DUSTIN Fletcher's 300th game has ended in disappointment with Essendon falling to the Brisbane Lions by 43 points at the Gabba on Saturday night.
After a disastrous 93-point loss to Geelong last week, the Lions produced a ferocious attack on the ball and intensity that would have pleased coach Michael Voss.
Captain Jonathan Brown was devastating across half-forward, with five goals from 24 touches and 13 marks, and his dominance of opponent Adam McPhee was central to the 17.9 (111) to 9.14 (68) victory.
His kicking for goal was a feature, with four converted from the 50m arc and tight on the boundary lines.
The Bombers' forgettable night was soured by a third-quarter ankle injury to Fletcher, who took no further part in the game.
However, skipper Matthew Lloyd provided one highlight for the visitors in that quarter when he finally found the 900th career goal that had eluded him in recent weeks.
But nothing could be taken away from the Lions, as the crowd of 29,252 witnessed their control of the centre corridor and counter-attack of Essendon's usual free-running approach.
Travis Johnstone was back to his best with 28 possessions, Simon Black (24) was busy, Mitch Clark had the better of Anzac Medallist Patrick Ryder in the ruck and Troy Selwood's relentless efforts typified the Lions' desperation.
Daniel Bradshaw put a goalless fortnight behind him to kick four, including three in the last quarter when the sting was out of the game. Luke Power finished with three.
Essendon kept trying, but was wasteful with its set shots.
Jobe Watson (36 possessions) was tireless, while Nathan Lovett-Murray, Brent Stanton and Andrew Lovett were also good contributors.
Scott Lucas had another dirty night, failing to kick a goal and rarely threatening.
Though Brown and Bradshaw dominated up forward, the spread of smaller goalkickers was another important gain for the Lions.
They jumped from the blocks quickly on the back of strong first quarters from Jared Brennan and Brown to lead by 23 at the first change.
It took 10 minutes to kick the first goal after a strangely subdued beginning, with Brown taking a strong pack mark from a Bradshaw delivery.
Power snapped a nice left-footer for the first of his three, before Heath Hocking got the Bombers on the board after bursting clear from a stoppage and converting with his left.
But for the rest of the term Brennan took over.
In one passage of play he juggled a clever mark on centre wing, delivered beautifully to the leading Brown and then ran forward to take the next mark in the left forward pocket.
For good measure he went back and split the sticks with a textbook left-foot drop punt.
The second quarter saw Jason Winderlich briefly bring Essendon back into the contest with two goals in two minutes, only for the Lions to bite back and extend their lead to 36 points.
Matthew Knights had moved Winderlich to the goal square from his usual midfield role and it worked, slicing the margin to 13.
But it was all Lions after that.
Brown kicked brilliantly for two goals and small forwards Power, Justin Sherman and Scott Harding also contributed.
The Lions strode through the middle with a Black, Ash McGrath and Power-chain ending in a goal, with their forward pressure and relentless running a feature.
The third quarter saw the teams trade goals and included Lloyd's milestone after he marked strongly overhead in an otherwise difficult night.
It was the Lions' first victory over the Bombers since round two, 2006 – the final year of Voss' playing career.
Brisbane Lions 5.2 10.2 12.6 17.9 (111)
Essendon 1.3 3.8 5.12 9.14 (68)
GOALS
Brisbane Lions: Brown 5, Bradshaw 4, Power 3, Selwood, Brennan, Sherman, Rischitelli, Harding
Essendon: Lloyd 2, Winderlich 2, Lovett, Hocking, Lovett-Murray, Zaharakis, Lonergan
BEST
Brisbane Lions: Brown, Johnstone, Black, Power, Selwood, Clark
Essendon: Watson, Lovett-Murray, Hocking, Stanton, Lovett, Winderlich
INJURIES
Brisbane Lions: Nil
Essendon: Fletcher (ankle)
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Rosebury, Hay, Avon
Crowd: 29,252 at the Gabba
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
