A year after a shoulder injury denied him a second AFL premiership medal, Horsham’s Jarrod Berry is back on top of the football world.

The Brisbane Lions won a third successive AFL premiership by defeating Fremantle on Saturday, while Berry made it a second in three years.

The tough midfielder played in the Lions’ 2024 premiership but ruled himself out of last season’s decider after dislocating his shoulder in the team’s preliminary final win.

In Saturday’s 14.12 (96) to 12.17 (89) grand final win against the Dockers, Berry had 17 disposals, five tackles and two inside 50s.

The Horsham Saints product was involved in a critical passage of play late in the game for the Lions, marking an inboard kick from team-mate Darcy Wilmott deep in defence before finding Lachie Neale with a pinpoint kick.

Neale’s subsequent kick went to Hugh McCluggage in the middle, and McCluggage sent a long kick to a one-on-one contest where Brisbane forward Logan Morris marked and converted to put the Lions ahead with little over a minute remaining.

While the result was a dream come true for Berry and the Lions, it was a hard luck story for another Wimmera footballer – Edenhope’s Oscar McDonald.

McDonald shouldered a heavy load in Fremantle’s defence after Docker captain Alex Pearce left the game with an achilles injury.

Playing for his third AFL club after being delisted at Melbourne and Carlton, McDonald had a game-high four intercept marks and lost only one of his contested defensive one-on-one battles for the afternoon.

Unfortunately for the 30-year-old, his one loss was to Morris late in the game.

The entire September 30, 2026 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!