The Magpies just thumped the Lions at the Gabba, and this incident could make matters worse for the premiers

Nick Daicos was nothing short of brilliant for the visiting Magpies.Credit: AFL Photos

It took a Nick Daicos masterclass to bring Brisbane’s unbeaten run to a halt, and it may cause coach Chris Fagan to more clinically address his side’s slow starts.

Fagan showed signs of exasperation on the eve of the Lions’ 7.11 (53) to 16.9 (105) defeat to Collingwood, addressing questions regarding their build-up of comebacks before quipping, frustratingly, he had answered the issue enough.

But with Daicos spearheading the Magpies’ Gabba charge, the 2023 premiers never gave the hosts the chance to counter, as he dictated proceedings to the tune of 38 disposals, eight clearances, two goal assists and a goal.

The Sherrin just seemed to gravitate towards him once it came down from a contest, and while Brisbane’s backline initially thwarted much of the early raids inside 50, the pressure ultimately grew too much.

Former Lion Dan McStay proved an imposing target up front, kicking three goals, while Daicos and his brother Josh ultimately triumphed in the rivalry between the families.

Reigning Norm Smith medallist Will Ashcroft had one of the quietest game’s of his career, finishing with just 13 touches for his equal-lowest disposal count – while younger brother Levi showed some fight, but to no avail.

While the Lions had previously been able to pull back any and every lead against them this year, on this night it just got worse – a 10-point quarter-time lead ballooning to 35 heading into the final term.

Collingwood moved the ball with precision in the third passage, spreading the goalscorers around as Brody Mihocek (two), Beau McCreery and Ned Long joined the party.

Another Norm Smith medallist, Bobby Hill – having provided some energiser moments throughout the contest with some blinding runs down the boundary – then helped himself to a fourth-quarter double.

The Lions, in contrast, often killed their own momentum – as infrequently as they had any – with Dayne Zorko, Zac Bailey and Charlie Cameron guilty of over playing the opportunity when on the front foot.

Their ball movement was completely restricted, limiting Brisbane to just 37 inside-50s to Collingwood’s 51.

There was always a sense that the Lions’ slow starts would eventually cost them. Thursday night was a humbling realisation, and perhaps the one they needed ahead of next week’s clash with St Kilda.

What a night – one in which the Magpies made one hell of a statement against the reigning premiers. Expect Collingwood to yet again be there when the whips are cricking come September.

That’s all we have for you tonight – we hope you’ve enjoyed the coverage.

We’ll be back tomorrow as a cracking Easter round of footy continues.

Bye for now.

Dayne Zorko and Chris Fagan.Credit: Channel Seven

Brisbane Lions premiership coach Chris Fagan said he simply told Dayne Zorko to “calm down” when the experienced player was taken to the bench after giving away a 50-metre penalty at a critical stage in the third quarter.

Fagan and Zorko exchanged words, but the coach downplayed the moment when assessing Collingwood’s big win over the Lions at the Gabba.

“He was a bit hot on the collar at the time. I just said, ‘Mate, you’ve got to calm down. Just calm down’,” Zorko said.

“It wasn’t anything more than that. I don’t know whether it looked anything more than that, but it wasn’t.

“That’s all I basically said to him – ‘Calm down mate’.”

Fagan wasn’t hitting the panic button after his side’s winning streak came to an end and Collingwood, after a five-game winning streak of their own, snatched top spot on the ladder.

“I thought Collingwood were way more desperate to win tonight than we were, to be honest,” Fagan said.

“They scored heavily from clearances, [and got] territory from clearances – that made a huge difference for the game. I thought they were more ‘on’ than us.

“They were more energetic. They attacked the ball with more vigour. They hunted in packs better than what we did. There were a lot of things that we didn’t do well tonight.

“We had a shocker tonight, and Collingwood played really well.

“It was a lacklustre performance – uncommon from us you’d have to say. [We were] coming off a 10-game winning streak, I think.”

Brody Mihocek, Jack Crisp, Beau McCreery and Will Hoskin-Elliott after their side’s big win.Credit: AFL Photos

Collingwood veteran Jack Crisp, who next round will equal Jim Stynes’ record for the most consecutive AFL matches (244), was a satisfied man in the rooms afterwards.

The late and great Stynes, a former Melbourne ruckman and Brownlow medallist, has held the record since the late 1990s.

Now Crisp, barring an extraordinary dose of bad luck at training next week, will equal the record in the Anzac Day clash before a bumper crowd at the MCG.

“It’s the best game of the year by far,” Crisp told Fox Footy about next week’s clash against Essendon.

“It’s going to be extra special this week.

“It [reaching the record] obviously means a lot. When you grow up all you want to do is play AFL football as a kid. I was able to live out that dream early days.

“Here we are 10 years later [when Crisp crossed to Collingwood from Brisbane] and still going.

“I put a lot of work in what we do at the football club, because you’ve got to play consistent football and keep going.

“I put a lot of work into my body off the field as well … the wife and kids help me mentally switch off, which makes a huge difference as well.”

Collingwood skipper Darcy Moore has been cleared of concussion after he copped a nasty gash to his ear after he was seemingly pushed into a marking contest.

The Magpies opted to sub out Moore to allow them enough time to treat the injury.

“I split a bit of my ear cartilage open. I had to go downstairs to get it stitched up because it was kind of an awkward spot,” Moore told Channel Seven post-match

“It took a while to stitch me up, so they subbed me out.”

Moore said he had no ongoing concerns with the injury and would be all clear to play in the Anzac Day clash against Essendon in a week’s time.

The 2023 premiership captain was rapt to extend his side’s winning streak to five matches and grab top spot on the ladder.

“We’re playing such a connected brand of footy. It was a special night with Jamie Elliott’s 200th game as well. He’s one of our favourites and one of my best mates,” Moore said.

Moore appeared to be pushed into the marking contest by Brisbane’s Logan Morris.

Nick Daicos turned on another masterful performance on the big stage tonight, finishing with a game-high 38 touches in a real display of dominance.

But, in his mind at least, he wasn’t the star of the night.

Speaking of 200-game Pies favourite Jamie Elliott, Daicos said on Fox Footy: “He’s been a champion player for our club and it’s so awesome to celebrate him here tonight.

“Fly [Craig McRae] showed it [Elliott’s highlight reel] yesterday in our team meeting room - it’s pretty amazing. A lot of the boys were walking away saying it’s the best highlight reel they’ve seen.

“He’s just a special player, a special human and we’re super proud to have him.”

Party time: Jamie Elliott and Nick Daicos.Credit: Getty Images

As for the final margin of the win – 52 points – Daicos said the Pies knew it’d be tough for the Lions, given how hard they had to fight five days ago against the Bulldogs in Gather Round.

“We just wanted to keep running, we were able to do that tonight. It’s a real fortress here, their crowd gets into it, and it’s tough to play up here, so it’s awesome when you walk away with the four points,” Daicos said.

“We prep ourselves for these really big games. They’re a quality team and we want to match it with them, so it was great to do that tonight.”

Daicos also spoke about having to fight through a hard tag, saying: “We sort of welcome it as a team – we feel like it releases a number of our players, especially when I can play multiple positions. We feel like it sort of ties them in knots.”

Nick Daicos was nothing short of brilliant for the visiting Magpies.Credit: AFL Photos

It took a Nick Daicos masterclass to bring Brisbane’s unbeaten run to a halt, and it may cause coach Chris Fagan to more clinically address his side’s slow starts.

Fagan showed signs of exasperation on the eve of the Lions’ 7.11 (53) to 16.9 (105) defeat to Collingwood, addressing questions regarding their build-up of comebacks before quipping, frustratingly, he had answered the issue enough.

But with Daicos spearheading the Magpies’ Gabba charge, the 2023 premiers never gave the hosts the chance to counter, as he dictated proceedings to the tune of 38 disposals, eight clearances, two goal assists and a goal.

The Sherrin just seemed to gravitate towards him once it came down from a contest, and while Brisbane’s backline initially thwarted much of the early raids inside 50, the pressure ultimately grew too much.

Former Lion Dan McStay proved an imposing target up front, kicking three goals, while Daicos and his brother Josh ultimately triumphed in the rivalry between the families.

Reigning Norm Smith medallist Will Ashcroft had one of the quietest game’s of his career, finishing with just 13 touches for his equal-lowest disposal count – while younger brother Levi showed some fight, but to no avail.

While the Lions had previously been able to pull back any and every lead against them this year, on this night it just got worse – a 10-point quarter-time lead ballooning to 35 heading into the final term.

Collingwood moved the ball with precision in the third passage, spreading the goalscorers around as Brody Mihocek (two), Beau McCreery and Ned Long joined the party.

Another Norm Smith medallist, Bobby Hill – having provided some energiser moments throughout the contest with some blinding runs down the boundary – then helped himself to a fourth-quarter double.

The Lions, in contrast, often killed their own momentum – as infrequently as they had any – with Dayne Zorko, Zac Bailey and Charlie Cameron guilty of over playing the opportunity when on the front foot.

Their ball movement was completely restricted, limiting Brisbane to just 37 inside-50s to Collingwood’s 51.

There was always a sense that the Lions’ slow starts would eventually cost them. Thursday night was a humbling realisation, and perhaps the one they needed ahead of next week’s clash with St Kilda.

Leigh Matthews and last year’s premiership coach, Chris Fagan, share a special bond, but Matthews was quick to praise another of his former clubs on Thursday night.Credit: Joe Armao

There aren’t any bigger voices on Collingwood and the Brisbane Lions than Leigh Matthews, a current Lions board member and former premiership coach at both clubs.

“They’re very impressive at the moment,” Matthews said of the Pies on Fox Footy.

“They make sure you can’t get back into the centre square from the back 50.

“The Collingwood transition of players to make sure there were no easy exits was just outstanding.”

There’s the siren. What a road trip for Collingwood. Another one, for another win.

The hero of Collingwood’s 2023 premiership boots an easy one. And he roots the ball high into the stands at the Gabba. What a statement.

Collingwood 16.9 (105) lead Brisbane 7.10 (52)

Cam Rayner finds a late one. It’s merely a consolation prize. This is genuine junk time. About five minutes on the clock. The Coll-ingwood chant continues to ring out strongly at the Gabba.