The West Coast Eagles come off their convincing Western Derby win last week, to make the longest trip in the competition to play the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba. We’ll have live scoring as it happens from 1:10pm AEST.
The Brisbane Lions looked all out of sorts in their first half last week against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium, with the Kangas running rampant throughout the midfield and the Lions having trouble getting near the goals.
It was very easy to suggest the game was gone and the Lions would lie down and get smashed.
But there was a spark after half time that saw them kick ten goals to four and give North Melbourne a fair shake.
Jonathan Brown and Daniel Merrett were a little quiet last week. Against the Giants they combined for 46 possessions and twelve goals. But last week only managed three goals between them. They will need a massive lift this week against a stingy West Coast defensive line.
They can’t afford to give West Coast a head start today – it’s something that has happened far too often this season for the Lions.
Somewhere West Coast is expected to excel today is in the rucks, with Dean Cox and Nic Naitanui becoming an unstoppable duo to date.
Cox’s five goal haul against the Saints a fortnight ago showing he’s as dominant up forward as he is in the rucks. In fact, both ruckmen will drift forward throughout the match.
The massive amount of injuries West Coast have had means it’s given some of the younger midfield brigade to shine, including Brad Sheppard, Andrew Gaff and Scott Selwood, while Matt Rosa won the best on ground in last week’s Western Derby with a stand out performance.
At the height of their powers in the mid-00’s, West Coast didn’t worry about travelling to Brisbane – with the likes of Judd and Cousins leading from the front. The way the Eagles are going this season, you’d find it hard to believe that the distance will be a factor.
It is a tough task for the Brisbane Lions today. If they start well and put the pressure on the Eagles early, they could spring a surprise. But the Eagles will be heavy favourites. Join us for live scores from 1:10pm AEST as the Lions host West Coast.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
Nothing else in muscling in. Tasmania's market is too small for either rugby code or even Association Football to bother with. Barely 1% of GDP, and less than half of that in any one market. Its not worth anyone chasing. Tasmanian football was culled in the mid-90s, through inept administration locally and deliberate choice by the AFL. The the first state league folded, partly so AFGL could be shown live o Saturday afternoons. The state then became a subsiduary of Victoria, with the Devils in the VFL and only bush leagues below. The new TSL is a shadow of the old state league, and the administration is starting down the same self-destructive path of talking down its own clubs, trying to build start-ups where in areas with no support for them because administrators decided to build an oval where there was no club. Tas footy would be flatlining anyway, due to economic and demographic problems ripping the heart out of the player pool; but it is made much worse because of the men in charge of the shenanigans.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Its not just north/south. Traditionally, there was the TFL (south), the NTFL (North) and the NWFU (north-west). Fortunately, theres now a Tasmanian State League ... http://www.tasmanianstateleague.com.au/index.php
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Hard to know. It could d just be that the local governing body hasn't quite got its act together as to how it structures itself, and the North/South divide continues to hinder progress.
Nathan of Perth
Guest
Terrible to hear - wonder if it a sign of general sports decline or if RL/RU is muscling in? Perhaps the AFL HQ has done damage to the code in consistently excluding Tasmania (even if it is for the valid reason that there is no way to get a self-sustaining ~$30m/yr franchise going in what is effectively Australia's second-world cousin).
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Unfortunately, SA U18s have given Tassie an absolute hiding, another sign that the standard of footy in Tassie is on the decline.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
In related news, Vic Country has just defeated NSW/ACT U18s by only 9 pts, which is a terrific result for the Rams. This too augurs well for the Swans and Giants academies. This is on top of NT U18s defeating Vic Metro last week.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Other good news for Queenslanders, Qld U18s have just defeated WA in the national U18 championships for the first time ever. This is really big news. Footy in Qld has been developing very nicely the past decade, and is already on the verge of becoming the third most important footy state in Australia (ahead of SA). Also great news for the Lions and Suns Academies, no doubt they'll find some great young talent for the next couple of years. That's what it's all about.
Norm
Guest
I can't believe all these results!
Nathan of Perth
Guest
D'ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh.
TomC
Roar Guru
You ripper Lions! Go you good things!
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Brisbane kick eight goals straight in the last quarter to beat West Coast by two points in the last minute of the game. Heck of a round of footy :)