Brisbane Lions smash Gold Coast at the Gabba

MATCH REPORT: IT took all night but Brisbane eventually put Gold Coast in its place and claim the mantle as Queensland's top dog.

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IT took all night but Brisbane eventually put Gold Coast in its place with a 33-point win in QClash6 to claim the mantle as Queensland's top dog.

The Lions led for all but the opening minutes but it was anything but a cakewalk for the home side as the Suns refused to throw in the towel in a hard-fought and scrappy contest where state bragging rights were on the line.

Every time the Lions appeared to be running away with the match, the Suns would claw their way back into the contest.

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But the Lions stamped their authority on the Queensland derby once and for all in the final quarter with goals to co-captain Jonathan Brown, Brent Staker, Daniel Merrett and Dayne Zorko finally putting the brave Suns to the sword.

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The Suns looked dead and buried when Lions utility Brent Staker kicked two quick-fire goals at the start of the third term to open up a 29-point lead.

However, the Gold Coast roared back into the contest with the next four goals of the match through Matt Shaw, Jarrod Harbrow, Steve May and Jaeger O'Meara to close the margin to just one goal.

Brisbane stopped the rot through Dayne Zorko as the teams traded goals for the rest of the third quarter to set-up a thrilling finish with the Lions in front by just 14 points.

The Lions took a 17-point advantage into halftime after with Brown putting his stamp on the match with two goaks in the second quarter for Brisbane.

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Goals to Rohan Bewick and Sam Mayes helped Brisbane established a 20-point lead early in the second term before Brennan bobbed up for his second major of the night with a chorus of booing from the Gabba faithful ringing in his ears.

Then it became the Brown show with Jonathan getting on the scoreboard followed by a response from Suns hardman Campbell Brown before the Lions superstar produced a showstopper from the boundary line.

Brisbane had been on top for most of the first half but the margin at the main break gave the Suns more than a sniff.

Brisbane led by eight points at quarter-time after a see-sawing opening term.

The Lions dominated the early stages with goals to Pearce Hanley and Merrett on the back of relentless tackling pressure from the home side and poor disposal from the Suns.

The Gold Coast gradually worked their way into the match by winning a majority of the contested possessions but the Suns failed to make the most of their opportunities, kicking five behands in a row.

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Brennan broke the drought with a long-range goal and Harley Bennell's opportunistic major soon after levelled the scores.

A raking Dayne Zorko goal in the dying minutes of the term handed Brisbane their quarter-time buffer but the match was delicately poised with both teams terribly wasteful in front of goal.

Brown could come under the microscope of the AFL's Match Review Panel for possible high contact on Suns midfielder David Swallow midway through through the first term.

The Lions co-captain appeared to make heavy contact with Swallow as the ball ran over the boundary line on the centre wing. Swallow took some time to regain his feet.