Brisbane Lions vs Hawthorn Hawks: Lions by seven goals

Match result:

Brisbane has weathered a few poor moments to ultimately record a strong 42-point win over a young Hawthorn side on Sunday afternoon.

While the first quarter began low scoring, with neither side having much luck near goal, the Lions eventually gained ascendency to boot the only two major scores of the term and take a small lead into the first break.

The Lions’ good first quarter work worryingly evaporated in the opening stages of the second stanza, though, as Hawthorn took advantage of the Brisbane slump to take the lead – if only for a brief few moments.

Brisbane eventually turned it around, and stormed back into the lead, which they wouldn’t come close to relinquishing again.

The second half contained to show the breadth of talent within both sides, as Brisbane’s mix of new and old talent combined, while the Hawks developing young group also providing great-to-watch performances.

While the Hawks’ wouldn’t end up winning, they still kept pressure on their opponents and largely prevented the Lions from doing things entirely their own way.

Lachie Neale’s 31 disposals instantly showcased the talent that he brings to the club, young guns Rhys Mathieson or Hugh McCluggage (29 and 27 touches, respectively) were great, Mitch Robinson played with flair and Cam Rayner’s three-goal, 16-disposal performance was close to best on ground.

The Hawks were very well served by their young talent – James Cousins (29 touches), Will Golds (25) and Oliver Hanrahan (19) were great. James Sicily was their most imposing forward player (2 goals).

Brisbane visit Melbourne next Saturday, while the Hawks play Richmond in Tasmania the same night.

Final score
Brisbane Lions 15.12 (102)
Hawthorn Hawks 8.12 (60)

Match preview:

Sunday pre-season football heads to Queensland’s sunny Moreton Bay, as Brisbane host Hawthorn in a JLT Series clash. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 1:40pm (AEDT).

The JLT Series welcomes Hawthorn and Brisbane to its ranks on Sunday, as the two teams linked by a common thread (in more ways than one) aim to impress their respective fanbases.

Brisbane’s 2018 was intriguing; a lowly 15th place finish, but with enough optimism through their wins that have heightened expectations for the upcoming season.

Coach Chris Fagan and backline lieutenant Luke Hodge (in today’s side) will be guiding the young Lions to have their best season in years.

Hawthorn’s run of premierships came to an end three years ago, but they’re a slick enough squad that they, too, should be competing for finals this season.

History tells us coach Aaistair Clarkson will be striving hard to reach them, even if pundits predict they’ll fall short.

Today’s match-up has both sides debuting some important arrivals at Brisbane and Hawthorn, respectively. It’s the Lions, though, that have named the strong squad for the clash – bar a couple of men, all their most integral players are in the squad, including former Docker Lachie Neale in his Lions debut.

Draftee Ely Smith is the only Lions first-year player named in the squad.

The Hawks, in comparison, have named a substantially more inexperienced squad. Four draftees – Will Golds, Mathew Walker, Damon Greaves and Tim Mohr – have been named, as well as still-to-debut second-year players Harrison Jones, Dylan Moore, Changkuoth Jiath and Jackson Ross.

Jarman Impey, James Sicily and James Frawley are some of the more experienced players in the squad, too.

Prediction
This is a tough one. Given the noticeable experience gulf between the two teams, the Lions do seem to hold the upper hand.

Recent form is on their side, too, given the Lions defeated Hawthorn twice in 2018 – both times against vastly more experienced Hawthorn outfits.

There’s not doubt that this’ll be a fantastic opportunity for Hawthorn’s younger talent to shine and impress Hawks leadership for debuts, but I feel like Brisbane will pull out a win today.

Expect the typically fierce Hawks to keep it interesting, though.

Brisbane by 19