BRISBANE started round seven in fifth position of the ladder. By the end of the round, the Lions were in second spot and had qualified for the Grand Final to take on the Western Bulldogs.

The Lions needed three results to go their way and were considered an unlikely chance of reaching their second consecutive Grand Final.

Despite that, they were celebrating on Sunday afternoon.

Brisbane did its part on Friday night, completely demolishing an overwhelmed Greater Western Sydney by 40 points.

The Giants had still been in contention for a Grand Final berth but struggled to hold back the surging Lions, who piled on six goals in the first quarter alone.

It was a disappointing end to the season for the Giants, who have improved drastically on last year when they finished bottom.

The second part of Brisbane's equation required the Western Bulldogs to defeat Melbourne, which they did in heartbreaking fashion for the Demons.

Brooke Lochland, the competition's newly crowned leading goalkicker, scored the winning goal in the last two minutes, consigning Melbourne to missing the Grand Final by percentage for a second year running.

The Demons' goalkicking once again hurt them – they kicked 4.7 to the Bulldogs' 5.3, failing to take advantage when they were kicking with the wind at Whitten Oval.

There was further bad news for Melbourne, with injury-prone midfielder Sarah Lampard tearing the ACL in her right knee in her comeback game from a hamstring injury.

It's the Demons' third ACL injury this season, with Ainslie Kemp and Melissa Hickey also sidelined.

The final, and most unlikely, portion of Brisbane's requirements happened on Sunday afternoon, when Collingwood upset reigning premier Adelaide.

The Crows would qualify for the Grand Final if they won, so they had everything to play for.

But a concussion to star defender and co-captain Chelsea Randall saw her sidelined for the second half, and the Crows struggled without her calming presence in defence.

Up until that point, Randall had been the Crows' best player, topping the disposal count with 14, all of which were kicks. 

Adelaide managed just two points in the second half, while Collingwood kicked five goals.

The ultra-competitive Randall was so keen to get back on to the field during the last quarter, she attempted to bolt behind the runner's back and onto the field and had to be taken back to her seat on the bench.

It was to no avail, as Collingwood kicked clear to win by 21 points, meaning Brisbane would take the second Grand Final spot.

Nervous wait

Bulldogs captain Katie Brennan made her long-awaited comeback from an ankle injury on Saturday night (albeit wearing a brace), but is no guarantee to play in the Grand Final – not because of her ankle, but due to a sling tackle.

The rough tackle on Demon Harriet Cordner came in the last quarter. Brennan slung the defender downwards, but released her before she hit the ground.

If Brennan is offered a reprimand, it will be her second for the season, which would draw an automatic one-match ban. She accepted a reprimand in round one after being cited for rough conduct against Fremantle’s Stephanie Cain.

The Grand Final details

The Western Bulldogs finished on top of the ladder, earning hosting rights for the Grand Final.

However, the game will not be played at the Bulldogs' home ground (VU Whitten Oval), with the AFL announcing the decider will be played at the bigger Ikon Park in Carlton.

The game was initially set to be played at 1.05pm EDST, but with the Lions’ AFL side playing St Kilda at nearby Etihad Stadium at 3.35pm, the AFLW Grand Final will now start at 12.35pm to allow Brisbane fans to get to Docklands in time for the start of the AFL clash.

Entry is free, but AFLW members of the competing clubs will have early access to the ground ahead of the general public.

Throwing off expectation

Bec Goddard was at her expansive best following Adelaide's last game of the season, detailing how players dealt with the expectation that comes with being a reigning premier.

"At the end of round two when we'd had those two really bad losses, we got our premiership group together and took our favourite photo from Grand Final day out to the end of Grange Jetty," Goddard said in her post-match press conference.

"We shoved it into a bottle and ‘Perko’ [forward Sarah Perkins] threw it out into the ocean on behalf of all of us.

"That's not because we had a premiership hangover. The girls certainly weren't drinking cocktails or martinis or anything like that … they were working their guts out.

"But with learning to be athletes comes that level of expectation, and they were carrying that weight of expectation around their necks…we needed to loosen the shackles [by] throwing it out there. We've always got the memories. They'll come back to us one day."

The unorthodox team exercise clearly worked for the Crows, who won three games and had one draw after Perkins threw that bottle out to sea, before losing to Collingwood in the final match.