The Brisbane Lions have accounted for the Western Bulldogs by 27 points at the Gabba on Sunday.
In damp conditions underfoot, the Lions won 15.16 (106) to 12.7 (79) with another dominant display from their stars, particularly skipper Michael Voss, Nigel Lappin and Jason Akermanis.
Alastair Lynch’s late withdrawal, coupled with constant morning rain might have given the Dogs some cause for optimism, but it soon evaporated when the match got underway.
Lynch’s replacement Daniel Bradshaw highlighted the depth of Brisbane’s list when he goaled twice from marks inside 50 to open the scoring. He added four more to end the day with six, booting his fifth just before time-on in the final term to secure victory after the Bulldogs closed to within 21 points.
After Bradshaw’s opening two goals, Simon Garlick got one back for the visitors but the match then threatened to get ugly for the Bulldogs when Brisbane piled on four straight mid-way through the first term.
The first two came from new sensation Jared Brennan, who chased hard to pick up a bouncing footy close to goal, then got his second a few minutes later after confidently playing on and making no mistake from 45 metres just inside the boundary line.
Somewhat mysteriously, Brennan was taken off soon after kicking his second and spent a great portion of the first half on the bench.
To the Bulldogs’ credit, they continually stemmed the flow after the floodgates had threatened to open all day, staying close enough to maintain belief victory was still possible.
The second quarter saw both teams kick three goals, with the Lions seeing their 32-point lead during the quarter reduced to 21 at the main break when the visitors slotted home three of the last four goals before half-time.
After Voss produced a stunning first half that saw him kick a goal and collect 16 possessions, Akermanis stamped his authority on the contest with a 10-posession third quarter, helping the Lions to a 37-point edge at the final change.
Refusing to concede, the Bulldogs opened the final period with four of the first five goals, reducing the margin to 21 points before Bradshaw’s intervention sealed the result for the home side.
The Bulldogs were hampered by poor delivery into the forward line, the footy all too often landing in the arms of Mal Michael or Justin Leppitsch rather than a struggling Nathan Brown.
Brown started the game in the middle, went forward during the first term, but picked up his only possession for the opening quarter in the last line of defence. The low-point of Brown’s frustrating day came in the second term when he lashed out at Ashley McGrath with his elbow after a marking contest.
The win moves the Lions back on top of the ladder with four wins and a draw while the Bulldogs have now lost their last four games after starting the season with a 39-point win over Geelong.
In round six, the Brisbane Lions are at Skilled Stadium to face Geelong while the Bulldogs host St. Kilda at Telstra Dome. Both matches are on Sunday.
BRISBANE LIONS: 6.4 9.8 12.13 15.16 (106)
WESTERN BULLDOGS: 3.0 6.5 7.6 12.7 (79)
GOALS: Brisbane Lions: Bradshaw 6,Brennan, Akermanis 2, Voss, Pike, Power, Scott, Lappin
Western Bulldogs: Bowden, Garlick 3, Hargrave 2, Johnson, West, Croft, Dimattina
BEST: Brisbane Lions: Voss, Bradshaw, B. Scott, Lappin, Akermanis, Michael
Western Bulldogs: Johnson, Dimmatina, West, Garlick, Bowden
INJURIES: Brisbane Lions: Leppitsch (groin)
CHANGES: Brisbane Lions: Lynch replaced in the selected side by Bradshaw
REPORTS: Nil
UMPIRES: Kennedy, Rowe, Jeffery
CROWD: 24,371 at the Gabba
