With all the focus on Lachie Neale, in-form Brisbane midfielders Jarryd Lyons and Dayne Zorko take the game away from the Power
Cam Sutcliffe restricted the influence of Lachie Neale in the first-half at Adelaide Oval but in-form midfielders Jarryd Lyons, Dayne Zorko and Jarrod Berry stepped up as Port lost its focus
Right from the first bounce on Sunday afternoon, Port’s focus was on Brisbane star Lachie Neale.
Pre-match, coach Ken Hinkley stated Cam Sutcliffe was brought into the side to ‘terrorise’ the former Docker.
But the over-the-top aggression towards Neale – and not just from Sutcliffe, with Dougal Howard’s off-the-ball hit costing Port an early goal – allowed two other in-form Lions to terrorise the Power.
Dayne Zorko, who epitomises the quality of Brisbane’s engine room with his efficiency going inside-50, and former Crow Jarryd Lyons tallied 20 disposals, 11 contested possessions, five clearances, two goals and 93 Champion Data ranking points between them in the first quarter.
The midfield dominance, also helped by Jarrod Berry’s six disposals and four contested possessions, saw the Lions boot the first seven goals of the match.
After 19 minutes, Brisbane led all the key stats.
Chris Fagan’s men were +21 in disposals, +10 in contested possession, +9 in inside 50s, +7 in clearances and, most importantly, +41 on the scoreboard.
Port Adelaide kicked three of the final five goals of the quarter but the Lions took a 30-point lead into the first break.
And all with Neale having little influence – at least, directly, anyway – after the former Docker recorded just four first-quarter disposals.
It was a similar story in the second-term as Zorko put the Lions further ahead with the first major of the term as the midfield dominance continued.
By the 12th minute-mark, Zorko, Lyons and Berry had 38 disposals and 19 contested possessions between them.
Neale had eight as Sutcliffe continued to follow him to all parts of Adelaide Oval.
As the first half came to a close, led by star Travis Boak, Port Adelaide started to fight back in most of the key areas.
Boak had 18 disposals, 13 contested possessions and 70 ranking points of his own by half-time as the Power led the contested-ball count by two and total disposals by 11.
But it was the Lions’ efficiency moving the ball forward which shone through.
Port Adelaide went inside-50 31 times in the first-half for 3.4.
While Brisbane recorded one less inside-50, it recorded nine more scoring shots, finishing with 10.6 – and a 44-point lead – at half-time.
Heading into the Round 17 clash, Brisbane was the third-best side in the competition for converting its inside-50s into scores.
The Lions scored from 46.2 per cent of its forward-50 entries in the first 15 matches this season.
That percentage was 53 per cent in the first-half against the Power.
After a hamstring injury to Ryan Burton early in the third-quarter, Sutcliffe moved into defence, freeing up Neale for the first time.
The gun midfielder, who tallied 8 disposals, six contested possessions and five clearances for the quarter, worked his way up to 88 ranking points by the final change.
But it was still Lyons who led the way.
The 26-year-old had 25 disposals and 104 ranking points to his name as Brisbane maintained its 44-point buffer going into the final term, despite an early charge from Port Adelaide.
Lyons finished with a game-high 36 disposals, 17 contested possessions, nine tackles and 139 ranking points.
His partner-in-crime, Zorko, tallied 122 ranking points on the back of 24 disposals, six inside 50s and three goals.
While Berry, despite fading in the second-half, finished with 18 disposals, nine contested possessions, and 100 ranking points.
With continued freedom, Neale also worked his way into the game nicely, recording 24 disposals, 17 contested possessions, a team-high 10 clearances and 118 ranking points.
And, in the end, it came down to quality over quantity.
Port Adelaide had more disposals (+53) and contested possessions (+3) but the Lions finished with one more inside-50.
And, as they’ve done all year, turned almost half of the entries into scores, with Charlie Cameron (4) and Lincoln McCarthy (2) booting six majors between them.
Brisbane scored from 49 per cent of its 55 inside-50s for the match – 14 per cent more than Port, which generated a score from just 19 of its 54 forward-50 entries.
Port lost focused – and not just in its attempt to stop Neale.