Brian Taylor torches Brisbane for not celebrating young players first goal

Former AFL player turned media personality Brian Taylor has torn shreds off one club after a young gun copped a brutal cold shoulder.

Brian Taylor wasn't happy with the Lions

The Brisbane Lions took care of business on Friday night in what turned out to be a fiery contest under the roof at Marvel Stadium.

But it was one moment late in the contest that left a sour taste in the mouth of Channel 7 commentator Brian Taylor as he let rip at the Lions.

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As the Blues looked to mount a late charge in the fourth quarter, the Lions surged forward to shut the door on any comeback.

With the margin down to 19 points, Lions youngster Harry Sharp found himself all alone 15m out from goal.

After a contest just inside the boundary line, Jarryd Lyons gathered the loose ball and kicked towards Sharp at the top of the square.

Sharp fumbled the mark but had ample time as he collected the sherrin before strolling to the line and launching the ball into the second tier.

In his eighth game for the club and first in 2023, the 20-year-old notched his first goal in AFL but it’s what unfolded next that got under the skin of Taylor.

When a player kicks their first AFL goal their teammates normally come from every part of the ground to mob the youngster and celebrate the moment. The Lions players missed the memo.

“Not many players have recognised it yet,” Taylor said initially.

“In fact it’s only two which is rather disappointing. Get around the young man. Three players have come up to him upon kicking his first goal, I think they have all forgotten.”

Fellow commentator James Brayshaw weighed in trying to give the Lions players the benefit of the doubt: “I think they’re knackered BT”.

But Taylor wasn’t buying it.

“Well I don’t put that down as an excuse JB. I am flabbergasted in the way they celebrate these things these days and elect to not look at that one,” he said.

Did the Lions players not realise this was Harry Sharp's first goal at AFL level 😅#AFLBluesLionspic.twitter.com/CPEwslA5dY

— AFL (@AFL) May 5, 2023

Tempers flared earlier in the contest after Blues defender Nic Newman put himself in hot water with a forearm delivered onto the jaw of Lion’s star Lachie Neale.

A player can be heard on the broadcast describing the hit as a “dog shot”, which gave away a free kick and may land Newman on report.

"That's a dog shot" - Newman collects Neale with a forearm/elbow to the chin. Anything to worry about here?

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The match underwent a drastic transformation after quarter-time as Brisbane’s forward pressure ramped up to another level, and Carlton wilted.

The Blues broke down badly across half-forward and the ball lived in the Lions’ forward half for large portions of time.

The Lions have temporarily moved to the top of the ladder heading into the weekend and they now beaten Carlton four times in a row for the first time in 15 years.

The performance seemed to disgust Blues fans, who were pictured on the broadcast leaving at three-quarter-time with Carlton down by 40 points.

Taylor noted on commentary that the exodus was visible around the ground.

“Blues have gone home in droves, the earliest I’ve seen them go home in a long time,” he said.

Originally published as Brian Taylor torches Brisbane for not celebrating young players first goal