The Brisbane Lions will meet Geelong at the Telstra Dome in the NAB Cup Semi Final on Friday night as one of a quartet of non-finalists from 2006 still standing in the AFL's pre-season competition.As well as the Lions (13th in 2006) and the Cats (10th), the Kangaroos (14th) and Carlton (16th) are also through to the Semi Finals. In a fixturing quirk that raised the eyebrows of Senior Coach Leigh Matthews, the Lions will be on the road for the third straight week. The Lions have already travelled to Cairns where they overcame St Kilda in the first round before Friday night’s 32-point Quarter Final triumph over the Western Bulldogs in Melbourne.Having said that, the Lions will at least catch the Cats on the rebound from a very tough outing in Darwin. The tropical north lived up to its name on Saturday night as Mark Thompson's side outlasted Port Adelaide to record a three-point win in extra time amidst torrential rain. The downpour had little effect on Cameron Mooney, who continued his fine start to 2007 with four goals straight, including the winning goal in the second instalment of extra time.Carlton meanwhile, is on the hunt for their second NAB Cup in three years. The Blues have been wooden spooners in the season proper for the past two seasons but Denis Pagan's side did manage to take out the 2005 pre-season title. Carlton advanced to the Semi Finals by leading at every change to account for Hawthorn by seven points on Saturday.The Kangaroos will entertain the Blues at their new ‘home away from home’ at Carrara this Saturday night, after holding off a late Fremantle surge to record a nine point Quarter Final win in Sunday's lone fixture. The Kangaroos looked to have the game in their keeping half way through the last quarter but some Jeff Farmer opportunism gave the Dockers a sniff and Dean Laidley's team some nervous moments.In the weekend's regional challenge matches, Essendon beat a well below full-strength West Coast line-up by 58 points at Subiaco, while Adelaide rebounded from their week one loss to Port by eclipsing Melbourne by 56 points. Sydney rolled Richmond by 19 points in hot conditions in Canberra and Collingwood had little trouble disposing of a depleted St Kilda outfit by 48 points.The NAB Cup weekend in brief:Carlton v HawthornAnother three goals from Lance Franklin weren't enough to get Hawthorn over the line against the improving Blues. One-time Lions potential father-son recruit Marc Murphy impressed with 23 possessions for Carlton, while Nick Stevens had 29 and Brendan Fevola kicked two goals amongst his 15 disposals. The Blues were able to emerge 1.9.12 (75) to 2.7.8 (68) winners despite Hawthorn ruckman Simon Taylor having more hit outs (23) than Carlton’s entire side. Sam Mitchell (31 possessions) was prominent for the Hawks, as were Jordan Lewis and former captain Shane Crawford.Geelong v Port AdelaideJimmy Bartel lived up to his reputation as a wet track specialist by topping Geelong's possession count with 26. Joel Corey also chimed in with 23 touches as Cam Mooney's four-goal haul - including the match-winner - lifted the Cats to a 0.9.6 (60) to 0.7.15 (57) victory. Kane Cornes had 30 disposals for Port and older brother Chad had 22 but the latter would probably rather forget his late shot at goal which would have given victory to the Power. Cornes looked set to become the hero as he lined up for goal from 10 metres out only to cannon the ball into the goalpost and register a behind. Ex-Lion Tom Logan had another solid outing for Port with 18 possessions.Kangaroos v FremantleThe Kangaroos went into as underdogs against last year's preliminary finalists but held off a late Fremantle surge to escape with a nine point win. Leigh Brown kicked three goals in an influential display against his former club. The Dockers searched vainly for a long bomb in the last 60 seconds to force a tie but were unable to conjure one. The Kangaroos led by as many as 31 points mid-way through the last term, with the hard-running Jess Sinclair (another ex-Docker) among the best afield and Lindsay Thomas again catching the eye with a pair of opportunistic goals. Paul Hasleby, Josh Carr and Peter Bell all saw plenty of the ball for Fremantle, while Jeff Farmer's late goals put Chris Connolly's team back into the contest. New Docker Dean Solomon was reported in the final quarter for striking Brent Harvey.Regional challenge matches:Essendon v West CoastMissing arguably their five best players - Chris Judd, Ben Cousins, Andrew Embley, Dean Cox and Daniel Kerr - the Eagles, not surprisingly, looked anything but reigning premiers against Essendon. Matthew Lloyd, on the comeback trail from a severe hamstring injury, kicked three goals as the Bombers forged a 58 point victory - 15.10 (100) to 5.12 (42). Kevin Sheedy's side kicked seven last-quarter goals.Adelaide v MelbourneBrett Burton found form for Adelaide with four goals in the first three quarters in the Crows' 56-point win while Andrew McLeod showed no signs of the foot injury that limited him in 2006. Adelaide had nine goal-kickers en route to a 14.16 (100) to 6.8 (44) win. Melbourne could find only six single goal-kickers and their chances were done no service by the early injuries of Ben Holland (hip) and Robert Warnock (ankle).Sydney v RichmondPeter Everitt made a long-awaited debut for the Swans following the best part of two years of speculation that he would leave Hawthorn for the Harbour City. However, it was Sydney's 2006 Brownlow Medallist Adam Goodes who was best afield in the Swans' 13.7 (85) to 10.6 (66) victory against Richmond. Sydney led at every change thanks to a five-goal first quarter which sent Paul Roos' men on their merry way.Collingwood v St KildaWithout Nathan Buckley and Anthony Rocca, Josh Fraser (four goals) and Travis Cloke (two goals) stood up as Collingwood notched a 15.10 (100) to 7.10 (52) win. Queensland product David Armitage was named in the Saints' best, with Heath Shaw rated Collingwood's most influential player. The Pies didn’t come out of the match unscathed with Fremantle recruit Paul Medhurst limping off early after receiving a knock to his instep.