Collingwood storms to 62-point Easter Thursday victory over Brisbane Lions
Gillon McLachlan made no secret Brisbane’s hopes of making Easter Thursday their own depended on the show they put on. They’d better hope the salmon served in the chairman’s function was well cooked. Because the footy was half baked at best.
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That was like Collingwood of 2018.
Sadly for Brisbane fans, it was like the Lions of last year too.
The patchy Pies of recent weeks were at their authoritative best in the 62-point rout.
For Brisbane, the 18.15 (123) to 8.13 (61) hiding has consigned them to a major autopsy ahead of a Q Clash against a Suns outfit that are suddenly no easy beats.
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AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan had made no secret Brisbane’s hopes of making Easter Thursday their own depended on the show they put on.
They’d better hope the salmon served in the chairman’s function was well cooked.
Because the footy from Brisbane was half baked at best.
It even promoted hardnosed defender Mitch Robinson to apologise to the fans for what was served up.
Apologies to all the lions fans who turned up to the Gabba, or tuned in to watch us play tonight. Shithouse performance, two disappointing weeks but we’ll recover, recoup and get ready for the suns next Saturday. #process
— Mitch Robinson (@MitchRobinson05) April 18, 2019
The expectation that had engulfed a city turned to despair in the third quarter as the Pies piled on eight goals to snuff out any faint hope the fans might have for an Easter miracle.
The 51 points they scored was their highest ever quarter tally at this venue.
That hope only existed because Brisbane had managed to win the second by six points after giving up 27 point lead in the first.
The margin at the first break was identical to what West Coast held here in round one and the way the Lions chased down that deficit and then turned it into the finest win of Chris Fagan’s tenure is what sparked the interest that built to the crowd of 34017, the best since 2010.
That round one victory seems like a lifetime ago not.
The past two weeks they have failed to live up to the occasion and the reason why is they cannot keep up with their opposition.
Leg speed got them against Essendon and it was speed of ball movement last night.
The defenders had a poor night but there was really very little they could do. The Pies engine room waltzed the ball out of the centre square all night courtesy of Brodie Grundy’s total domination in the ruck.
When Brisbane did gain some territory the Pies, most often former Lion jack Crisp, would turn it over and sweep it forward in the blink of an eye.
Adam Treloar, Crisp, Grundy, Jaidyn Stephenson were all outstanding
At times it looked like training.
Collingwood took 25 marks inside their attacking fifty form 62 entries.
There couldn’t be a story about this game without mention of former Lions’ skipper Dayne Beams in his return to the Gabba.
He copped his share of booing, none louder than when he booted his first goal from a Luke Hodge free kick in the final moments of the third term.
He celebrated by pointing to the area of the Gabba where his father Philip used to sit and watch his games for the Lions before he was swamped by every single Collingwood teammate.
He finished with 27 possession and seven clearances in the type of classy performance that would make even the most bitter Lions fan wish he had never left.
The signs luck was not going to go their way came early in the game when Brody Mihocek was awarded a goal when replays suggest the ball hit the padding at the base of the post.
The sight of key defender Harris Andrews and Rhys Mathieson both iced up on the bench in the final quarter capped off a night where nothing went right for Brisbane.
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