Australian Football

Match Report

Brisbane's fairy tale season has ended in heartbreak, with Lions falling just three points short of the GWS Giants, whose lucky escape propels them into a repeat of last year's Preliminary Final match-up with Collingwood. For much of the final quarter at the Gabba, it looked and felt very much like the Lions would overtake the Giants, but they were unable to deliver a knock-out punch. The GWS defence absorbed attack after attack, with captain Phil Davis and fellow defender Nick Haynes taking intercept marks time and time again to deny the Lions.

Earlier, the Lions themselves had been stunned, as the Giants flew out of the blocks to kick the first four goals of the match to set up a 25-0 lead. But with the big Gabba crowd behind them, Brisbane worked its way back into the game, and amazingly found themselves in front at quarter time, after which the game turned into a slog. It was a slog full of spite, with 'spot fires' breaking out all over the ground throughout the night as tempers flared and neither side gave an inch.

Inevitably, Giants 'villain' Toby Greene was involved in several of those outbreaks, and his behaviour has again landed him in hot water with the Match Review Officer Michael Christian, who handed Greene a one-match suspension for "Unnecessary Contact to the Eye Region" of Lion Lachie Neale. This comes only a week after Greene escaped with a fine for a similar offence against the Bulldogs. Greene will contest the penalty at the tribunal on Tuesday.

It was Greene himself who kicked off his side's blazing start with a snap from the pocket producing the game's first goal. As the Lions got sucked in by their opponents' aggression, the Giants piled on early majors via Jeremy Finlayson, Jeremy Cameron and Daniel Lloyd. With the first quarter not even half over, Brisbane found themselves 25 points in arrears. For a young side in which the majority of players were experiencing their first finals campaign, this could easily have sounded the death knell.

But led by the likes of veteran Luke Hodge, the Lions settled, first with a goal to Jarrod Berry, and then with further majors to Eric Hipwoood and Charlie Cameron, who had returned to ground in pain after suffering an arm injury that looked like ending his match. By now, the Lions hadn't only settled, they were beginning to take control, and further goals to Dayne Zorko and Jarryd Lyons took the home side to a six-point lead as the sides changed ends for the first time. 

The Giants regained the lead with early second-quarter goals to Greene and Jacob Hopper (punctuated by Hipwood's second) before the frenetic scoring (if not the frenetic attacks on the ball and each other) paused for a time between the twelve and eighteen-minute marks. Zac Williams broke that pause, his first goal giving the Giants a seven-point buffer, and then the free-scoring resumed, GWS adding two goals to one during time on to wrest back the momentum. The Giants took a two-goal advantage into the long break.

An early third-term goal to Cameron extended the GWS lead to 19 but neither side could land a major from that point until time on. Brisbane then kicked two in a hurry through Daniel McStay and Cameron, whose magnificent goal from 50 metres out close to the boundary cut the margin to just five points. The Giants responded with two behinds, and took a seven-point buffer into the last change of ends.

After Josh Kelly missed a difficult snap from a sharp angle in the first minute of the last quarter, Lion Eric Hipwood kicked the first major of the term to cut the deficit to two points. Narrow misses to Neale and Hipwood levelled the scores and then another miss from Hugh McClugagge gave Brisbane the lead by the narrowest of margins. The ball resided almost permanently in the Lions' forward line for the first 10 minutes, but when the Giants finally escaped, they took full advantage, with Cameron finding Kelly free after receiving a free kick. Kelly did not miss, and GWS led by five, 10 minutes in.

The next quarter of an hour was a titanic struggle. Time after time, then Lions bombed the ball forward. And time after time, Walsh and Hayes marked or brought the ball to ground, where Heath Shaw and his fellow defenders sent the ball back outside the 50-metre arc, only for it to return once more. In that 15 minutes, Brisbane could not find a goal, the only score a behind to big Oscar McInerney.

Finally, 23 minutes into the term, the Giants' defence cracked, and Allen Christensen converted a free kick to put Brisbane ahead by three points. The Lions had one foot in a Preliminary Final. It would have been their first in 15 years. One more goal would have sealed the deal, but they could not find it. Then, GWS escaped the Lions' press one last time, and a slick 'handball' (which replays showed to be a throw) from Kelly found Brett Daniels whose running checkside kick bisected the big sticks. 

There were still two and a half minutes on the clock when Daniels goaled, time enough for the Lions to steal back the lead. Again they attacked but again the Giants repelled them, as Haynes took yet another saving mark in defence. Eventually time ran out, GWS ahead 83 to 80 as the final siren sounded, ending Brisbane's season in a gut-wrenching way, and propelling the Giants into a third Preliminary Final in four years.

Notwithstanding his indiscretions, Greene's football was outstanding, and his 30-possession, two-goal performance was a major factor in his side's win. One wonders why he cannot simply focus on using his obviously brilliant talent and keep his hands on the ball or around the waist of an opponent with the ball. His absence will make the Giants' task of going one better than last year against Collingwood all the more difficult.

Daniel Rich (25 disposals and four tackles) and Dayne Zorko (25 and five) did virtually all they could to get there team across the line, but it was not quite enough. This loss will burn for Rich, Zorko and their teammates, and coach Chris Fagan, But Brisbane have made huge strides this year, and it is not hard to imagine the Lions taking one or more steps further in 2020.

GOALS
Brisbane: Hipwood 3; Cameron 2; Berry, Zorko, Lyons, Rayner, McStay, Christensen
Greater Western Sydney: Cameron 3; Greene, Finlayson 2; Lloyd, Hopper, Williams, Kelly, Daniels

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Brisbane: Rich, Hipwood, McCluggage, Berry, Zorko, Hodge, Robertson
Greater Western Sydney: Greene, Hopper, Williams, Cameron, Kelly, de Boer

INJURIES
Brisbane: Cameron (elbow)
Greater Western Sydney: Nil

UMPIRES: Stevic, Chamberlain, Ryan

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Seven Network

COMMENTATORS: Luke Darcy, James Brayshaw, Matthew Richardson, Cameron Ling, Jobe Watson