Brisbane gallant in defeat again but Sydney had too many winners in dour affair at the Gabba

AS soon as the Lions ran onto the ground at the Gabba there was a problem — the banner had a glaring spelling mistake — and it didn’t get any better from there as Sydney had a gallant Brisbane’s measure in a dour affair.

Brisbane was gallant but Sydney proved too good in the end in very tough conditions at the Gabba.

THE banner is designed to set the theme for a game of footy and unfortunately for Brisbane that was the case at the Gabba on Saturday evening.

The Lions, led in every aspect except the coin toss by inspirational former skipper Dayne Beams, were again very good but couldn’t get it exactly right against the Swans who move to third on the AFL ladder after an 18-point victory.

AS IT HAPPENED: SWANS PROVE TOO GOOD FOR LIONS IN DOUR AFFAIR

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The mistake on the banner was the miss-spelt “winnig score”, while the continuous error on the field was repeatedly playing into the hands of the Swans’ defence.

The moment rain set in just prior to the first bounce it looked tailor-made for the Swans.

Contested footy is their bread and butter and against the young Lions it would normally have been a clear area of dominance for the Swans.

This banner fail set the tone for the Lions against the Swans.

But Brisbane showed they could get down and dirty. Their problem was they weren’t as clean.

The Lions had more inside 50 entries, won more clearances and were only just shy of the Swans in the contested possessions. Sydney’s classy players like Isaac Heeney and Jake Lloyd had more polish and their defensive system worked better, forcing the Lions to hack and hope.

The Lions forwards were either sucked up the ground as the Swans dominated field position, leaving their defenders and midfielders without a target when they were eventually able to move the ball out of their back half.

Brisbane was gallant but Sydney proved too good in the end in very tough conditions at the Gabba.

Or the ball was bombed in long, giving Swans defenders Jarrad McVeigh, Dane Rampe, Zak Jones, Lloyd and Heath Grundy the time to set up and repeatedly sweep the ball back out of their defensive arc.

The final quarter was all Brisbane but the Swans’ 23-point three quarter-time margin provided a big enough buffer for a side as experienced as Sydney to hang on to.

The 10.7 (67) to 6.13 (49) result against one of the AFL’s modern day powerhouses would usually, and still should, be considered a gallant effort but this is a Lions side who are starting to believe they are capable of more.

Dayne Beams was one of Brisbane’s best player in the loss after a very tough week. Picture: Getty

They proved that with a brilliant victory over Hawthorn last week and followed it with another spirited effort against the Swans in front of 18,702.

Ruckman Stefan Martin smashed his Swans opponent Callum Sinclair, often giving the Lions’ midfielders first use of the footy at stoppages.

He won 58 hit-outs to Sinclair’s 21.

Beams, who this week handed over the captaincy to schoolboy friend Dayne Zorko, had 38 possessions and nine clearances while Mitch Robinson, unsurprisingly relishing the physical nature of the game, cracked in 35 touches and 13 clearances.

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Originally published as Brisbane gallant in defeat again but Sydney had too many winners in dour affair at the Gabba