BRISBANE will take advantage of every bit of inside knowledge it has on Carlton ahead of Sunday's AFL Women's semi-final in Melbourne – and it has plenty to draw on.
Lauren Arnell spent two years at the Blues, including being their inaugural captain, before being delisted at the end of 2018, and knows many current players well.
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On the flipside, Carlton spearhead Tayla Harris played in Brisbane's 2017 Grand Final loss to Adelaide and is still best mates with Lions midfielder Ally Anderson.
Brisbane captain Emma Zielke said her team was excited ahead of its trip to Ikon Park, believing the "foundation eight" that played alongside Harris in that decider would bring a sense of calm to the big occasion.
"We've got a young side so having as much experience as we have with the foundation group is vital," Zielke said.
"We can get around those younger girls who haven't played in a finals series before and pass on our knowledge."
She said Arnell, who will play her 25th AFLW game, had been a big help since Thursday's announcement of the match-up.
"She's been great, sending through updates about players and things to look out for," Zielke said.
"It's been a huge help and will keep doing that in the build-up to the game."
Harris, who grew up in Brisbane and has turned into one of the competition's stars, is well on the Lions' radar and a likely opponent for All Australian defender Kate Lutkins.
Zielke said Anderson had given the Lions "all the goss" on Harris, who they expect to crash every pack and launch at every marking contest.
Brisbane finished third in Conference A, but enter the final on the back of successive losses to Fremantle and Collingwood.
"We've addressed the habits we were (good at) in the first couple of rounds," Zielke said.
"All the great habits; moving the footy well, shifting lanes, we've discussed more about our style than theirs and want to work on why we even got ourselves into the position of third on the ladder in the first place.
"We have to take the good from those games … the last two weeks we've had some good learning points, so hopefully we can address that this weekend."
