Brisbane Lions wounded in shock loss to Fremantle

Brisbane headed to Fremantle as favourites but were quickly shown just how much of a force the Dockers are expected to be in the AFLW this season.

Leah Kaslar is tackled by Sabreena Duffy. Picture: Getty Images

The Brisbane Lions have held on to top spot in their AFLW conference, despite suffering an upset 27-point loss to Fremantle.

In the first of their conference crossover matches, the 2018 grand finalists were given a shock at Fremantle Oval, losing 10.7 (67) to 6.4 (40) to the dominant Dockers.

Brisbane kicked the first two goals through Nat Exon and Jess Wuetschner, but let slip the 13-point lead they established in the first quarter and were unable to match Fremantle’s enthusiasm.

Brisbane headed to Fremantle as favourites but were quickly shown just how much of a force the Dockers are expected to be this season.

The loss was also a blow to the whole of Conference B, with no team in that group yet to notch up a win over a Conference A club in the opening two weeks of the competition.

Ally Anderson receives a bump from Kara Donnellan. Picture: AAP

Fellow Conference B team Carlton also lost on Sunday, going down 9.3 (57) to 7.2 (44) to 2017 premiers Adelaide.

North Melbourne, Fremantle and premiers Western Bulldogs have set a strong benchmark early, with Brisbane and Geelong leading the way in Conference B.

Coach Craig Starcevich said it was the third quarter when Brisbane really lost their chance to win, as they allowed Fremantle to run rampant.

“We couldn’t match their intensity,” he said.

“They were terrific after quarter time which made it really hard for us when we had our chances and we didn’t capitalise.

“They were really intense which made it hard for us to generate anything in that third term … we just couldn’t get the ball through our forward 50 with any precision.”

Kate Lutkins dives for a low mark. Picture: AAP

Brisbane set the standard early, taking control in a physical opening quarter to lead 3.1 (19) to 1.2 (8).

However, Fremantle dominated the remainder of the match, as they claimed a 10-point lead going into halftime and then maintained that momentum throughout the back half of the game.

The final nail in the coffin came for Brisbane with three minutes left on the clock when Evangeline Gooch converted a free kick before young gun Sabreena Duffy followed it up with a goal of her own.

Brisbane’s next match is against Melbourne at Hickey Park on Sunday.