Brisbane spearhead Joe Daniher has propelled his team into an AFL preliminary final, scoring the last two goals of a thrilling five-point victory over GWS at Engie Stadium.

Trailing by 44 points, last year’s grand finalists delivered a four-goal third-quarter surge, before Daniher narrowed the gap to just one point in the final term on Saturday.

With less than two minutes remaining in front of 18,357 fans, Daniher outmuscled Sam Taylor and marked inside 50, kicking truly to seal the 15.15 (105) to 15.10 (100) win.

The Lions will face Geelong in the preliminary final at the MCG, while the Giants’ quest for their first premiership this year comes to an end.

With Lachie Neale struggling against Toby Bedford’s tag, Jarrod Berry (27 disposals) and Will Ashcroft (27) stepped up in the midfield.

Dayne Zorko (two goals, 25 disposals) also excelled, while Charlie Cameron and Kai Lohmann each kicked two goals alongside Daniher’s tally of four.

Neale finished with 19 disposals and seven clearances, after Bedford restricted the two-time Brownlow medallist to four touches and three clearances by quarter-time.

Jesse Hogan was outstanding for GWS, kicking five goals, while Tom Green (33 possessions) worked tirelessly to resist the challenge.

Bedford, returning to action after missing their qualifying final due to a calf issue, made an immediate impact.

The highly regarded Giants tagger, linking up with midfielder Josh Kelly, burst through the corridor to set up Aaron Cadman for the match’s opening goal.

Daniher bested Taylor for Brisbane’s first goal, before Giants captain Toby Greene responded in spectacular fashion to ignite a four-goal sequence.

Daniher then reduced the 21-point deficit with his second goal after Isaac Cumming was penalised for holding the ball just in front of goal, leaving a 10-point difference at quarter-time.

Giants midfield dynamo Stephen Coniglio was substituted with a cheekbone injury following a heavy blow to the head as Harris Andrews attempted to prevent Cadman from taking a mark.

Xavier O’Halloran joined the action in the second term to replace Coniglio as the Giants rebuilt their 21-point lead.

A poor handpass from Neale landed in the hands of Kieren Briggs, and the GWS ruckman slotted a rare goal to start the third term.

The hosts surged to a game-high 44-point lead, before the Lions mounted a comeback with five unanswered goals in less than eight minutes.