Carlton tries its best for retiring stalwarts Matthew Kreuzer and Kade Simpson, but Brisbane Lions have eyes on prize
Carlton coach David Teague believes his team is ready to play finals from next year despite another disappointing end to the season. He reveals why, plus did Lachie Neale secure the Brownlow?
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Brisbane safely negotiated Carlton and Lachie Neale may have sealed a Brownlow Medal, but the Lions still have a bit to tidy up ahead of their flag tilt.
The Blues did their best to honour retiring champion Kade Simpson with a late charge, but the damage was done in the second quarter as Brisbane won by 17 points at the Gabba on Saturday night.
If Collingwood beats Port Adelaide on Monday night, Brisbane will finish on top of the ladder for the first time in its history –—a feat not achieved by even the mighty Leigh Matthews three-peat sides of the early 2000s.
“It’s always good to do something historical and no Brisbane side has done that,” coach Chris Fagan said after the match.
“It’s not in our hands. Pressure is on (Port Adelaide) now, I’m glad it’s not on us.
“It would be great for this group because they’ve been a fantastic group to coach and they deserve every little bit of success they get.
“I think we’re better for the (finals) experience that we had last year.
“But you’ve got to get the results on the board. A new season is about to begin — finals — and we’re desperate to do well.”
Neale was again a central figure of the Lions’ win with 29 possessions and nine inside 50s – his workrate a feature of his performance that is sure to catch the umpires’ eyes. He will be fighting for votes with Daniel Rich, whose performance was just as influential with two trademark long-bomb goals for good effect.
Brisbane had 61 inside 50s to 37 but failed to make full benefit of its chances.
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SIMPSON SEND OFF
Kade Simpson is often described as a warrior for his deeds over 342 games, so it was no surprise to see him among the thick of it early.
Simpson copped a solid blow to the face after an accidental head clash with Daniel McStay early in the contest. He spent the ensuring minutes checking and rechecking his mouth but continued on unaffected.
His goal in the third quarter, where he found space and calmly slotted a major from distance, was a fitting moment and he was mobbed by teammates. It was also his first goal since Round 19 last season.
His night started with a hug from former teammate Mitch Robinson before the two crossed paths again in the third quarter when Simpson caught Robinson high accidentally. Once Robinson took his kick, Simpson continued to check on his welfare.
A sign of a champion.
SECOND-QUARTER BLITZ
Any chance the Blues had to stay in the match slipped away in the second quarter as the rain tumbled and the turnovers mounted.
Four points up at the start of the quarter, the Blues instead went into halftime 28 points down after the Lions dazzled in the type of greasy conditions that threatened to turn the contest into a dour scrap.
Errant defensive exits from Jacob Weitering and Jack Newnes resulted in early goals to Cam Rayner and Mitch Robinson and in a flash Brisbane asserted control.
It was a familiar pattern for the Blues, who too many times this year allowed clubs to bust games open with an unanswered burst of goals.
It unravelled further for Carlton when Patrick Cripps left the field with a shoulder concern after an innocuous centre-bounce tussle with Cam Ellis-Yolmen. Cripps soon returned but he played under duress and it summed up Carlton’s woes.
The Lions had a whopping 23 inside-50s for the quarter, such was their dominance around the ball and their ability to lock the footy in attack.
No wonder they got an old-fashioned halftime bake from David Teague.
TEAGUE’S FINALS VISION FOR 2021
Carlton coach David Teague believes his side has the makings of a finals side next year even if it fails to strengthen its list in the trade and free agency frenzy.
Teague put it on his emerging players to take the next step and become the next wave of club leaders on a night when the club said farewell to veteran warrior Kade Simpson against Brisbane.
He also implored his players to be better in the big moments after again conceding a run of unanswered goals in a one-sided second quarter that decided the match.
The Blues will in the coming days confirm the playing future of Eddie Betts amid reports he will receive a contract to play on in 2021.
Teague would not elaborate on Betts’ playing future after his side’s 17-point loss at the Gabba.
But Teague said major list changes were not required, confident the Blues had the makings of a finals team - from both a playing and game plan perspective - next year.
“You’re always looking to add talent, but I believe in this group,” Teague said.
“I think we’ve got the talent in this group and we need the growth to come from as much within.
“We’ll look for ways to improve this list – you always do, every club is doing that.
“But if our list was to stay the same next year, I still believe we would be better. I still think we’ve got a lot of growth.
“I think we saw it this year with (Jacob) Weitering, Sam Walsh got better, Will Setterfield, there’s a number of guys. I probably shouldn’t be listing individuals.
“We need guys stepping up and taking over from Simmo and even from a Murph (Marc Murphy), Ed Curnow ... it’s that next level of guys who are going to have to step up.
“I think Harry (McKay) has shown signs later in this year that he is going to be one of those guys.”
On Betts, Teague said: “We’ve still got to finalise our list and when those decisions are made, we’ll definitely let our members know”.
The Blues conceded a run of five goals in the second quarter that quickly shifted the power into Brisbane’s hands. Despite a late rally, and accurate goalkicking, the deficit proved too much.
Such lapses are a pattern Teague is desperate to find a solution to, saying the Lions adjusted to the slippery conditions far better than his side.
“Unfortunately it has happened too often for us and we need to be harder and we need to be better,” he said.
“In the critical moments, we need to be stronger over the ball and we need to be stronger with our decision-making and have a greater understanding of what the game is telling us.
“We’ve got to become stronger in the key moments, we’ve got to stand up more when we’re under pressure.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do. So as much as this group’s grown and we have a lot of belief in this group, we’ve got to get better.
“We expect to be playing finals … and we believe we’ve got a game style and we’ve got the talent, we’ve just got to get better.”
The Blues will assess Patrick Cripps’ shoulder injury after he tried to play through the discomfort before finishing the match on the bench.
FAGAN’S PRIDE
Lions coach Fagan was rapt with how his side dealt with the often torrid conditions, as torrential rain poured down.
“I thought we played incredibly well in the conditions. We created many, many opportunities for ourselves, a lot of inside 50s. We played the game the right way for the conditions,” Fagan said.
“Carlton kicked incredibly straight, so the game was probably a bit closer on the scoreboard than what it actually was in reality.
He said his side had to find motivation, with the top-two spot already sewn up.
“These are always hard games,” he said.
“In a sense it’s a dead rubber for us because we’re going to finish one or two, but the players decided they wanted to make the effort tonight to play as well as they could so we could go into the finals with a bit of momentum up and a bit of confidence and I thought they did that well.”
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SCOREBOARD
BRISBANE 3.2 8.5 9.7 11.12 (78)
def
CARLTON 4.0 4.1 6.1 10.1 (61)
GOALS
Lions: McCarthy 2, Rayner 2, Rich 2, Robinson 2, Cameron, Coleman, Hipwood
Blues: McKay 3, Casboult, Williamson, Simpson, Newnes, Curnow, Gibbons, Murphy
NICK WADE’S BEST
Lions: Rich, Neale, Starcevich, Lyons, Ah Chee, Zorko, Robinson
Blues: Walsh, Plowman, McKay, Williamson, Kennedy
NICK WADE’S VOTES
3 — Daniel Rich (Bri)
2 — Lachie Neale (Bri)
1 — Sam Walsh (Car)
INJURIES
Lions: Nil
Blues: Cripps (shoulder)