The reigning premiers were unable to match the Lions’ intensity, particularly after half-time and were outscored 10.6 to 1.7 after the main break. Lions skipper Jonathan Brown outstanding with five goals in the 13.15.93 to 7.9.51 victory.
Despite being faced with a stiff breeze throughout the first quarter, the Lions were quick out of the blocks and were able to apply plenty of forward pressure as the Hawks struggled to find match-ups for tall Brisbane forwards, Brown and Daniel Bradshaw.
Within minutes, the visitors’ pressure paid dividends courtesy of a goal-line mix-up between Hawks defenders Tom Murphy and Simon Taylor, gifting a goal to busy forward Rhan Hooper.
With the Hawks goalless to the 13-minute mark, the Lions suffered a blow with midfielder Troy Selwood dislocating his right shoulder diving for a mark. This was particularly bad news for the brave midfielder, restricting his comeback from a nasty concussion suffered against Richmond at the MCG earlier in the year to just 13 minutes.
The Lions failure to clear a defensive ruck contest allowed Brad Sewell to celebrate his new three-year deal with the Hawks with a snapped goal from just inside 50m, his side’s first major for the match.
An instant reply from impressive ruckman Mitch Clark kept the Lions in the lead, the big man marking at the top of the goal square after a long centre clearance from Jared Brennan. Clark would eventually finish the match on the bench, a leg injury seemingly adding to Brisbane’s ruck woes.
The Hawks were besieged by a hard-at-it Lions outfit but managed to stay in touch through a goal to Mark Williams. The elusive forward made it two goals in two minutes and put his side in front with another set shot from inside 50m, this time courtesy of a clever chipped pass from Stuart Dew.
The Williams’ double allowed the Hawks to sneak into a narrow lead at quarter time, 3.3.21 to 2.4.16 but the Lions were no-doubt pleased with their efforts into the breeze.
Within five minutes of the second terms opening, Mark Williams popped up again for his third mark and goal, extending the Hawks’ lead to 12 points.
At the other end, Rhan Hooper’s third behind for the match proved costly to the Lions with the Hawks transferring play quickly forward, allowing Franklin to mark strongly on the lead. The big forward succeeded where his teammates had previously failed, kicking the journey easily with his booming left-foot kick sailing through post-high from 40m.
With his side held goalless to the 25minute mark, the class of Brisbane superstar Simon Black eventually told with the skilful midfielder clearing a boundary throw-in and providing a perfect pass for leading captain Brown who took a diving mark just inside 50m and made no mistake with his long-range set-shot.
Unfortunately for the Lions, Hawthorn found an instant reply through Jarryd Roughead whose clever mark and goal saw his side lead by 14 points at half-time.
The teams traded behinds during the first six minutes of the third quarter and it took a piece of strong individual play from Michael Rischitelli to kick the first goal of the quarter and close the gap to just seven points. The busy half-forward won his seventh contested possession of the match in splitting open a pack in the forward pocket and ran around to goal with a close-range right-foot snap.
A running goal from 50m to Stuart Dew put Hawthorn back in front by two goals, but it would prove to be the reigning premier’s only major for the half as the Lions took full control of the match.
By winning clearances, contested possession and inside 50s, the Lions were applying pressure everywhere but the scoreboard. This began to change when Brown, the dominant forward on the ground, took matters into his own hands, taking the ball from a forward ruck contest and snapping over his right shoulder to bring the margin back within a goal, 7.6.48 to 5.13.43.
The skipper was celebrating again minutes later, goaling from 35m after outmuscling Luke Hodge and putting his side back in front for the first time since the opening term. A cleverly dribbled effort from the charging Justin Sherman gave the Lions their fourth for the quarter and an unlikely seven-point lead heading into the break.
The opening exchanges of the final quarter saw possession traded between half-forward lines until Tim Notting bobbed up to intercept a loose Chance Bateman handball and goaled on the run from 45m. This stretched the lead to 12 points for the Lions, a four-goal swing in 30 minutes of football.
The Jonathan Brown show continued as he outmarked two Hawks defenders in the left forward pocket and kicked truly from a tight angle. His fourth and fifth for the afternoon were nothing short of a just reward for a tireless afternoon and came either side of a deft handball to set Sherman free for his second of the afternoon.
With the Lions out by five goals, Hawthorn seemed powerless to stop the onslaught. Franklin and Roughead were held to one each for the afternoon and without them firing, the Hawks were never likely to reign in the visitors.
Cheynee Stiller and Daniel Rich supplied further goals for the Lions, rounding out a great afternoon for the Lions and making for the perfect result going into the mid-season break.
Hawthorn 3.3 6.5 7.7 7.9 (51)
Brisbane Lions 2.4 3.9 7.13 13.15 (93)
GOALS
Hawthorn: Williams 3, Roughead, Sewell, Franklin, Dew
Brisbane Lions: Brown 5, Sherman 2, Clark, Notting, Rich, Stiller, Hooper, Rischitelli
BEST
Hawthorn: Sewell, Lewis, Ellis, Mitchell, Hodge
Brisbane Lions: Brown, Sherman, Brennan, Black, Rischitelli
INJURIES
Hawthorn: Nil
Brisbane Lions: Troy Selwood (shoulder)
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Chris Donlon, Hayden Kennedy, Justin Schmitt
Official Crowd: 16,710 at Aurora Stadium
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
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