AFL Round 14 Brisbane v GWS: All the analysis and fallout as Jack Payne suffers serious knee injury

Aaron Cadman has arrived – and the rest of the competition is on notice. But what will the league think of Brisbane after another day of wasted opportunities and a shattering injury blow?

GWS forwards Jesse Hogan and Aaron Cadman kicked 11 goals between them as the clinical Giants stunned the Brisbane Lions with a superb display of goal-kicking accuracy at the Gabba on Saturday.

Hogan booted six majors, and emerging star Cadman contributed five of his own as the Giants produced a storming second-half display to defeat the premiers 17.5 (107) to 13.18 (96).

Brisbane’s second successive loss was made all the more worse by a serious first-quarter knee injury suffered by defender Jack Payne.

Payne’s departure allowed Hogan and Cadman to wreak havoc in a weakened Lions defensive unit.

Aaron Cadman kicks for goal during the Giants’ win on Saturday. Picture: Russell Freeman/AFL Photos

The young forward well and truly arrived with five goals. Picture: Chris Hyde/AFL Photos

Logan Morris played almost a lone hand in attack for Brisbane, kicking five goals as the hosts too often struggled with set shots, in contrast to the Giants’ almost unwavering accuracy.

The Giants win was their eighth of the season, and allowed them to gain revenge for a devastating five-point loss to Brisbane in last year’s finals series when they squandered a 44-point lead in the third-quarter.

However, despite the Lions having the last six scoring shots of the game on Saturday, the Giants – who were without injured star Toby Greene – weren’t about to give up another match-winning lead that at one stage in the final quarter was 27 points.

“We didn’t have a choice but to put Eric back there and to be fair to him, he’s practiced and played most of his career as a forward,” Fagan said of the shift after Payne went down.

“He did his best when he went back there, but that wasn’t an ideal thing for us.

“That was a pretty big moment in the game, I reckon, losing Jack.

“Eric did his best, but when a bloke goes down there that hasn’t played that much … it’s a bit difficult for him to fit into that system.”

Aaron Cadman takes a screamer against the Lions

Payne-ful injury

Post-match, Lions coach Chris Fagan confirmed that the 25-year-old strongman was set to miss the rest of the season with a ruptured patellar tendon.

“He was probably having his best year, so that’s disappointing for him,” Fagan said.

“It’s not always good when you see your teammate going off the ground on a cart.”

Silence fell over the Gabba when Payne stayed down clutching his left knee after taking a mark with the Lions trailing by seven points.

Play was delayed by several minutes, with Payne being put on a stretcher and eventually taken off the field in a medi-cab.

Jack Payne after landing awkwardly. Picture: Chris Hyde/AFL Photos

The Brisbane defender was in agony. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Play stopped as Payne was stretchered from the ground. Picture: Chris Hyde/AFL Photos

Payne was due to be sent for scans, but initial fears were that he had suffered a ruptured patellar tendon, which, depending on the severity of the tear, could sideline him for at least four months.

The Lions have already lost Linc McCarthy to a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament injury this season, with Payne’s mishap another hurdle Brisbane must now overcome in their bid to successfully defend their premiership.

With Payne out of the game, substitute Kai Lohmann entered the contest, while Eric Hipwood was moved from the forward line into the defence.

“Eric did it last year against the Gold Coast and he put his hand up and said ‘give me the job’,” Lions co-captain Lachie Neale said.

However, moving forward, Payne’s injury could open the selection door for Tom Doedee, who after suffering a second ACL injury last year is yet to play a senior game for Brisbane after moving to the club from Adelaide.

Heroic Hogan

Giants star Jesse Hogan again showed why he’s one of the most feared forwards in the game with a superb display.

Hogan kicked six goals, proving too good for initially Payne, and then Lions co-captain Harris Andrews.

Taking advantage of the Giants’ slick transition from defence to attack, Hogan seemed likely to kick a goal every time he was fed, with his only blemish being a behind in the third-quarter.

The reigning Coleman medallist, who kicked 77 goals last season, including 69 in the regular season, now has 38 this season as he continues to make life a nightmare for opposition defenders.

Sidekick Cadman came of age with five goals of his own in a breakout peformance.

“Payne went down injured, which was really nasty, and we certainly send our best wishes to him, but Hipwood shifted back, primarily on ‘Cads’, and I thought Cads was really strong and hard to play on, particularly for a guy who hasn’t played a lot of footy down there,” GWS coach Adam Kingsley said.

“I thought Cads really cashed in on being hard to play on and continually moving. That’s the key for him. He’s so athletic.

“When he launches at the ball, he’s really hard to defend and that’s exactly what he did today.”

Eric Hipwood and Sam Taylor go at it in the air. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Scoreboard

Brisbane: 5.5 9.10 10.13 13.18 (96)

GWS: 5.0 8.0 12.3 17.5 (107)

GOALS:

Lions: Morris 5, McCluggage, Neale, Starcevich, Dunkley, Bailey, Day, Fletcher, Rayner

Giants: Hogan 6, Cadman 5, Brown 3, Jones, O’Halloran, Himmelberg

BEST:

Lions: Morris, McCluggage, Neale, Zorko, Rayner

Giants: Hogan, Cadman, Callaghan, Whitfield, Ash

INJURIES

Lions: Payne (knee)

Giants: Daniels (abdomen)

Crowd: 30,711 at the Gabba

Marco Monteverde’s Player of the Year votes

3. J. Hogan (Giants)

2. A. Cadman (Giants)

1. L. Morris (Lions)

Originally published as AFL Round 14 Brisbane v GWS: All the analysis and fallout as Jack Payne suffers serious knee injury