Darcy Fort gets nod for Lions but Swans’ Taylor Adams suffers AFL grand final heartbreak

Brisbane ruck Darcy Fort has earned a shot at AFL grand final glory after replacing the injured Oscar McInerney in the Lions’ side to face Sydney on Saturday, while the Swans have named forward Logan McDonald for his first premiership decider.

But there is more heartbreak for Swans recruit Taylor Adams, as well as captain Callum Mills, as the teams for the showdown at the MCG were confirmed on Thursday night.

Fort won the battle with emerging tall Henry Smith to take McInerney’s spot in the Lions’ grand final team despite playing the last of his two matches this season in round seven. The combative ruck joined Brisbane ahead of the 2022 season and played 27 times for his second club after eight matches with Geelong, but has mostly been on the outer this year.

The 31-year-old will have big boots to fill standing in for McInerney after the Lions’ first-choice ruck twice dislocated his shoulder in their come-from-behind preliminary final win over the Cats last Saturday. The 204cm Fort will now play a critical role combatting Swans ruck Brodie Grundy while allowing Joe Daniher to spend more time closer to goal.

Fort impressed in his only previous final when playing in place of a concussed McInerney against Melbourne and their captain Max Gawn in the 2022 semi-final when the Lions overran the Demons in the last term.

McDonald will line up for the Swans on Saturday after being dropped from the team that was thumped by the Cats in the 2022 grand final. The Swans recalled forward-ruck Hayden McLean for that decider with veteran tall Sam Reid under an injury cloud. Coach John Longmire later conceded that it was a “mistake” to risk Reid against the Cats, in a decision that arguably has had far-reaching consequences as the Swans return to the grand final stage.

The 22-year-old McDonald was substituted out of Sydney’s preliminary final victory over Port Adelaide last Friday night after rolling an ankle just before the last change. The key forward skipped training on Sunday before joining in the Swans’ main session on Wednesday in a bid to prove his fitness.

The Swans will go into the grand final unchanged from the side that eased past the Power at the SCG to book their spot in the flag decider, with the versatile Robbie Fox again selected ahead of Adams. The 30-year-old Adams has not even been named as an emergency after playing 19 matches during his first season with the Swans before missing out on a spot in all three of their finals teams.

Adams is again a hard-luck story in the lead in to the grand final after the midfielder missed out on being part of the Collingwood premiership-winning campaign last year due to a hamstring strain sustained in the qualifying final. The Swans had already made the gut-wrenching decision not to recall Mills after training on Wednesday, despite their skipper showing few signs of the hamstring injury that he sustained on 10 September.