BRISBANE has to take the long route again to reach a fourth consecutive Grand Final while Adelaide has more demons to banish even after securing a breakthrough finals win. 

The Lions will need to play four finals to seal a premiership three-peat – just as they did in the past two years – after their shock loss to the undermanned Sydney in a qualifying final. Chris Fagan's side has shown in the past it can bounce back quickly even from the most demoralising defeats, including when beaten by Geelong at the same stage last year. Brisbane can also point to a competition-wide record of all 12 teams to lose a qualifying final by 50 points or more this century recovering to win the next week. 

The Crows silenced their critics and gave coach Matthew Nicks' hopes of staying in the role a huge boost as they fought off a late Western Bulldogs challenge to win their elimination final. The finals victory was the Crows' first since 2017 and washed away some of the pain of their straight-sets exit as minor premiers last year.

But Adelaide has another hoodoo to snap this week after failing to beat Brisbane at the Gabba since 2018, and only winning two of their 10 meetings at any venue in that time, as it seeks to make a serious finals statement.

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