Lethal Lions mow down Eagles for sixth straight win
Steve Barrett |
Brisbane have jumped into third position on the AFL ladder after climbing out of a hole to defeat West Coast by 24 points.
The Lions had to overturn a 22-point first-quarter deficit and some wayward kicking throughout to reel in the Eagles 13.15 (93) to 10.9 (69) at Perth’s Optus Stadium on Saturday night.
It was Brisbane’s sixth straight victory, their bid for a third successive premiership continuing to gain serious momentum.
Superstars Lachie Neale and Will Ashcroft racked up 32 disposals each, Josh Dunkley added 28 and Kai Lohmann slotted four majors.
Lohmann goaled late in the opening stanza after snaffling a spectacular hanger over teammate Logan Morris and opponent Rhett Bazzo.
West Coast were buzzing early, sprinting to a 15-point quarter-time lead despite harbouring some injury concerns.
The match was barely a minute old when forward Jack Hutchinson went off with a hamstring injury.
Later in the opening term Harley Reid, moments after he produced a pack-busting clearance followed by a fend-off on Lohmann, got his left ankle tangled up with Noah Answerth’s foot while copping a solid bump from the Lions defender.
Reid went off for a HIA, which he passed, but his ankle was the bigger concern, not helped when he appeared to trip on a step while in the dugout.
Reid’s evening looked finished as he remained glued to the bench to start the second period, but he eventually returned to the field and was the Eagles’ best player, posting 23 touches and 10 clearances.
Despite falling behind 5.1 to 1.4 at one stage, Brisbane dominated possession and territory virtually from the outset.
But they let themselves down with poor finishing, Morris the chief offender with 0.3 at halftime, by which stage the Lions had three more scoring shots but still trailed by seven points.
The visitors found their radar after the main break, moving ahead when Zac Bailey goaled, then adding to their lead with further majors to Neale and Morris.
Brisbane won the quarter 6.2 to 2.3 to move 16 points clear at the final change, which proved more than enough.
Jake Waterman (five goals) and Jobe Shanahan (three) always threatened forward of the ball for West Coast, combining for eight majors without a miss.
AAP