THE Brisbane Lions will host Geelong at Carrara on Friday night, after the reigning premier was eliminated from the NAB Cup by St Kilda on the weekend.

In a high-class Saturday afternoon showdown in Canberra, Geelong went down 3.8.11 (86) to 3.9.10 (91) to the Saints and earned a second trip to the Gold Coast for the month – following on from the Cats’ Community Camp there in early February.

The clash with the Saints was tightly contested throughout and was perhaps the best quality game of the pre-season to date, particularly considering both sides were well below full strength.

Indeed, the make-up of the side Geelong brings to the NAB Challenge fixture at Carrara will generate significant interest, with five of their nine All-Australians, including Gary Ablett and Jimmy Bartel, failing to take the field against St Kilda.

Should Lions powerhouse Jonathan Brown be selected to make his 2008 debut, he will look to continue on from a brilliant display versus the Cats in round 22 of last year at the Gabba.

On that occasion, Brown booted seven goals for the evening and four in the last quarter alone, to put the seal on his first Coleman Medal.

In other weekend results, Essendon booked a NAB Cup semi-final date with the Saints by thumping the Western Bulldogs by 54 points, while Hawthorn and Adelaide will square off after wins over Carlton and Fremantle respectively.

NAB Challenge action brought a morale-boosting 35-point win for Richmond over Melbourne, a 33-point victory for West Coast against Collingwood and a resound 69-point result for Sydney versus Port Adelaide.

Essendon 3.12.14 (113) d Western Bulldogs 0.8.11 (59)
Essendon beat the Western Bulldogs at what is supposedly their own game, running Rodney Eade’s side ragged on Friday night, with Scott Lucas booting five goals. The Bulldogs’ day started disastrously when top draft pick Jarrad Grant trod on a stingray at a recovery session – and matters did not improve from there.

St Kilda 3.9.10 (91) d Geelong 3.8.11 (86)
Justin Koschitzke kicked five majors, including a supergoal, as the Saints continued their promising preparation for the season proper. In an entertaining affair, St Kilda and Geelong went head-to-head, with youngster Jack Steven kicking the match-winning goal for the Saints. St Kilda forward Fraser Gehrig suffered a calf injury but is expected to be fit for round one.

Hawthorn 4.9.13 (103) d Carlton 4.3.15 (69)
The Carlton NAB Cup bubble burst after Hawthorn set up an all but unassailable lead with a blistering first half. At one stage the Hawks led 58-4 and their only concern will now be the reports of Campbell Brown, Lance Franklin and Josh Kennedy – Campbell for a crude marking contest collision with Matthew Kreuzer.

Adelaide 1.14.11 (104) d Fremantle 1.12.6 (87)
Fremantle made the early running but it was Adelaide which finished the game by far the stronger, thanks to some magic from Andrew McLeod. The Crows' champion kicked three outstanding goals to help back up Mick Malthouse’s assertion that Neil Craig’s men were the fittest and sharpest side in the competition at present.

Richmond 14.10 (94) d Melbourne 8.11 (59)
A week after capitulating meekly to St Kilda, the Tigers bounced back encouragingly with a 35-point victory over the Demons in Cairns. Richmond went into the match without star forward Matthew Richardson but a combined four goals from Cleve Hughes and Jay Schulz helped lift the Tigers to victory.

West Coast 14.15 (99) d Collingwood 9.12 (66)
On a windy day at Albany’s Collingwood Park, it was the Eagles and not the Magpies who soared. Neither side was close to full-strength, although Michael Braun and Andrew Embley played their first games of the year for West Coast – with Braun in fine fettle.

Sydney 15.17 (107) d Port Adelaide 5.8 (38)
After a summer featuring more surgery than the Six Million Dollar Man, Barry Hall showed he was back to his old self in leading the Swans to an easy win over the Power. Following groin, eye and nose operations, the three-time All-Australian booted four first-half goals as Sydney romped to an impressive win. The only down side for Paul Roos’ side was the loss of Kristin Thornton with a serious knee injury – only a week after Nick Malceski’s season ended in similar fashion.