The Brisbane Lions put a turbulent week behind them with their biggest win of the AFL season over Greater Western Sydney at the Gabba.
With former Fremantle mentor Mark Harvey taking over from the dumped Michael Voss as head coach, the Lions dominated the young Giants for a 18.15 (123) to 9.9 (63) victory.
Voss’s controversial mid-week axing was met with one of the lowest home crowds the club has seen with only 13,855 fans turning out to watch the lop-sided affair.
Playing his first game in seven weeks after overcoming a groin strain, Simon Black again showed his class with 28 disposals against the outclassed GWS midfield.
The 60-point margin was almost double the 12th-placed Lions’ previous biggest victory this season but it came after their remote finals hopes were snuffed out by Port Adelaide and Carlton’s wins earlier on Saturday.
There were few highlights for the Giants but they showed plenty of heart in the final term, kicking five goals to two after trailing by 80 at the last change.
Jeremy Cameron was restricted to two goals from limited chances but his double sees him move into a three-way tie with West Coast’s Josh Kennedy and Hawthorn’s Jarryd Roughhead for the Coleman Medal with two rounds to play.
While GWS boast a host of rising stars, it was Brisbane rookie Sam Mayes who shone most in the drizzle with four first-half goals and 21 possessions from the wing.
The Giants’ heavy flooding tactics early backfired as they struggled for possession and opportunity.
Stephen Coniglio kicked long for the opening goal of the game, but it was the Giants’ only major of the opening term as Brisbane quickly took control.
With Black making an impressive return, the Lions enjoyed a whopping 25 inside 50s to grab a 28-point lead into quarter-time.
Brisbane kicked seven more goals in second quarter, highlighted by Mayes’ fourth, a superb snap from boundary line.
Brent Staker and Josh Green finished with three goals each.
Harvey was pleased by the way the Lions responded to the shock loss of Voss.
“It’s been a difficult week in many ways and it’s always hard to understand how the players are going to react in those circumstances,” the caretaker coach said.
“We were happy with the way we pressured a young team, especially early.”
Vice-captain Daniel Rich added: “The first quarter set the scene and it was a big tick for the boys”.
Apart from a scrappy finish, the Lions were also concerned by a hip flexor injury to Pearce Hanley who is in doubt for next Sunday’s clash with the Western Bulldogs.
GWS coach Kevin Sheedy was disgusted by his team’s first-half display, delivering the first halftime spray of his two years at the Giants.
“I lost my voice at halftime,” he admitted.
“I thought it was a very, very ordinary effort in the first half.
“The contested ball was very poor.”
But Sheedy was well pleased with the second-half fightback and felt they wasted four extra goals late through inaccuracy.
Reportedly being sized up for a return to Essendon to help his strife-torn former club, Sheedy said he’d been sounded out but was negotiating for a new role with the Giants.
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