Brisbane is the worst defensive team in the league, Champion Data stats reveal

ESSENDON may be last on the ladder, but Brisbane is the league’s worst defensive team and a loss in Sunday’s spoon showdown want come as a shock. SEE CHAMPION DATA’S STATS

BRISBANE can’t defend. Its players either don’t want to or aren’t being instructed how to.

Whatever the reason, the Lions are the worst defensive team in the competition by a long margin and their deficiencies have been laid bare ahead of this Sunday’s wooden spoon showdown with Essendon.

Champion Data’s statistics reveal their defensive system is so poor that a Brisbane loss against an Essendon team without 12 suspended players really shouldn’t be a shock at all.

The Lions are conceding a whopping 127.9 points, the most of any side and three goals more than the Bombers.

Only twice this season have they restricted the opposition to less than 100 points, and rivals have helped themselves to scores of 120-plus on 10 occasions.

No team gets scored against as easily as Brisbane, which has also surrendered 72 goals from inside 15m — 19 more than the next worst team, Melbourne.

But it gets worse.

Brisbane’s defensive work at the stoppages has let it down, turnovers are being punished on the scoreboard, and the lack of forward half pressure allows opposition teams to transition from defence with ease.

And the numbers are damning — Brisbane is ranked 18th when it comes to conceding points from turnovers, stoppages and chains starting from half back.

Brisbane also ranks 18th in opposition marks inside 50 and opposition score per inside 50, 17th for opposition inside 50s and 15th for points scored from chains starting from defensive 50.

Against the Giants last Sunday at the Gabba, Brisbane kicked the opening two goals but their competitiveness was temporary as GWS piled on 10 goals in the second quarter before blowing the Lions away by 79 points.

Sam Mayes tackles Giants forward Jeremy Cameron last week. Picture: Getty Images

It was a similar story against Richmond in Round 14, the Lions kicked the first two goals before losing by 42 points.

In Round 13 against West Coast they trailed by one point at quarter-time but went down by 49, and the week before away to Fremantle scores were level at the first break but a nine-goal to one second term condemned Brisbane to an 83-point defeat.

Lions coach Justin Leppitsch said after last weekend’s loss to GWS his team goes into every game to win.

But unless there’s some damage control on the field it’s hard to see Brisbane beating the Bombers, let alone win another game this season.

BRISBANE’S DEFENCE v ESSENDON’S DEFENCE

	BRISBANE		ESSENDON
	Average	Rank	Average	Rank
Points against	127.9	18th	109	16th
Inside 50s conceded	59.9	17th	57.1	16th
Opposition score per inside 50	53%	18th	49%	14th
Opposition marks inside 50	17.2	18th	15.1	17th
Points conceded from turnovers	73.1	18th	64.8	16th
Points conceded from stoppages	47.4	18th	38.8	16th
Points conceded from def 50	19.6	15th	20.8	17th
Points conceded from half back	26.6	18th	17.1	16th
Source: CHAMPION DATA

GOALS CONCEDED FROM 0-15m

Brisbane Lions 72

Melbourne 51

Essendon 50

Gold Coast 49

Collingwood 49

Port Adelaide 45

Richmond 43

Adelaide Crows 42

Hawthorn 41

St Kilda 40

West Coast 34

Carlton 34

Fremantle 33

North Melbourne 31

Western Bulldogs 26

Geelong 23

GWS Giants 21

Sydney Swans 17

Source: Champion Data