AFL round 19: All the news, fallout and analysis from Brisbane’s 79-77 win over Sydney
Callum Ah Chee kicked a miracle goal to put the Lions in front against ladder-leading Sydney in a win he’s called their best for the season. And the Lions aren’t done yet.
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Only 56 days ago the Brisbane Lions were 10 points adrift of the top eight and Chris Fagan’s coaching acumen put under the microscope.
Since then his side has strung together seven straight wins, with the latest two-point triumph over Sydney the best of them all.
The scary thing is, there still looks to be room for improvement.
Mercurial utility Callum Ah Chee’s off-balance bomb on the run was a fitting way for the Lions to surge over the top of the Swans, who were equal parts gutsy and classy on an afternoon where they lost Dane Rampe (calf) and Tom Papley (ankle) before halftime yet still looked likely victors until the very end.
“As a forward you always practice those at training,” Ah Chee told this masthead of his tumbling bomb that clinched Brisbane’s third consecutive come-from-behind win at home.
“The moment came, I took it and was just lucky it went through.
“I’m saying that’s our best win this year. It felt like a final, definitely. It was that type of footy. The level was as hard as a final.”
A profligate Brisbane appeared set to fall short against the competition benchmark, having burst out of the blocks to lead by four goals at quarter-time before the Swans flipped the script.
Sydney returned for the second quarter and turned the Lions’ game against them. The visitors owned the footy for 40 minutes, with Errol Gulden and Chad Warner running rampant while Brisbane’s talisman, Lachie Neale, entered halftime with just six touches.
Midway through the third quarter the Swans looked odds-on to record a famous victory.
Forced to deploy a hobbled Will Hayward as a deep forward and down a player on the bench with the Papley injury, they nevertheless held sway in a see-sawing contest that had all the hallmarks of a high octane preliminary final.
If Sydney had won, Hayward’s performance would have been written in folklore. Running ostensibly on one leg, the forward booted two crucial second-half goals and could have been the hero with a late set shot to put the Swans back in front that agonisingly struck the post.
It was a fitting 50-50 moment in a game decided by inches that ultimately fell in favour of Brisbane.
Ah Chee’s tumbling, stumbling go-ahead goal followed Hugh McCluggage’s brilliant two-goal burst at the start of the fourth quarter that got the Gabba crowd rocking.
How did McCluggage slot that!? 😱#AFLLionsSwanspic.twitter.com/L8qbdFZfZw
— AFL (@AFL) July 21, 2024
MCCLUGGAGE FROM THE CENTRE SQUARE! 😱#AFLLionsSwanspic.twitter.com/Zk4M8z5Dn6
— AFL (@AFL) July 21, 2024
With Neale well-held by Taylor Adams it fell to McCluggage to be the match-winner and Brisbane’s vice-captain responded first with a trademark midfielder’s running goal off stoppage, before bobbing up with a long-range bomb from the restart.
“Clugg’s goal, I’ve never seen a ball bounce that way,” Ah Chee said. “It was unbelievable. It bounced at right-angles.
“You just have to take your opportunities when they come. I thought in that last quarter we had a few that we missed, but luckily we took enough of them which was good.”
All afternoon the Lions were wasteful. They returned to their early season scoring woes, going at a less than 35 per cent inside 50 efficiency for three quarters and spraying a handful of gilt-edged opportunities in the last. It threatened to derail their day.
Despite dominating the territory and clearance battle, they struggled under the weight of the Swans’ pressure and looked vulnerable on the counter. Neale could not get near the footy, while Sydney’s ball-winners were making an impact.
Fagan had put Brisbane’s defensive transition game on the agenda after his side scraped past Adelaide a fortnight ago, knowing then that the Lions had less than two weeks to get the house in order before the Swans marched into town.
For quarters two and three it looked to be their Achilles Heel, but with the game on the line their stars stood up.
McCluggage booted his two brilliant goals in the space of a minute and Charlie Cameron shrugged off his misfiring radar to sink one from the pocket when his team needed him most.
Neale was released from the Adams tag and finished with 18 disposals and six clearances in a gutsy display from the skipper who could have easily put the cue in the rack at halftime.
And then there was the unsung Ah Chee, who had the home fans singing his praises after his heroics.
He almost put the perfect icing on the cake when he was set free on goal mere minutes after his match-winner – only to also hit the post, ala Hayward.
“I thought someone was on me but apparently they both fell over and I had a mile,” Ah Chee said with a smile.
“But I kicked the first one, so that’s all right.”
This was the perfect win for Fagan to harness in Brisbane’s run towards September.
His side clinched the four points, but showed a clear gap between its best and worst. Room for improvement is always a good thing at this time of the season.
The Swans lost no admirers for their performance, given the injury toll that mounted in the first half. But like Fagan, Longmire will have some ammunition to light a fire under his men as they hurtle towards the minor premiership.
If these two sides meet late in September, as many suspect they will, let’s hope the sequel is just as good as the original.
LIONS ROAR INTO PREMIERSHIP CONTENTION
The Brisbane Lions’ winning streak continues against the ladder-leading Swans in a tight two-point victory at home, as late-game heroics from Hugh McCluggage and Callum Ah Chee made it seven on the trot.
Ah Chee made himself the hero as he booted a left-foot snap out of the pack to put his side ahead by one-point, with two minutes left in the match, creating the fifth lead change in the fourth quarter.
The match was well and truly up for grabs when midfield gun Hugh McCluggage had an inspirational two minutes, he booted two goals back to back to go with 26 disposals for the game.
Swans forward Will Hayward and running defender Jake Lloyd answered back with extraordinary goals of their own but it was not enough, as the visitors lost 11.1 (79) to 11.11 (77).
AH CHEEEEE!! Lions back in front! ðŸ¦#AFLLionsSwanspic.twitter.com/vlzcd6rygH
— AFL (@AFL) July 21, 2024
Key defender Brandon Starcevich returned from concussion and Charlie Cameron laced up after almost missing due to a dangerous tackle on West Coast Eagles’ Liam Duggan, which saw match review controversy during the week.
Superstar Isaac Heeney also returned for the Swans while Captain Callum Mills and key midfield cogs James Rowbottom and Justin McInerney missed.
SWANS’ INJURY WOES
Captain Dane Rampe was substituted out of the game with calf tightness late in the second term, replaced by Corey Warner.
The injury carnage didn’t stop there as forward pocket rocket Tom Papley suffered a right ankle injury moments later and took no further part in the game.
Spearhead forward Joel Amartey knocked his left knee but persevered to boot one goal from only six disposals.
SEE-SAWING AFFAIR
After a comfortable start by the home side, the ladder-leading Swans fought back and the second quarter was well and truly up for grabs.
Luke Parker looks like had not missed a beat after returning from injury as the substitute last week against North Melbourne.
He also kicked a thrilling left-footed snap from the boundary in the second quarter, to the ooh’s and ahh’s of the travelling Swans fans.
Taylor Adams was given the unenviable job of tagging dual Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale but kept him to only 18 disposals.
GREAT WALL OF ANDREWS
Lions’ defender Harris Andrews was elite down back, intercepting at will and limiting opposing forward Logan McDonald to only one goal and five touches.
He was helped in defence by the ever reliable Dayne Zorko, who amassed 29 touches and was creative, particularly in the first half.
Full forward Joe Daniher had a red hot start, booting three goals from four shots on goal in the first term, to finish with 3.3.
Debutant Henry Smith helped out Oscar McInerny in the ruck and battled up forward, before being subbed off in the third for promising youngster Bruce Reville.
Lions face Q-clash rivals Gold Coast Suns next week and Sydney will host the in-form Western Bulldogs.
Originally published as AFL round 19: All the news, fallout and analysis from Brisbane’s 79-77 win over Sydney
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