Review Round 1 Report - Brisbane Lions @ Gabba, 27/03/2010

Match Report: Brisbane Lions vs West Coast Eagles,
Season 2010, Round 1.
Venue: Gabba
Date: 27/03/2010

Déjà vu.

That is the easiest way to sum things up. The exact same Saturday last year we played at the same time, in the same place, against the same opposition and received the same result through a similar series of events.

Last year's report can be found here: http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=557208

Maybe that is why it is so frustrating. We were not the favourites coming into the game but worked ourselves into a winnable position, only to let it slip by conceding five goals in less than ten minutes during the final quarter.

After moving during last year it was no longer a viable option to make use of the (in)convenience of public transport in Brisbane in order to get to the ground, so we had to drive there instead.
Unfortunately Woolloongabba Oval has effectively no parking options so we had to try and find a suitable place elsewhere. Initially we found a spot in the car park of the shopping centre nearby, only to find after getting out of the car great big signs stating that all cars in the carpark after 8pm will be towed. Not wanting to return from the game to find the car towed, we spent the next 15 minutes rat-running through the back streets of Woolloongabba looking for an available place to park that wouldn’t get a ticket.
After finally finding an appropriate spot, we joined up with the lines of supporters making their way to the great stadium that is the Gabba.
Despite the delays we got to our seats 30 minutes before scheduled kickoff. Very well placed with a fantastic view of the ground from the front row of the second tier at the eastern (away) end behind the goals. The gf had bought the tickets as my birthday present as was last year. Déjà vu again.

Similarly to last year there was almost no crowd in the stadium as of yet, so we took the opportunity to get drinks and stale (used to be hot last season) chips with copious amounts of sauce to drown them into being palatable before the queuing masses arrived.


The Gabba at evening under lights




When we got back to our seats, the ground was being paraded by a lap of honour for each of the junior club premiers of 2009 in the Qld regional leagues – just had been done a year before. One club, an U14s side whom I can’t recall the name of had a huge African looking guy who must’ve stood easily over 190cm, dwarfing everyone else doing the lap. He had also brought a footy with him, laconically bouncing it every now and again and then proceeded to slot it straight through the goalposts from 40 metres out, 45 degree angle, barefoot. Have to find out now who he was, it just oozed pure, raw talent.

Shortly after the juniors cleared the ground, the Eagles emerged from the rooms for their pre-match warm-up, followed by the Lions soon after.

Despite hearing rumours of Mitch Clark possibly being a late omission for Brisbane, no changes had been made to either team from those listed earlier in the week. With the Eagles down our end of the ground, it was a good opportunity to see some new faces and how the boys had developed in the offseason.

The first thing that was clearly noticeable was that they were wearing the new white clash jersey. To be honest, I’m still not entirely sold on the white strip. Thought there was little need to wear it as the blue jersey doesn’t clash with the maroon of the Lions. Additionally I think it looks too much like Hawthorn’s clash strip as well. The second thing to be noticed was how much bigger the bodies are this year compared to last – we are going to be far less likely to be pushed or bumped off contests this year in contrast to last season. Naita and Schuey are both huge for second year players which can only help fast-track their development.
All in all everyone looked in good shape – there was some concern for a moment amongst fans when Hurn got some treatment on his hamstrings by the medical staff for a good five minutes but it must have been just for precautionary purposes as he soon rejoined the group doing running drills. I suppose it’s fair enough when you have thighs that big that you require two medical staff to rub them down.

Goal kicking drills looked pretty good; Kennedy in particular was sending many straight through from 50-55 out around the arc. Lynch knowing his deficiencies, was taking set shots from 30 metres out but still ended up stabbing the kick rather than kicking through the ball, and as a result spraying many of them. There was a slightly comical moment when the coaching staff called the group together towards the centre square whilst Lynch was taking a shot from 35 metres out in front that ended up fading through for a behind. Not happy with the result, he ran to the goalsquare to get the same ball from the practice nets and sprinted back to the spot from where he had just missed from so he could have another shot before joining the group. It was like the under-12s when the kids feel that they have to kick the goal before going to the huddle. The kick went straight through the goals and over the nets where it almost knocked out some poor woman when it hit her in the face. Lynch looked visibly pleased with the result.

As for Brisbane, it was difficult to tell too much with them so far away at the other end of the ground. They looked strong. As a team they were far more mature-bodied than West Coast. Jono Brown after going through his first uninterrupted preseason in about five years looked more streamlined from last year, and also looked like he had regained a yard or so more pace which was a worrying prospect when considering that Fevola would be quicker on the lead than any of our key defenders with the possible exception of Mitch Brown. To suppose that J.Brown could do similar was something that I was trying not to think about, as if it were to happen things could get very ugly. Fevola looked like a man that wanted to prove not just something to his new club but also the Brisbane fans as well. You got the feeling that he was either going to dominate and tear the game apart or let the nerves get the better of him and his performance. Tried to keep an eye out for Staker but wasn’t able to see much other than a few kicks from about 40 metres out that went through the goals quite impressively. I couldn’t help but to think briefly as to where those skills were last year.

Both sets of players then made way to receive their final words of inspiration from the respective coaching staffs and allow time for the banners to be raised. The Eagles emerged first and took little time to run through the banner, with Kerr leading much as he did last year and Waters close behind. The Lions then came out to a generous cheer as the stadium was now more than half full with plenty of late-comers finding their way to their seats. They burst through the banner with captain Jono Brown leading the way and rallying them to the western end of the ground where the majority of Lions fans were sitting.


Through the banners...

Further photos from the pre-match warm up... (notice how Kennedy is set into a trance by the size of Hurn's thighs )








Lynch after kicking a ball into a spectators face...

The two captains then broke away from the light drills being conducted by their respective squads to conduct the toss of the coin in the centre square with the umpires. Brown won, and it was decided that the Lions would be kicking towards the western end.

Some idiot radio announcer kept coming on also trying to rev up the crowd into the LIIIIIONS LIIIIIONS chant but nobody joined in. There was actually an audible groan from the crowd – a collective cringe from the Lions supporters that are embarrassed to have that as something to be apparently proud of. Still it did not discourage the gimp and he continued to try the same thing throughout the night after Brisbane kicked goals – each time getting the same failed result.

In regard to the conditions, the temperature in Brisbane had maxed at 29C during the day and it had been overcast throughout with the threat of showers. At 7:10pm local time when the sirens were roaring to signify the commencement of the game it was still 25C. However what made things feel warmer was the lack of a breeze and the humidity sitting above 70%. I was already regretting the decision to wear pants rather than shorts and had the unsightly sweatmarks to prove it. The match was yet to start but you could see there already was dew on the grass. It was going to be slippery and clean use of the ball would be decisive to the result.

Players took their positions in preparation for the opening bounce, with the crowd keen to see how the matchups would line up, as there had been much interest prior to this game in how the teams would try to contain each other. How would the Eagles counter the fantasy football combination of Brown and Fevola up forward for Brisbane? What tactics would the Lions use against the formidable pairing of Cox and Naitanui in the ruck? Would the young talents in Rich and Masten go head to head on each other? How would Brisbane approach Mark LeCras, after he kicked six against them last year in a dominant display up forward?

The first thing that was clearly noticeable was Naitanui was in the square as first choice ruck for the Eagles, with Cox on the bench. Obviously with the humid, draining conditions the coaching staff for the Eagles were going to try and protect Cox as much as possible and use him more of an impact player given his limited preseason. That would mean a huge workload on Naita for the night against two players whom cover the ground very well and have arguably a superior aerobic capacity in Clark and Leuenberger. Both teams in the midfield seemed to be putting an emphasis upon attack with only Adam Selwood looking to be used for a negating role, tagging Black. Kerr no doubt would have been very pleased by this, not having to deal with Adam’s twin brother Troy given his poor history when being tagged by him. The midfield was going to be a shootout.

Down back, Glass took the full back position on Fevola whilst Mackenzie had the formidable role of trying to keep Jono Brown quiet. It was a huge mismatch – J.Brown looked like he could snap poor Mackenzie in half, if he were to get isolated one-out in marking contests there will be goals aplenty for Brisbane. B.Jones was marked on Staker whilst M.Brown was zoning off in space in order to cut off potential leads.

At the other end of the ground, Lynch had moved to the goalsquare as full forward where Merrett had taken the job on him. Kennedy was at CHF and manned up upon by Maguire, playing in his first game for the Lions since coming up from St Kilda. It looked like a mismatch, Kennedy had a lot of size upon Maguire and I was hopeful that he would be able to exploit it. Debutant Schuey went into the forward pocket where he got picked up by Adcock, whom was playing deeper than I had expected. LeCras, whom proved far too agile for Patfull last year was lined up upon by McGrath whom was giving away much in height and reach, but would have the advantage when the ball was at ground level. Patfull, whom played much of last season at centre half back, was found much further up the ground in a tagging role upon Embley.


So the players had lined up and the crowd were in strong voice (much more so than last year) and waiting for the umpires to make the opening bounce to their seasons. Would the Lions’ much talked about forward line work? Would the twin presences of Brown and Fevola compete with or complement each other? These questions had been asked since trade week and would be answered at least to some extent tonight...

Opening bounce




It took 22 seconds to get the first response.

The opening bounce was terrible from the umpire, and gave neither ruckman a real chance at the ball. Clark made less of an attempt at the ball than at the body of Naitanui, whom was able to recover and make a second effort to get the ball out, only to see it be intercepted by Black whom punted it forward where it was marked in front by former Swan Districts player Banfield, on debut for the Lions. He played on quickly and found Fevola on the lead towards the pocket, well ahead of Glass. It was an ominous start. A strangled groan seemed to come from the away supporters – it was a realisation that if we were to gain anything from this match we would have to play extremely well, because unlike last year it seemed that Brisbane were up for it from the start. Luckily the shot sprayed across the face of goal much to the disappointment of the Brisbane fans, to whom Fevola has already become a cult figure and were eagerly awaiting the chance to celebrate his first goal in the maroon jersey.

The other fortunate thing about the miss was that the ball was now in the hands of the best kick in the competition – Shannon Hurn. A pinpoint 60 metre pass found LeCras whom was able to offload a handball to Ebert, running up the southern wing before finding Lynch on the lead in front of Merrett 80 metres out. Lynch turned and played on quickly bombing toward the goalsquare where Luke Schuey had lost his man and was able to mark uncontested just ten metres from goal. The Eagles had gone coast-to-coast from the kick-in and Schuey was having a shot on goal less than two minutes into his AFL career. He held his nerve and slotted it comfortably, was mobbed by teammates wanting to congratulate him, and joined the club of players that have kicked a goal with their very first kick in AFL.


Schuey takes the first kick of his AFL career...




And is congratulated by his teammates




It was the perfect response. Any nervous feelings amongst the Eagles appeared to be settled and they believed they could cause an upset.
Two minutes later Naitanui won the ball out of the pack in a way that only he can to Priddis whom then handballed to Embley whom was able to hit Kennedy on the lead to have a shot at goal from just short of fifty at a 45 degree angle. It never looked like missing and suddenly we were up by two goals with our tails up.

The Eagles appeared to be gaining ascendancy with the tactics as well. They were playing a zone deployed well up the ground between half forward and the centre square, with the smaller forwards joining the midfield in filling in the gaps. In fact I can’t recall seeing a zone defence continuously being deployed so far up the ground in AFL. Dare I say it, but it was almost like when a team uses a full-court press in basketball and it was causing Brisbane severe problems when trying to get forward, particularly out of defence.
However due to its location so far up the ground, whenever the zone was broken Brisbane had the opportunity to counter quickly and find the Eagles’ defence outnumbered and on the back foot.

And so it was when Swift had the ball 75 metres out and rather than kick to LeCras’s lead decided to go across the ground and turned it over poorly to Adcock in metres of space by himself. Adcock handballed to the onrunning Drummond whom then played a one-two handpass with Leuenberger before kicking from 65 metres out and bouncing the ball through the vacant square for a goal. It was a terrible unnecessary turnover that was punished to full effect.

The following centre bounce had some Naitanui magic. Seeing the Clark was more concerned about making body contact than with getting his hands to the ball, Naita simply plucked the ball out of the air and sprinted out of the pack kicking long into the forward fifty. If it wasn’t for a bad fumble by Nicoski it would have been another goal as Lynch was alone in space in the goalsquare, however Brisbane were able to clear and it wasn’t to be.

Poor disposal in the slippery conditions was hurting West Coast. Every time a kick was off target or a handball misguided it seemed that the Lions were going to punish them for it. Down back Waters and Jones were pushing up into the zone whilst M.Brown and Hurn were being used to block the leads of J.Brown and Fevola respectively. With the ball coming in so quickly after a turnover though the leads were unable to be blocked effectively so Brisbane looked like a threat every time they went forward. The Eagles were winning the majority of the ball but Brisbane were just far more clinical getting it forward.

Yet it was Brisbane getting the ball forward that was producing the most fluent attacking forays from the Eagles. Rich had just narrowly missed a running shot from 55 metres out which provided Hurn with the opportunity to kick-in quickly and pinpoint Masten at halfback in the centre corridor. Masten played on quickly to find Nicoski whom banged a terrific 65 metre pass to hit Kennedy on the chest in acres of space near the fifty arc whom handballed inboard to the running Ebert whom could have ran into the goalsquare but just squeezed it from 30 metres out. It took less than twenty seconds between Rich kicking a point and Ebert kicking a goal at the other end. It was beautiful; an obvious set play executed perfectly and silenced the home support. Brisbane had kicked three behinds and the Eagles had gone coast-to-coast from two of the proceeding kick-ins.
Brisbane were deploying a zonal defence also but it was not as coherent as that in use by their opponents. The Brisbane zone had did not utilise as many players as that of the Eagles and against kick-ins seemed to be made up of two groups of players blocking space across half back and the centre square respectively. The Eagles were negating the Brisbane zone by using Hurn to kick long over the Lions’ defensive group at half back and then going to the wings to bypass the group in the centre of the ground and kicking long from there into the fifty leaving the defence scrambling.

Play continued in a similar manner. Staker took a strong mark in the pocket but was unable to kick his first goal for the Lions. J.Brown easily outmuscled Mackenzie to mark but missed a goal he would be expected to kick and from the ensuing kick-in Ebert ended up with another opportunity to goal only to be slung off the kick by a great last ditch tackle from Rischitelli.

Naitanui was dominating the ruck. Whether up against Clark or Leuenberger he would just jump over them and tap it to the advantage of his teammates. From a throw-in on the northern side of the ground between wing and half forward Naita tapped beautifully behind himself straight down the throat of Kerr moving at speed and kicking long into fifty to the advantage of Lynch whom had double-backed on his lead and ran onto it and despite a fumble, he was able to snap across himself to score the Eagle’s fourth for the term and increase the margin to fourteen points.

With Naitanui so decisive in the ruck, the Eagles were starting gain ascendancy in the clearances, which was turning into forward pressure.
Embley was found in space on the wing and he was able to find LeCras backing into the contest and taking a very good, brave mark where if the two Lions defenders had not made contact with each other he would have been crunched by both of them. With LeCras 30 metres out directly in front we already had it penned in for a goal but much to our surprise and disappointment the kick started well left and stayed there.

The opportunities were coming but they were not being taken.
Brisbane then again counter attacked after some sloppy disposal in the middle and kicked towards Fevola within fifty who was able to recover quicker than Glass from the contest and snapped to kick a behind when he had far more time to take the kick than he had thought.

From the kick-in Hurn found McGinnity whom proceeded to attempt a short kick up the corridor when targets were free out on the wing. The kick was well intercepted by Drummond whom kicked long and accurately to find Banfield ten metres out without an opponent to kick a very easy goal just seconds before the sirens rang to end the quarter. It was a poor mistake going for an unnecessary option when there was very little time left that got rightfully punished.

The margin was just eight points and both of Brisbane’s goals had come directly from turnovers made by the Eagles. Include the misses by Ebert and LeCras and Eagles fans were disappointed that the margin was not greater. However we all knew that if Brisbane had kicked straight, we probably would be trailing despite having the better of the midfield battle. Brown and Fevola, both known as being accurate goalkickers, had combined for a total of 0.4. It was surely doubtful they would continue to be so inaccurate all night.

Quarter time score:
Brisbane Lions: 2.6 18
West Coast Eagles: 4.2 26

The break for quarter time passed quickly, and many Lions supporters were caught still out of their seats, missing one of the highlights they had turned up to see – Fevola kicking his first goal for Brisbane.

From the opening bounce Naitanui won the tap decisively but it was read best by Power who kicked it straight down the ground where it was met by Fevola on the led ahead of Glass thirty metres out straight in front. After missing two gettable shots in the opening term, he was making no mistake with this one and put it through to the crowds’ and his teammates’ delight.

Both teams retained similar setups for the second quarter, despite Buchanan injuring his hand after a marking contest late in the first quarter and failing to return.


Patfull marking Embley




Play continued to be at a very high tempo considering the conditions, and soon Kerr whom was the most damaging midfielder on the ground had gained possession again on the southern wing and fed Ebert running inside whom was able to hit LeCras well on the lead 50 metres out on 45 degree angle. The kick was great and never looked like missing to restore the margin back to 14 points.

Brisbane responded again quickly with Drummond winning the ball well at half back and pinpointing Black whom was able to quickly offload to Raines to kick towards Jono Brown with a paddock to himself after losing Mackenzie far too easily. Glass zoned off Fevola to force a contest but it was too late and Brown took the mark well forty metres out with little angle. Glass seemed to be having words with the umpire over some matter, nothing heated but then it was signalled for a fifty metre penalty! WTF?! Glass didn’t do anything, you cannot give that as fifty! We in the crowd were mostly unaware that the penalty had been paid against the drinks runner for encroaching upon Brown’s space, which despite being harsh was a fair enough ruling according to the rules of the game. Brown was taken to the goalsquare where he belted the ball through and into upper reaches of the second tier to notch up his first for the evening.

The Eagles were starting to look shaky – the dominance in the midfield they had enjoyed during the first quarter had evaporated and the Lions were tackling harder and starting to win the hard ball. Staker butchered a shot to barely register a behind, prompting a small group of Eagles’ supporters to cue the mocking chant There’s only one Brent Staker.

Brisbane had now changed their gameplan slightly and it was having the desired effect. The zone had been abandoned in favour of man-on-man marking when West Coast were kicking in, and as a result the easy outlets found by the Eagles in the first term started to dry up. Additionally the small forwards for Brisbane began pushing deep in to the midfield to gain greater numbers around stoppages where the Eagles had been outmatching the Lions. The added benefit of this for Brisbane was that the smaller defenders from West Coast would have to follow them up the ground to prevent them running amok unmarked in the midfield which would free J.Brown and Fevola to become isolated one-out with their markers more often.

Banfield was having an impressive debut and gained possession in the centre square before kicking long to the fat side of the ground, a tactic that Brisbane were employing to good effect to stretch the defence of the Eagles even further. Whenever the ball was won out from halfback, it was quickly switched into the space on the fat side of the ground where the corresponding HFF for that side of the ground was already waiting. In this instance Sherman had run hard to get to the kick which was misdirected, won the ball well in the ensuing contest and found J.Brown on the lead 25 metres out from goal whom was now well on top of Mackenzie and looking dangerous anytime the ball came near him. The goal was kicked and Brisbane were in front.

Brisbane were able to repeatedly breakout from halfback with Drummond, Brennan and Johnstone the chief architects. Only superb spoils from Glass upon J.Brown after running off from Fevola and then Hurn upon Fevola when he was otherwise unattended prevented further goals.
Staker who was playing his role well as third tall without finishing off took an uncontested mark within forward fifty, this time just 30 metres out without any angle. The goal should have been a formality but it was Brent Staker and he managed to shank the kick for a behind much to the jeering delight (and relief) of the Eagles fans camped behind the goals.


There’s only one Brent Staker .




If West Coast were to stay in the game and not get blown away players needed to stand up and start breaking the game open. Luckily when the time came the call was answered and Nicholas Naitanui put his hand up in his 11th AFL game to swing things back in the Eagles’ favour.

For the first time in the match both Cox and Naita were on the ground at the same time rather than one coming on and substituting for the other. Cox won a ruck tap well near the half forward flank that was brilliantly roved by Naita whom then accelerated away from the pack and kicked truly from 45 metres out to put the Eagles back in front by the smallest of margins.
Embley then should have done better than kick a behind from an attack that was setup by a clever knock on by Naitanui that won’t go down as a possession on the statsheet.

Every time he was near the ball something looked likely to happen. A minute later he lost the tap in the ruck contest with Leuenberger deep in the Eagles forward fifty but followed it up with a great second effort to win the hard ball and get it out to McGinnity to kick on the run and goal from 35 metres out and give his side some breathing space.

Brisbane still remained a constant threat up forward however and Fevola was found isolated again on the lead near the pocket. Fortunately for Eagles supporters, Fev kicked across the face of goal again to register a behind, taking his tally to 1.3.

Banfield then roved well off a Naitanui ruck tap just like he used to for Swan Districts when they were teammates and hit Fevola on the lead again to be kicking from 55 metres out on a 60 degree angle to goal. The kick started right and stayed there but also dropped short, forcing a contest near the goalsquare. Instead of punching the ball over for a behind, the defence fisted the ball forward where it was gathered by Power in front and centre to kick easily from five metres out. It was a poor piece of defending both by the talls who failed to dispose of the spoil correctly and by the smalls who left Power completely unchecked whilst not getting into the right zones for spillages themselves.

There was still time enough in the quarter for Embley to snare another behind before the sirens rang for half time, leaving West Coast with a flimsy two point lead.

Half time score:
Brisbane Lions: 6.10 46
West Coast Eagles: 7.6 48


We were in front and playing well (far better than we did in the corresponding fixture last year, despite the conditions), but you just got the feeling that Brisbane still had another couple of gears within them that could take the game away at any time.

The halftime break did not last long as I preoccupied myself with the choices available to eat whilst at the ‘Gabba. I settled for the fish and chips – the fish was overcooked with batter too thick but at least the chips were surprisingly good. The gf went for the ‘superdog’ which turned out to be anything but super. It was a reject sausage in a bun and that’s it. The bun was not even buttered or sauced – instead you got one of those travel squeezy tomato sauce packets which you had to pay extra for. It tasted as bad as it looked too. All I can say is at least somehow we didn’t get food poisoning.

The Eagles had changed things up forward to start the second half. M.Brown was at full forward whilst Lynch was positioned more towards the half forward flank. Brisbane looked to have retained the setup they had used from the previous quarter.

The quarter started as an arm wrestle. Neither team were able to win the ball decisively, nor punish the other for its mistakes to full effect.

Sherman missed a breakaway chance for the Lions followed by Nicoski and M.Brown missing gettable shots for West Coast. It was not until almost the tenth minute of the quarter that the first goal was registered. Waters was paid the free kick at half back and made the switch to McGinnity whom kicked on quickly to find Ebert in space on the northern wing. Ebert then kicked to Selwood who was able to offload quickly to Masten running on the inside to kick long to the goalsquare where Kennedy was isolated against Maguire one-out. Kennedy read the flight of the ball better and made good use of his larger body to take the mark easily. Kicking from just ten metres out, he booted it home for his second and it was clear that the Eagles were not going to roll over in the third like last year.

Both teams were getting chances but were being foiled by excellent defending and / or poor disposal. Butler received within his own defensive fifty and played on the handball which completely missed its target in Schuey and looked to be another turnover goal conversion for Brisbane, but Schuey dived into the contest, won the hard ball and was able to get the handball back out to Butler whom made amends for his earlier mistake with a great kick to find Cox unattended on the northern wing, whom in turn played on quickly to Nicoski whom hit Lynch well on the lead 45 metres out on 45 degree angle. The glove came off and the kick moved left to right and sailed through for his second goal of the night to put the Eagles 15 points in front .


Lynch and LeCras manned by Merrett and McGrath up forward.




Then a key move was made by the Lions. Brennan who had been playing well going head-to-head against Kerr was moved into a tag on Naitanui to quell his input at stoppages and test him going the other way. The impact of the move killed the momentum that the Eagles were just starting to get a roll onto as the clearances started to dry up and Brisbane began to assert themselves upon the centre corridor.

Around the same time Adcock, whom in tandem with McGrath had done a great job in containing LeCras, was rushed off the ground with what appeared to be an ankle injury of some sort. With Adcock unavailable, Staker was shifted down back and Clark went up forward as the third tall.
From a boundary throw-in in the attacking pocket for Brisbane Leuenberger was able to take it straight out of the ruck and handball to find Power unmarked at the back of the pack. Power then took the ball towards the boundary and kicked a metre in from it, 45 metres out on his left foot in the wrong pocket for a left foot kick to incredibly kick a goal in an amazing piece of individual skill.

Fevola then had two chances to narrow the margin yet further, taking a strong mark in the pocket after beating Glass on the lead again. Unfortunately for Fevola (and luckily for the Eagles) he kept his poor goal kicking form in this game and for a behind from 45 metres out. Jono Brown was dominant and teeing Fev up with chances, but he just was not able to take them.

From the ensuing kick-in, Hurn pinged it 55 metres to hit Priddis on the chest whom played on and kicked down the northern wing to find Lynch in space. Lynch then played on quickly also and bombed it 70 metres into the fifty to no specific target but Embley was able to read it best and took the grab out of the pack 35 metres out directly in front of goal. He made no mistake from the kick and converted it to put the Eagles back to 14 points in front.
Not long after however, Maguire at half back found the running Power who was starting to burn off Butler in particular and McGinnity and kicked toward J.Brown where the contest was well spoilt well by Mackenzie, but unfortunately straight to Johnstone whom was able to hit Fevola with a perfect short pass that gave Glass no opportunity to spoil. This time from 45 metres out Fevola made no mistake and put it through to put the pressure back on the Eagles.

The home support were right behind their new star and were starting to get into full voice. Fevola was looking too agile for Glass and seemed to be getting more and more menacing the longer the game went on. Less than two minutes later he had marked out in front again, leading to the pocket on the northern side of the ground and kicking near to where he just slotted from. The kick however, rather than going through for his third, was shanked wildly and it floated harmlessly out of bounds on the full.
The forward line for West Coast was breaking down as the midfield lost control of the central corridor to Brisbane. Kennedy who had the better of Maguire was now forced further up the ground in search of the ball, undermining his threat to the goals. With Kennedy up near the wing, Lynch was forced to move up from full forward in order to provide a contest against the Brisbane halfback line and prevent them from taking uncontested marks and rebounding the ball out easily. This however left no forward targets to kick to within the attacking fifty for the Eagles which caused any forward forays to lack cohesion and end up as essentially kick long and hope for the best. When kicks are directed to a debutant midfielder whom has alongside him one of the best full backs in the league, something is not going right up forward.

Unfortunately due to the limitations of the squad, for the Eagles there is no ‘Plan B’. It is live and die by the clearances and possession of the centre corridor. With only one strong marking tall in Kennedy, the number of options to base a game around is narrowed. Brisbane however with the luxury of two elite key forwards can be a lot more flexible in the way they opt to play. If they are overwhelmed in the midfield they can go Sydney-style and chip it around, waiting for the right lead to present; or if the midfield is winning the ball setup ‘Vossy’s Paddock’ with only the two key forwards within attacking fifty, with the half forwards running with the flight of the ball to the contest to collect any spillages. With ‘Plan B’ not an option, it looked like it was going to be very tough for the Eagles to hang on to this lead.

With time getting into the 31st minute of the quarter, considering the early dominance I was disappointed and very nervous that we were not ahead by more. Patfull then won the ball at half back and fed to Black who broke quickly through the centre and place the kick straight to Power 30 metres out directly in front. Now at the ground we were unaware of the delay by the timekeeper, but from where I was seated the sirens clearly rang whilst the ball was in the air and the mark should not been paid. What caused more confusion was that not all the umpires appeared to agree that it should be paid. One umpire near where Power had taken the ball was waving his arms across his body side-to-side as a signal of no, whilst shaking his head which caused the defenders in the goalsquare to clear out and head towards the coaching staff on the boundary. The umpire that was in the centre of the ground now overruled and paid the mark . Power with no man and no defenders to clear simply kicked without any pressure and the goal was counted.

Three quarter time score:
Brisbane Lions 9.12 66
West Coast Eagles 10.8 68

Despite fighting hard and being in front by two points, I didn’t like the chances of the Eagles coming away from this game with a win.
I rate Brisbane as one of the fittest teams in the competition, and far fitter than the Eagles currently are. Additionally Voss rotates and interchanges his players in such a way that all the best midfield players that can have an impact will be on together and still fresh for the last term.

Even though Brisbane were three down on their interchange now with Maguire looking to have possibly tweaked his hamstring and Drummond having some potential injury worries, I still feared that they would run over the top of the Eagles and break the game apart.


Leuenberger resting in the goalsquare, marked by M.Brown




With Naitanui visibly tiring and Cox not fit enough to be used for longer than five minutes at a time, Clark and Leuenberger started to gain control of the ruck contests and Brisbane now had a stranglehold over the midfield.

Staker, playing back up forward gathered and handballed over the top to Fevola to attempt a dribble at goal only for it to bounce the wrong way at the last moment. Down to one point.

Rischitelli gathered at half forward and bombed it long from 60 metres out towards Fevola in the goalsquare where only an excellent intervention from Hurn prevented the mark. Rushed through by Mackenzie for a behind. Scores level.

Rich, now starting to come into the game after a quiet first three quarters, won possession on the southern wing and handballed inside to Black who in turn found Power and then via Clark got it onto Brennan breaking from the pack to kick from 55 metres out straight through for a great goal and put the Lions ahead with the crowd roaring behind them.

A quick reply was needed and Glass found Hurn in space forward of half back. Without any targets to kick to he ran the ball up the ground himself and kicked long at goal from 70 metres out only for it miss narrowly to the left. It was a goal that needed to be kicked to steady the side and stand firm against the momentum that Brisbane were building.

Sadly it didn’t occur.

Rich again won possession on the wing and catalysed a flowing move that ended with Rischitelli hitting J.Brown on the chest uncontested 45 metres out. Brown kicked truly, bending it from right to left, and with players down all over the field with cramps it was starting to look very bad for the Eagles.
Everywhere on the ground Brisbane players were running off their opponents and finding acres of space unmarked. The Eagles’ zone had fallen apart and the players were too tired to keep up in one-on-one contests.

Rischitelli received from Clark in the back line and rebounded straight up the centre of the ground and kicked well to Fevola who dropped a sitter of a mark fifteen metres out straight in front but recovered well under pressure to keep himself over the ball and then attempt a soccer goal off the ground near the behind upright. It skidded over the greasy surface ahead of desperate Eagles defenders through the goalposts for a miraculous goal that brought the loudest cheer that I have ever heard from a Lions game outside finals matches. Game. Set. Match. There was no way West Coast were coming back now despite the margin being 17 points with over 20 minutes of play remaining.


Glass minding Fev




Three more minutes and Rischitelli found J.Brown alone within forward fifty again. Inside fifty entries for the quarter were so far 12 to 2 in Brisbane’s favour. Brown made no mistake from 30 metres out directly in front to kick his fourth.

Rischitelli was dominating the midfield and won yet another hard ball possession at half back and released Johnstone to run and find Staker with a paddock to himself on the northern wing and an easy pass to Jono Brown again uncontested well ahead of Mackenzie whom was cramping up on the mark. The kick was from right on the arc at a 45 degree angle and never looked like missing. Brown had five goals to his name and it was suddenly a 30 point deficit with the possibility of it becoming a blowout.

From the following centre bounce Leuenberger tapped very well to the advantage of Sherman whom hit the ball at speed and streaked away from his markers to kick on his left from 45 metres out and nail another goal for Brisbane much to the overwhelming delight of the home support.
Amongst the Eagles support it was like attending a funeral – even those whom had criticisms of everything all game weren’t making any noises. The game was over; nothing could be done now to win it and it was only a question of how big the deficit was going to be and avoiding injuries for next week against Port.

Since the 20 minute mark of the third quarter we had been outscored by 45 points to 2; games of football cannot be won with events like that happening.
Thankfully Fevola missed yet another easy chance for him after taking a another mark ahead of Glass – missing to the right from straight in front and only 40 metres out.

Cox soon after managed to kick a consolation goal from 60 metres out with nobody at home within the forward fifty in attack. Cox would end up with a total of just seven possessions for the night – he clearly is not fit, so why is he being selected? Is Will Sullivan that bad that he can’t offer more run than a 25% Dean Cox?

Fevola again took another great mark in the pocket; this time over Hurn, but missed the shot to the near side with the angle being very tight. Fevola had kicked 3.7 and an out on the full when you would’ve expected him to covert at least 7-8 of those chances given to him any other day. It was a sobering thought. We were down by over five goals and could easily have been many more had Brisbane kicked straight.


Hurn putting the thighs to use against Fevola




To rub it in, from a ruck tap deep within Brisbane’s forward fifty, Banfield gathered the loose ball and fired a handpass to Staker at the back of the pack to snap over his shoulder from ten metres and goal for the first time for his new club and put some polish on a decent performance from him.

Schuey was able to sneak a goal from the pack as the final siren rang but it had no impact on the final outcome and Brisbane were comfortable winners by 32 points.

Final score:
Brisbane Lions 16.18 114
West Coast Eagles 12.10 82

Attendance: 29,201

BOG:

Jonothan Brown – Dominated anything that came near him, outmuscled and outran anyone who tried to mark him. Moving better than I have ever seen – is as good as Carey from the late ‘90s.
22 possessions, 14 marks, 5 inside 50s, 5 goals.

Jared Brennan – Went head to head against Kerr early and broke even before shutting down Naitanui’s influence around the stoppages whilst still getting plenty of it himself.
31 possessions (14 contested), 7 tackles, 1 goal.

Shannon Hurn – Was the architect of most of the Eagles successful forays forward and prevented many more being conceded down back, being the third man up to spoil several times.
20 possessions (14/16 kicks effective), 6 marks, 4 inside 50s, 9 rebound 50s.

Michael Rischitelli – Started quietly but owned the midfield in the last quarter when the game was to be won.
28 possessions (10 contested), 6 marks, 7 tackles, 6 inside 50s, 2 goal assists.

Luke Power – Enjoys playing against the Eagles. Played off half forward early before being moved into the midfield. Always seemed to pop up at the right place at the right time for his team when needed.
20 possessions, 6 tackles, 3 inside 50s, 3 goals.


Umpire verdict: Better than last year, although still very inconsistent. There was a ten minute period during the second quarter when they got very whistle-happy for no apparent reason. Also infuriating is seeing free kicks awarded against Naitanui for being ‘over the shoulder’ when all he doing is jumping vertically and the opposing ruckman is jumping into his body and causing the contact.


Brisbane verdict: Believe the hype. The forward line executed superbly. Most dangerous forward setup I have seen since Essendon 2000. Fevola looks happy with not being the only focal point and Brown appears reinvigorated by Fevola’s presence. Between the pair of them they managed 17 scoring shots and eight goals. Fevola will take the Coleman medal easily – in fact his biggest threat to it could well be teammate Jono Brown whom would be a good smoky for the Brownlow, despite it being an award for midfielders. If Brisbane had a clearance midfield of the calibre of the Bulldogs, Cats or Blues they would be the shortest certainties for the premiership ever. However they don’t and this will prove their undoing against teams better than they played against tonight. Should account for Carlton at home without Judd next week despite having two days less rest than the Blues. Will finish top four if they remain injury free.


West Coast verdict: Déjà vu. Ran out of gas. The improvement in skill and execution of plays continues, but in what is becoming a worrying trend, they were overrun by their opponents in the last quarter. The high midfield zone is a very energy intensive gameplan in comparison to that employed by Brisbane and maybe this contributed to the aerobic capitulation. It is another step in the right direction but I don’t see us as a top eight side unless the obvious problems are addressed. The forward line options apart from Kennedy and LeCras are not good enough and down back we have no key defenders other than Glass that is currently capable of shutting down an A grade key forward. In the midfield both Masten and Swift managed a grand total of zero tackles between them which for mine is a cause for concern. Plus the coaching staff are continuing to select players that are clearly not fit – how Cox and Swift played this game is beyond me; the team would have been better served with Sullivan and Rosa – at least they would have been able to run out the majority of the game.
Next week Port Adelaide at Subiaco: This should be a win but I’m not so sure due to the nature of our fadeouts recently in combination with backing up from a road trip to Brisbane in warm, heavy conditions. Additionally if rumours are correct, Port are a month ahead of almost every other club in their conditioning regimes and as such may find an extra something in the last that we don’t have.

So after what was a great game of football we made our way back to the car parked on the side of the road in a back street of Woolloongabba. Thankfully I didn’t get a ticket.

After getting back home and having a further thought about the game after watching some of the highlights I had taped off TV I concluded that it was a disappointing result yes as we were in a potentially winning position and threw it away. But that the team overall apart from the fitness side of things has improved markedly from this time last year. We were against a side that recruited five mature aged players during the off-season in an all-out shot for the premiership. And we were able to outmatch them on their own turf for three quarters with a squad where the majority have played less than 50 games at top level. They got blown away at the end, but that is what happens to young developing sides. Small steps, we are still headed in the right direction.

As I said before, déjà vu.

PS - Apologies to all regarding the lateness of this match report. It was intended to be posted much earlier this week but work committments intervened and had to take priority unfortunately.

Hope you enjoyed the read.


PPS - Never trust the compressors on the coolers for your server room at work. Because when they fail, it will completely ruin the rest of your week.

Awesome work. A pleasure to read.

Man those late goals in the quarters really hurt. I agree though that Brisbane will be a force this year if they keep their best 22 fit. So many potent players and the young guys are good enough too. We didn't do too badly really (beaten by some superstars of the competition) but still dissapointing none the less. It's so great to watch Brown in all his glory, except when its against your own team

Yeah incredible work once again Dylan. Loved it.

You're a star.

5 stars actually.

Damn, plan on making this a yearly fixture (that is of course if playing Brisbane rd 1 becomes one).