HAWTHORN is out to reach its first Grand Final since 2015 and at the same time end Brisbane's hopes of claiming a premiership three-peat.
Hawthorn and Brisbane meet in a final for the first time with a place in the decider up for grabs. The Hawks are arguably the form side of the competition after they rolled over Fremantle on the road to book a home preliminary final, while only losing once in their past eight matches.
But that sole defeat was a hefty one and came against the Lions to leave coach Sam Mitchell with many lessons to be learned before the Hawks aim to reach a first decider in 11 seasons.
The Lions are into their fifth consecutive preliminary final and their sixth in seven years as they continue their campaign for a third straight premiership. Just as in the past two seasons when they went on to win the flag, Chris Fagan's side will have to navigate a Saturday twilight preliminary final at the MCG to book a return trip for the following weekend.
The Lions showed signs of finals fatigue as they were dismantled by the undermanned Sydney before their irrepressible best was back on display as they made light work of Adelaide.
With a three-match winning streak against the Hawks and eight victories in their past 10 trips to the MCG, the Lions should be full of confidence as they return to familiar territory.
Follow all the action in our live blog below.