Collingwood will meet Brisbane on the hallowed grounds of the MCG this Saturday for the 2023 AFL Grand Final, set to ignite fierce rivalries on and off the field.

The grand final has more than one local tie this year — former local boys Jack Ginnivan (Collingwood) and Kai Lohmann (Brisbane).

Lohmann, who started his footy career at Maryborough FNC and was drafted in 2021, won’t be taking to the field this Saturday after a broken collarbone ended his season early, but the young gun has already impressed, fending off rival clubs to sign on the with the Lions until at least 2025.

Ginnivan, however, is officially in the starting 22, announced last night. The former Newstead junior has been the tactical sub for both Collingwood’s finals and finished the season strong.

The pressure isn’t just mounting at the MCG though, with the Central Goldfields gearing up for a big weekend.

Molly Palmer and Ruby Adams have been best friends since birth, and while the girls say they are inseparable in nearly every way — attending school, playing netball at Maryborough, working and holidaying together — the grand final will shine a light on one of their only differences, their AFL teams.

“I’ve been going for Collingwood my whole life, my dad grew up with black and white stripes on his wall — it’s in my blood,” Molly said.

“I’d do anything to watch them win a grand final, I love watching them play. I was here when they last played a grand final in 2010 but I don’t really remember that.

“I’d prefer to win by a fair bit, they’ve given me a few heart attacks over the past few years with close games.”

For Ruby, her passion for the Lions started a little later in 2017, but she’s now a firm supporter, with her love for the side stemming from friend Jarrod Berry who was picked up by the Lions in the 2016 national draft.

“We’ve got a friend who plays for Brisbane, Jarrod. The boys are all really nice, they’re a good side and it was nice to see Lachie Neale win the Brownlow this week,” she said.

“I hope we win, it’ll be good for the boys, and I hope we win by a lot not just five points.”

The girls will be watching the game together this weekend, heading off on a camping trip with their families, but have already decided it’s probably best if they watch from separate caravans.

“Molly gets pretty crazy when she’s watching the footy, but I’ll be happy either way,” Ruby said.

“I won’t be happy either way,” Molly said.

Local family and life-long Collingwood supporters the Robinsons — parents Jarrod and Natasha, and sons Jake and Hayden — are eager to see their Pies bring home the goods for the first time since 2010.

“We’re a life-long family of supporters, parents and grand-parents, we’ve always followed them,” Jarrod said.

“Tash was Richmond but we converted her when we got married, and the boys have always been with Collingwood.”

Jarrod still has stand out memories of the 2010 and 1990 Collingwood premierships, but with his sons now older he’s looking forward to enjoying it as a family which they’ll do this Saturday in the backyard with friends.

“If they lose, I’ll have to ask my friends to go home early. If we win, they can stay,” Jarrod said.

“I cried when we won [the grand final] in 2010, I’m happy to admit it.”

Elsewhere around town, new traditions are being made — despite the distance between Maryborough and Brisbane, resident Henry Potter says there’s a strong local supporter base for the side, which now includes his nearly two-year-old son Theo, who was signed up at just a day and a half to keep him from the clutches of mum Zoe’s Richmond Tigers.

“I have no other Brisbane supporters in the family, but I have Theo now,” Henry said.

“He’s been a member since he was about a day and a half old. We were still in hospital, Zoe had just given birth and I thought I’d ring them up. He was not going to be a Richmond supporter. She didn’t have much say in that.

“He’s getting into it now, we were watching the replay last weekend and he was cheering when they scored a goal.”

Henry will be watching his beloved Lions in-person after scoring tickets to the big dance, and he’s hopeful Brisbane will get up over the Pies, but if not hopes the strong Lions outfit will find more success in the near future.

“It’s exciting, I unfortunately can’t take Theo to the game,” he said.

“Who knows what will happen. I just hope we beat Collingwood by a point, that’d be ideal.

“I was only a little pup [when they last played in a grand final], five or six I think. I’d like to see them win the next 10. The side is elite at the moment.”

For Collingwood’s part, the Pies enter the fray after a bitter defeat in the 2018 flag against West Coast.

The last time Collingwood claimed the title was in 2010 against St Kilda, which was a year for the history books as the two sides drew 68-all, and had to return the following weekend for a re-match.

On the other side of the coin, Brisbane have a torrid history with the big dance — playing fewer grand finals than the Pies, but the ones they did play were consecutive from 2001 to 2004, which included beating Collingwood back-to-back in 2002-03.