point premiership victory.
Whilst the Cats will still need to get through Port Adelaide this week, followed by a tantilising preliminary final match with Hawthorn, should everything go their way, history may smile on them on the grandest stage.
