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Leigh Matthews calls out AFL move that dudded Sydney Swans in grand final loss to Lions

The Brisbane Lions legend reckons the Swans copped an unfair deal.

sam goodwin
Sports Editor
·4-min read

Leigh Matthews is a Brisbane Lions man through-and-through, but the AFL legend reckons the Swans copped an unfair disadvantage in Saturday's grand final. Sydney were the best team all season but were blown off the park by the Lions at the MCG, with John Longmire's men looking shell-shocked.

The Lions finished fifth on the AFL ladder and therefore had to play every week of the finals in elimination games. As for the Swans, they had a week off in between the qualifying and preliminary finals, and it appeared to show.

When you add in the fact all teams had a bye in the week after the end of the regular season, the Swans played just three times in five weeks. In contrast, the Lions played four times in four weeks and thrived off the high-pressure environment of cut-throat footy.

Leigh Matthews alongside Sydney Swans players.
Leigh Matthews (R) believes the Swans (L) were underdone as a result of the pre-finals bye. Image: Getty

Speaking on 'Footy Furnace' on Channel 9 on Sunday night, Matthews said it was unfair that the Swans finished first on the ladder, but had their momentum halted by the pre-finals bye. The Lions legend reckons Sydney were far more underdone than their Brisbane counterparts as a result, and didn't have a hard edge to them.

"There is a problem with our system all of a sudden," Matthews said. "There's a feeling now that because you've got the bye after the last home-and-away game, if you win the qualifying final and then the preliminary final, you're a bit soft preparation-wise going into the grand final. And that's not right."

Leigh Matthews, pictured here after presenting the premiership cup to the Lions.
Leigh Matthews presented the premiership cup to the Lions after the AFL grand final. (Photo by Josh Chadwick/AFL Photos/Getty Images)
Sydney Swans players, pictured here after the AFL grand final.
The Sydney Swans finished first on the ladder, but didn't show up on grand final day. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Fellow panellist Jimmy Bartel suggested the bye should be moved to the week before the grand final so the two teams are on more of a level playing field. Bartel pointed out that the Lions had mentioned before the grand final they preferred to keep playing rather than have weeks off.

The weeks off meant the Swans were theoretically fresher, although they were still hampered by injuries to the likes of Isaac Heeney and Logan McDonald. Tom Morris also pointed out that the Swans' preliminary final was rather "soft" as well, beating Port Adelaide by 36 points.

As for the Lions, they played every week of the finals and won by margins of 28, five and 10, before the 60-point blow-out against Sydney. Matthews added: "It should be that when you finish right up the top, your run into the grand final is the best because you've earned it."

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Meanwhile, Matthews has revealed what he said to Lions coach Chris Fagan during emotional scenes immediately after full-time. Fagan burst into tears as he embraced Matthews on the field, as the gravity of what he'd achieved started to sink in.

Fagan became the oldest coach to win a premiership in AFL/VFL history, and also the first to win a flag without playing at the top level. "I said to him before the game, 'You're a premiership coach and they've got to prove whether they're a premiership team',"Matthews revealed on Sunday night. "After the game, I said, 'You're a premiership coach and you've coached a premiership team'. That's all.

"You can be a premiership coach without actually winning premiership. I think he's a premiership coach and it just happened today he became one, but it doesn't mean he wasn't before that. He coaches the Lions and I'm on the board, but we've become good friends and I've got a lot of admiration for him. So, yeah, I'm so pleased for him."