The Lions trailed by 13 points early in the second quarter and mustered a solitary goal in the first 43 minutes of the match, but once they clicked into gear, the injury-hit Magpies had few answers in their Round 16 clash.
A dynamite midfield helped slam on seven goals in 18 minutes during the third term, helping to the Lions to a 16.13 (109)-11.7 (73) win and extend their 2004 record to 12 wins and four losses.
After a clear day in Melbourne, the heavens opened just as the ball was bounced to open the match, and the rain teemed down for the first half hour. Twice the storm turned into hail, stinging the Magpies into action.
They were generally first to the ball, resulting in a string of clumsy free kicks against the Lions. And that was despite matchwinner Nathan Buckley starting at full-forward in an effort to throw the Lions.
The Magpies also surprised by rucking big man Steve McKee and having the mobile Josh Fraser play a ruck-roving type role. Apart from Simon Black and Luke Power, the Lions midfield was slow to start and it took the appearance of Richard Hadley from the interchange bench to turn the momentum.
“They grabbed the initiative early in the conditions, and early it looked like we were on the back foot and reactive,” said Lions coach Leigh Matthews. “We were a bit reactive having guys all over place positionally.
“Once we started to get a bit of the ball their guys were out of position the same way our guys were. There were a lot of rotations of guys up and back.”
The Lions had 1.1 on the board in the first seven minutes, the Magpies frittered away the next six scoring shots for a return of 2.4, before the Lions steadied. An upset appeared on the cards when Ryan Lonie goalled two minutes into the second term.
However, the rain stopped, and Michael Voss and Nigel Lappin came strongly into the game, while Black continued to find the ball and Hadley again had an impact when coming off the bench midway through the term.
Livewire Craig McRae kicked two goals within a minute of each other midway through the term and was proving a handful up forward, while Alastair Lynch also contributed two goals for the quarter as he worked his way on top of Shane Wakelin after the Magpies defender was one of his side’s best in the opening term.
The lead changed six times during the quarter, with the Magpies hitting the Lions on the rebound on several occasions, and being aided by a free kick tally of 10-3 in the home side’ favour.
“The Collingwood jumper was first to the ball and we were falling in their backs a little bit. I don’t take much notice of free kicks. If you get in first you are a good chance of getting the free kicks,” Matthews said. “We were a bit overanxious when we were second to the ball there a couple of times.”
He admitted the focal point of his halftime address was telling his players to get to the ball first themselves.
“That was the main part of the game, we had to get our body in first, and if we were in second then we had to stand up a bit,” he said.
Voss set the standard in the third term with his fierce attack on the ball, and the entire midfield dominated. Chris Johnson had been good in the first half and was simply irresistible in second, his vision setting up numerous attacks.
Jamie Charman wrestled control of the ruck duels from Josh Fraser in another key turning point. Fraser and McKee gave their side great drive early, but Charman constantly thumped the ball forward or palmed the ball to the advantage of his small men for much of the second half.
“We started to win the ball, and the conditions dried up sufficiently for us to be able to kick the ball to each other,” Matthews said. “We were able to use the guy across field a bit and Chris Johnson came through the centre square a few times. They were forcing a lot of guys up into our forward 50, but our guys who hung back a little bit were able to pinpoint the ball on the way in.
“The third quarter was a really powerful 30 minutes. We were only two points in front and it was just a matter of persevering in the contested gets and clearances. We just had to get the ball running forward. We probably didn’t adjust to the extreme conditions early on.
“We were able to maintain possession, get a bit of run of half-back and change direction a little bit, and bring the ball into the forward line from different angles.”
The Lions added 7.4 to 2.0 in the third term, the Magpies booted the opening goal of the final quarter, but then the Lions booted the next four to lead by 52 points, before Collingwood kicked the last three goals to make the margin more respectable.
The Lions finished the night with many good players.
Blake Caracella provided a genuine target despite the wet conditions, Ash McGrath’s tackling pressure was of the highest order and he found plenty of the ball too, Daniel Bradshaw was a lively option at centre-half-forward after starting in defence, Chris Scott enjoyed a stellar third term, and Shaun Hart was another strong contributor at ground level.
“We had 11 goalkickers tonight, which was good. You had to share it around – it was tough for the marking forwards,” Matthews said. “There was a lot of good goals kicked to get us clear.”
They included a left foot special off one step under pressure on the boundary line by Leppitsch at the eight minute mark of the third term, a repeat effort by natural left footer Black from the identical spot 40m out two minutes later, and a hurried snap by Voss after clamping his hands on a bouncing ball and reefing it away from two Collingwood defenders.
Hadley was best afield to halftime despite spending half an hour in total on the bench, and he finished with a career high 22 possessions. His 18th game for the club was his best, surpassing several top notch efforts earlier in the year that helped secure him a National Rising Star nomination.
“Richard’s been very good as part of that midfield group of eight or 10,” Matthews said. “There’s All-Australians that play in there that get mentioned all the time but there’s another half dozen who do really good roles for us who do a really good job. Richard’s one of those who has come through in the last 12 months.
“Luke Power was really good too early when we struggled a bit, he was one that was lifting us up a little bit.”
Scores:
Brisbane Lions, 1.2, 5.7, 12.11, 16.13 (109)
Collingwood, 2.4, 5.5, 7.5, 11.7 (73)
Goals, Lions: Pike 3, Lynch 3, McRae 2, Caracella, Voss, Power, Black, Leppitsch, Copeland, Bradshaw, Hart. Magpies: Lonie 2, Woewodin, Holland, O'Bree, Fraser, Lokan, Buckley, Davis, Lockyer, Rocca.
Possessions, Lions: Black 30, Lappin 30, Power 28, Lappin 27, Caracella 27, Hadley 22, Hart 19, Johnson 16. Magpies: Licuria 22, Burns 20, Buckley 18, Clement 17, Shaw 17, Cole 16, Fraser 15, Lockyer 15.
Best, Lions: Black, Voss, Hadley, Power, Lappin, Johnson, Caracella, Charman, McGrath, Leppitsch, Bradshaw, McRae. Magpies: Shaw, Clement, Fraser, McKee.
Hard Ball Gets:
Clearances:
Centre Breaks:
Tackles:
Inside 50:
Umpires: McBurney, Kennedy, Ellis
Crowd: 34,236 at MCG
