Inaccurate Brisbane defeat Adelaide as Charlie Cameron takes mark of the year contender

Superstar Lachie Neale had yet another blinder against Adelaide. But he had an absolute nightmare in front of goal, scoring an inaccurate 0.6. And he had a message for those hurling abuse at him on Twitter.

Liz Walsh

7 min read

June 28, 2020 - 3:30PM

Brisbane won comfortably over Adelaide.

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The Brisbane Lions have continued their winning streak in the Queensland hub with a 37-point win over a “down-then-up” Adelaide side that was insipid for the first half and inspired for parts of the last.

It was a comprehensive win for Brisbane, with an overall team performance where only inaccuracy in front of goals kept the game as close as it was.

For the Crows, sure, it was another loss and they remain winless and on the bottom of the ladder, but at least they showed some semblance of fight that has been missing since they returned from the COVID break.

After sinking against the Gold Coast Suns last week, Crows coach Matthew Nicks called on his flailing side to offer up some spirit against the premiership contenders, but by half time it seemed as though those calls had fallen on deaf ears and the dispirited Crows limped off the wet Gabba with a 40-point deficit and only two scoring shots on the board.

At this point, the Crows had managed to get the footy inside their forward 50 only nine times as they struggled to get the ball out of defence. They fumbled, got caught holding the ball, and missed targets.

The Lions, on the other hand, were flying, with Lincoln McCarthy leading the way, kicking his first goal of the season.

But the Crows team that trudged off the Gabba at half time was nothing like the one that emerged from the change rooms for the third quarter.

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Cameron Ellis-Yolmen celebrates a goal against his former side. Picture: Getty Images

A forward line that had been limp, became full of fight and flight. No longer did the midfield look slow and uninspired, instead filled with urgency and the defence just kept fighting.

The Crows shocked Brisbane in the third term, going on a scoring spree, kicking four goals (coincidentally all they could manage for the entire game against the Suns), while the Lions kept themselves goalless though inaccuracy.

In the last quarter, Brisbane adjusted to the reinvigorated Adelaide for the last quarter, with quick goals to Zac Bailey and Daniel Rich putting the game beyond doubt.

Cam to Cameron - need we say more? ðŸ¤·â€â™€ï¸#ColesGoals | #AFLLionsCrows pic.twitter.com/SFBfHViCLu
— AFL (@AFL) June 28, 2020

WALKER RESPONDS AFTER POOR STRETCH

Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks has described his under-fire forward Taylor Walker as “super valuable” to the Crows team as they continue to search for their first win of the season.

The former Crows captain has faced ongoing speculation since the return of football, that he be dropped for poor form.

But on Sunday, Walker proved his worth, kicking two important goals to go along with his 11 disposals (including nine kicks). Despite laying no tackles, he took four marks and his third quarter performance in the Crows’ 37-point loss to Brisbane, was surely his best so far this year.

In the third term, Adelaide outscored Brisbane 4.3 to the Lions’ five behinds.

Where they’d had nine inside-50s to half time, they more than doubled that tally during the third quarter and finished the game with 28 (the Lions finished with an impressive 61).

Nicks said Walker’s form was tied to that of the overall team – it’s difficult to have an impact on the scoreboard if the ball isn’t being delivered into the forward lines, get the ball forward and Walker kicks goals.

“Tex is very much a product of the way we’re going about it around the ball and the way we’re moving the ball,” Nicks said.

“As we saw in the third (quarter), when we get our contest right and we get our game plan where it should be, all of a sudden Tex is valuable, super valuable, because he’s very good in front of goal, he’s smart, he’s got experience.

“Unfortunately at the moment we’re asking him to compete in areas that are really tough to compete in over and over and it’s up and down the ground because we’re turning that ball over.”

Crows ruckman Reilly O’Brien, who had a tough day at the coalface against the Lions’ Archie Smith and Oscar McInerney, said the team would take positives out of the loss.

“Obviously it was a disappointing result, but that third quarter will be the standard that we hold ourselves to going forward,” he said.

“We’ve shown some improvement and we’re going to keep working hard and keep training really well and then it will flow into playing at that level for more sustained periods.

“That starts next week on the track.”

Nicks, who remains winless as senior coach, agreed that there is momentum to carry forward as the Crows prepare to take on the also-winless Fremantle next weekend.

“No matter the opposition … we’re looking to improve and put four quarters together, that’s our aim,” he said.

“We know what our footy looks like and we know how it feels when we play that style of footy; the game’s a lot easier when you work early.

“They’re getting better week by week, our next challenge is Freo we’ve got a big week ahead of that.”

KEAYS V NEALE

In just his 33rd game of AFL football, Crows recruit Ben Keays was given the difficult task of standing arguably the best midfielder in the competition, Lachie Neale.

For the first term he did a stellar job, sticking close and badgering Neale, holding the Brownlow favourite to just four possessions, no clearances and only 25m gained by quarter time.

In fact, by midway through the second term, it looked as if Neale had conceded defeat with onlookers dumbfounded that the star wasn’t running anywhere near as hard as he normally would and on the stats sheet he’d dropped his metres gained to -19.

But in true Neale style, he fought back into the game, drawing Keays into the contest and shaking free, fighting back to 10 disposals and three clearances at half time with 169m gained. He finished the game as the highest possession-getter on the ground with 31 disposals, including 18 kicks, took eight marks and had four clearances.

The only blight on his game? The six behinds he kicked.

Lachie Neale starred despite a tag from Ben Keayes. Picture: AAP Image/Darren England

GOAL KICKING PRACTICE

You’d think Brisbane’s coaches will spend this week concentrating on goalkicking.

The Lions’ inaccuracy kept the Crows in the game all day.

The likes of Charlie Cameron, Hugh McCluggage and Neale sprayed what looked like “gimmes”, and they finished the game with 23 behinds. The 37-point win should be have been much more.

YOUNG BRIGADE

After an insipid first half, the Crows rejigged the midfield, allowing youngsters Chayce Jones, Myles Poholke and Lachy Murphy turns through the middle.

They breathed new life into the game, and Adelaide’s senior players lifted accordingly.

Taylor Walker – who was bereft of opportunity to score in the first half – managed to find space when the ball finally came forward in the third term and was rewarded with two goals and his best game of footy for the year.

Brad Crouch, Rory Sloane (despite hurting his ankle and playing on) and Brodie Smith were all solid in the second half and finished the game with 24, 13 and 16 touches respectively.

Meanwhile, Billy Frampton kicked his first goals in the Crows’ colours.

Billy Frampton celebrates his first goal as a Crow.

BIG CHANGES

In his fourth game as coach, Nicks had made some big changes at the selection table, dropping former club champion Matt Crouch and Paul Seedsman.

It gave Poholke his first game since round six last year and he was solid, giving a spark in the mid-forward position. A goal in the fourth term was good reward for the 21-year-old.

He finished the game with 12 disposals and two clearances and surely did enough to warrant another game.

Meanwhile, big-kicking Crow Darcy Fogarty was a late out, replaced in the side by fellow tall forward Elliott Himmelberg and this decision raised many eyebrows in that the Crows had gone for height despite the Queensland rain. It meant the likes of Bryce Gibbs – and even Matt Crouch – were overlooked for a recall. Himmelberg had very little impact and finished the game with five touches to his name.

FATHERS FLY

Former Crows Charlie Cameron, Jarrod Lyons and Cameron Ellis-Yolmen were all in fine touch.

Cameron took a mark of the year contender over the top of Reilly O’Brien in the last quarter, while Ellis-Yolmen kicked a goal late in the last term and with his overall fitness greatly improved he made an impact in the middle too. Lyons had 24 touches and five clearances and was among the Lions’ best.

Cameron’s magnificent leap was over 202cm Crows ruckman Reilly O’Brien.

“I went early and knew that I’d get a big ride on Reilly O’Brien, I should’ve kicked the goal,” he said with a smile post-game.

Brisbane: 3.3 7.10 7.15 10.23 83

Adelaide: 1.0 2.0 6.3 7.4 46

BEST

Lions: Neale, McCluggage, Lyons, Berry, Robinson

Crows: Walker, Crouch, Smith, Keays, Poholke

GOALS

Lions: McCarthy 2, Cameron 2, McCluggage, McStay, Hipwood, Bailey, Rich, Ellis-Yolmen

Crows: Walker, Frampton 2, Jones, Crocker, Poholke

INJURIES

Lions: Dayne Zorko (calf)

Crows: Will Hamill (concussion), Sloane (ankle but returned to play)

Umpires:

Donlon, Gianfagna, Dore.

Venue: Gabba

NEALE’S RESPONSE TO TWITTER ABUSE

Dan Batten

Superstar Lachie Neale was arguably best on ground despite a tag from former teammate Ben Keays, but he had a nightmare day in front of goal.

Neale kicked a wasteful 0.6, missing several conventional chances which frustrated KFC SuperCoaches and punters.

Clearly quite a few had Neale to kick a goal — the score he kicked in behinds alone — in their multis, copping a barrage on Twitter.

An apologetic Neale responded with a cheeky tweet of his own, saying he owed those punters a beverage.

“According to my twitter feed, a fair few had me for a goal in their multi. Apologies, I owe you all a beer,” he tweeted.

According to my twitter feed, a fair few had me for a goal in their multi. Apologies, I owe you all a beer ðŸ»
— Lachie Neale (@lachieneale) June 28, 2020