Lions roar into flag favouritism but need to back-up their impressive performance against the Cats on Thursday night
Brisbane has firmed as the AFL team most likely to snare this year’s premiership after thumping Port Adelaide on Saturday night. But it faces another big challenge – Geelong – in only four days’ time.
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The Lions have now firmed as premiership favourites for the first time in the club’s recent history following their convincing 37-point victory over Port Adelaide at the Gabba on Saturday.
The bookies on Sunday had Brisbane at $6 odds to win the flag this year and end their premiership-winning drought, with GWS ($7) and Richmond ($8) sitting just behind them.
Brisbane’s red-hot AFL side now sits equal first on the premiership ladder, alongside Port Adelaide, following its four-straight wins.
Lions coach Chris Fagan described their commanding 12.13 (85) to 6.12 (48) victory over the previously undefeated Power as the club’s best win of the season.
“The second quarter was a pretty special quarter by our boys I thought,” he said, as Brisbane kicked five successive goals in nine minutes.
“We just lifted our ability to hunt the footy around the contest and our pressure stepped up.
“We were a little bit more direct going inside 50.
“We got it in deeper and our tall guys caused them a few problems and our boys at ground level were pretty good as well.”
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AFL great Brad Johnson told Fox Footy after the game that the Lions would now be considered genuine premiership threats as one of the top teams in the league.
However, after enjoying a month-long run of games at the Gabba, the Lions now face a challenging fortnight as they set up camp in New South Wales this week.
The club is expected to remain in Sydney for the next two weeks, beginning with Thursday’s clash with Geelong at the Sydney Cricket Ground, followed by their Round 7 game against GWS at Giants Stadium the following Saturday.
The new travel schedule has thrown their usual preparation out of whack, with the club not expected to undergo a full training session in Brisbane before they fly south on Wednesday.
“I think (the team) is looking forward to it. They’ve been here in Brisbane for a long time now so a change of scenery might be a good thing for us,” Fagan said.
“We don’t know how long we’re going to be there for, but we’ll just try to take a positive approach to it and make the most of our time together.”
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Brisbane will be boosted by the expected return of captain Dayne Zorko this week after sitting out Saturday’s game with a calf injury.
Zorko will replace midfielder Cam Ellis-Yolmen who will miss Brisbane’s date with the Cats after limping off with his own calf injury in the first quarter on Saturday night.
Fagan said their clash with Geelong will be the litmus test for the club’s young players.
“We’ve got a pretty tough game next week against Geelong who are a great side and have been a great side for many, many years so that’s another good test for our young group,” Fagan said.
“Who’d have thought that Geelong and Brisbane would be playing each other at the SCG?
“It‘s a weird year, isn’t it?”
Hinkley: ‘We were given a good uppercut’
– Reece Homfray
You’d think Port Adelaide would have jumped at a 4-1 start to the season if it was offered to them in March.
Top of the ladder after two weeks in a Queensland quarantine hub and having beaten the pre-season premiership favourites in West Coast.
But Travis Boak disagrees and not because of Saturday night’s loss to the new premiership fancy in Brisbane, but because of how they lost.
The former skipper did not hold back in his assessment of the Power’s performance at the Gabba, using the word “smashed” to describe his midfield five times in a four-minute interview, while coach Ken Hinkley said his team was given “a good uppercut”.
“They out-hunted us, their tackling was outstanding and we just weren’t able to match it in that area,” Boak said of the 37-point loss to the Lions.
The scoreboard flattered Port Adelaide, really.
Brisbane had 25 scoring shots and kicked 12.13 as the Power’s defence was opened up for the first time this season.
“If you look at the 4-1 (record) from the outside you’re probably going OK, but right now the performance is not where we want to be,” Boak said.
“It’s a loss that hurts because of the style of footy we play, getting smashed around the footy like that is not something we’re proud of.”
The Power will return to Adelaide on the same flight as the Crows on Sunday night, having spent the past 16 days in their Queensland hub.
“It’s been a little while,” Boak said.
“I know some guys are looking forward to seeing their families, but it’s been a good stint away and been enjoyable, we’ve been able to connect as a group.
“It’s disappointing to finish this run of games in the hub on that performance, but we’ll get back to Adelaide, regroup and come back up next week and respond with a better performance.
“I think we’ve been good at accepting and adapting to what situations present to us, this year is going to be up and down and we don’t know too far ahead with the schedule, so we have to look at, really, one week at a time, because it changes so much.”
The ladder-leading Power actually made a good start to Saturday night’s game and led clearances 11-4 at quarter-time.
They ended up winning overall clearances 36-32, but Brisbane walked it out of the middle winning 13-5 from centre bounce.
Lachie Neale (seven), Jarrod Berry (four) and Jarryd Lyons (four) were too much for the Power and when they went out, Hugh McCluggage and Tom Berry came in.
“Their midfield is outstanding, led by Lachie and some big bodies who crash in with Berry and McCluggage and a smooth mover in Lyons, it was a real challenge in there and we definitely got beaten up,” Boak said.
“It’s something we pride ourselves on and we got absolutely smashed in that area and gave our backs no chance to defend.
“We didn’t put enough pressure on their mids going inside 50.
“We’ve got some stuff to work on.”
Unlike last year when the Power ran a tag on Neale which ended up backfiring, they opted to go head-to-head with Brisbane’s midfield overall on Saturday night.
“Lachie is a fantastic player and he had another outstanding game, but the midfield we’ve been really good as a group this year and getting things done,” Boak said.
“We’ve come up against some quality players already and done it as a group, but we were beaten.
“I don’t think it takes the gloss off the footy we’ve been playing, we’ve just got to get back to it, (Saturday) was a bad night, we got smashed and have to review it and work to get back to where we were.”
One positive for the Power was second-year player Zak Butters who was at his aggressive and creative best.
“He was really good, we put him around the ball late in the game and he gave us a bit of spark, I thought his development was a big step forward again tonight and he can hold his head up high, he was one of the shining lights tonight,” Boak said.
HOW THE MATCH UNFOLDED …
BIG STAGE NERVES
Port didn’t look like they handled the occasion or pressure well.
They were up for the fight early but couldn’t put it on the scoreboard with 0.5 to open the game and Brisbane took control with five unanswered goals in a 10-minute patch in the second quarter.
The Power looked unsettled, they tried to play on at all costs and put teammates under pressure, the defenders gave away nervous free kicks, there were hurried kicks out of defence which led to repeat entries for the Lions and costly mistakes such as Steven Motlop’s lack of awareness and urgency for a turnover across halfback in the third quarter.
BATTLES WITHIN THE BATTLE
The headline act was Harris Andrews, the reigning All-Australian full back, against Charlie Dixon, the leader of the Coleman Medal after Round 4.
For the first time this season, Dixon didn’t kick a goal and while Andrews took the honours, he had a lot of help.
Port Adelaide kicked at their spearhead rather than to him, but there wasn’t much space for Dixon to work into with the Lions getting back in numbers to make life difficult for the key forward.
His only two shots on goal came in the third term with a snap around his body and a set shot in the last but he was off-target.
The other key match-up was Charlie Cameron against whoever was unlucky enough to be standing next to him. Darcy Byrne-Jones, Dan Houston and Riley Bonner all had a crack and Cameron eventually broke the shackles with his pace including on the wing in the third term when he took possession, put 20m into his opponents and set up a Mitch Robinson goal.
LOCKING DOWN LACHIE
The Power failed to stop ball-magnet Lachie Neale last year with ill-directed aggression but this time went head-to-head with Brisbane’s midfield more broadly.
They made a promising start, winning clearances 11-4 in the first term with Ollie Wines, Travis Boak and Sam Powell-Pepper all involved, but they couldn’t sustain it even with Brisbane losing Cam Ellis-Yolmen to injury in the first few minutes.
Neale got on his bike just before halftime with the give-and-go on the wing to set up Eric Hipwood at the top of the square and he finished with 29 disposals and a goal.
But in a sign of Brisbane’s premiership-potential this year, their midfield depth did the damage with Jarrod Berry, Hugh McCluggage and Jarryd Lyons all contributing to break the game open in the second quarter.
Wines showed intensity and strength in bursts and his ability to take a tackle and dispose of the ball, but he too had brainfades such as handballing to Riley Bonner under instant pressure in the second term.
GRAY STILL MATTERS
Robbie Gray had been unusually quiet in the first four games this season with just 1.2 on the scoreboard and not being required in the middle.
But he showed signs on Saturday night that his form was returning and the Power was still turning to him in its time of need.
His first act was a big tackle on Callum Ah Chee and when Port Adelaide made a nervous 0.5 start, he stepped up and slotted the set shot on a tight angle to relieve some pressure.
Gray laid a second big tackle on Ryan Lester to win a free kick in the second quarter and was moved onto the ball in the third term to try to stem the bleeding in the middle and finished with four clearances.
Travis Boak was Port’s best with 25 disposals and Zak Butters was lively all night with clever hands to keep play moving, good physical pressure on the opposition and two goals thanks to his hard-running.
BRISBANE 2.1 2.7 11.11 12.13 (85)
PORT ADELAIDE 1.6 8.6 4.10 6.12 (48)
GOALS
Brisbane: Rayner, McCarthy 2, McStay, Hipwood, McInerney, Bailey, Cameron, McCluggage, Robinson, Neale.
Port Adelaide: Butters 2, Marshall, Rozee, Gray, Rockliff.
BEST
Brisbane: Neale, J. Berry, McStay, Lyons, Hipwood, Rich.
Port Adelaide: Boak, Butters, Gray, Amon.
INJURIES
Brisbane: Ellis-Yolmen (calf).
VOTES
3. Lachie Neale (BL)
2. Jarrod Berry (BL)
1. Travis Boak (PA)
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