THE BRISBANE Lions had much of the play and plenty of opportunities but found the Adelaide Crows too slick, with the visitors posting a a 31-point at the Gabba on Saturday night.
Statistics will show the Crows, who play a possession brand of football, had more of the ball - 373 disposals to their hosts' 317.
The Lions, however, created enough chances to win the game and might well have won with a little bit more good fortune in front of goal.
Ultimately the Crows were able to forge a 14.16 (100) to 9.15 (61) win in front of a 26,978-strong crowd, largely on the back of a four-goal burst in the opening 10 minutes of the third quarter.
At the other end of the field, the Lions had nine entries into their forward 50m but were only able to post 1.5 for the term.
The Lions battled hard in the final quarter, with goals from Jonathan Brown and Scott Harding cancelling out early Crows conversions from Tyson Edwards and Scott Welsh. But the margin proved a bridge too far and Adelaide was able to post a fourth win for the season.
The Lions were best served by Jed Adcock, who provided constant drive from half-back with his hard-running, pace and neat use of the football.
Tim Notting was prominent early, kicking two goals in the first half, while Jared Brennan was good in defence and Simon Black and Luke Power typically whole-hearted in their efforts in the midfield.
Nigel Lappin continued his solid return from a niggling quad injury with 18 possession and five inside 50s and Irishman Colm Begley again caught the eye with some of his creative use of the football.
Adelaide's 250-gamer Tyson Edwards had 33 possessions in a dream milestone game, with Simon Goodwin another to find plenty of the football in amassing 30 disposals. The Crows were the more efficient of the two sides, posting 16 errors compared to the Lions' total of 36.
It was largely because of the work of Edwards, Goodwin and Chris Knights that the Lions trailed by a straight kick at the long break, despite making much of the running for the first-half.
After booting two goals in the first five minutes of the game through Jamie Charman and Notting, the Lions then tallied 1.7 until the 20th minute of the second term, when Notting made Adelaide play for an ill-advised game of keepings-off with his second major.
Brown earned a free kick for a high tackle and split the big sticks to put the Lions level with four minutes to play in the first half but Robert Shirley's late goal on the run allowed Adelaide to take a six-point advantage into the changerooms.
Adelaide 4.2 6.8 10.13 14.16 (100)Brisbane Lions 3.6 5.8 6.12 9.15 (69)GOALSAdelaide: S Thompson 3, S Welsh 3, S Goodwin 2, C Knights, R Shirley, I Perrie, N Bock, T Edwards, J GriffinBrisbane Lions: T Notting 2, J Brown 2, J Charman, C Johnson, A McGrath, S Harding, M RischitelliBESTAdelaide: S Goodwin, T Edwards, C Knights, S Welsh, S Thompson
Brisbane Lions: S Black, M Rischitelli, J Brennan, J AdcockINJURIESAdelaide: Nil
Brisbane Lions: NilReports: NilUmpires: C Kamolins, M Ellis, S JefferyOfficial Crowd: 26,978 at the Gabba.
