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Well, that was quite a game. In truth, the Lions were the stronger team in most respects, for most of the game, but at half time it appeared they’d kicked themselves out of it with 4.14 to that point.
They straightened up a little to kick ten goals in the second half against a Suns team that frankly struggled to match them up and stop their forward run. 66 inside 50s to 48 probably reflects the flow of the game more than any other stat.
The Lions owe their win to an even contribution from a number of key midfielders. They were always more effective in contested situations, and in turn limited the impact of that Suns engine room that had been so impressive otherwise this year. Ablett in particular had limited impact, although Hall was certainly the Suns’ best in the second half.
Hanley, Zorko, Christensen, Rich, Cutler and Bastinac all had twenty touches and made big contributions for Brisbane. The Suns just didn’t have the same impact from that number of players.
Early on, it appeared that Tom J Lynch would win the game single-handed for the Suns. He had three in the first term, but just didn’t receive the same supply for the rest of the game. He finished with five, and actually did some excellent work up the field, but the Suns weren’t able to take advantage of his superiority to the Lions’ backline for the most part.
Apart from Lynch and Hall, there’d be few Suns happy with their output. Martin had little impact, as did Prestia. Rosa and Harbrow, who’d provided drive from the backline in other games, had down games. Nick Malceski did some good things drifting forward though.
The Lions would be happy with the performance of their young backline, particularly after they appeared to struggle early. Andrews, Gardiner and Bewick played their best games of the year.
The sad talking point will be the hit on Martin by Steven May at the end of the first half. It was pretty nasty, and I imagine will be replayed quite a bit during the week. Martin looked in a lot of trouble, but was back on the field at the end of the game. Who knows, maybe he’ll be available next week. May I suspect is headed for a few weeks on the sidelines. In fairness, he appeared genuinely contrite when chatting to Martin after the final siren.
Final score
Lions 14.23 (107)
Suns 14.10 (94)
It’s Queensland Derby XI, as the Brisbane Lions host the Gold Coast Suns at the Gabba. We’ll have live scores and a live blog from 4:35pm AEST.
Both teams had disappointing seasons in 2015, but so far this season the results couldn’t be more disparate.
While the Lions have lost all three games by six goals or more, the Suns have had three comfortable victories, including an impressive upset over the Dockers in Perth.
So the form today is clearly pointing to a Gold Coast win.
The Suns boast one of the game’s greatest ever players in Gary Ablett, and arguably the form player of the league in Aaron Hall. Tom J Lynch has kicked at least four goals in each of the first three games, while Jack Martin has also started the year very well.
The Lions have faced tough opponents, and while they were competitive at times in the first two rounds, their ineffective performance last week against Geelong doesn’t bode well for the rest of the season.
At selection, Rory Thompson and Trent McKenzie are out with injury for the Suns, while Brandon Matera loses his spot in the team. They are replaced by Callum Ah Chee, ruckman Keegan Brooksby and the exciting Touk Miller.
The Lions are still without Tom Rockliff and Dayne Beams, but they do regain Daniel Rich with Billy Evans making way. Surprisingly few changes for a team that was so poor last week.
The Queensland Derby doesn’t really set the pulse racing the way the equivalent match-ups do in South or Western Australia. While there has been a certain amount of drama, there haven’t really been many high quality, high stakes contests between these teams. That may not change today.
But all the same this might be quite entertaining. The Suns play attacking footy and have been a high scoring team this season. The Lions started the season similarly, albeit without being able to stop their opponents getting away from them, even if they regressed last week.
So both teams will try to play an open, free-flowing game, moving the ball quickly. Expect Gold Coast to ultimately win this one comfortably, but it may be a worthwhile spectacle despite the result.
Join The Roar for live scores and a live blog of the match from 4:35pm AEST.
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