Brisbane have reinforced their dominance of Gabba with a run of 10 goals en route to defeating Premier favorite Collingwood on Thursday night.
The Lions were expected to respond after two losses in the first three rounds and were helped by stellar performances from Cam Rayner and Charlie Cameron.
He leaves the Lions with an even tally before a Round 5 clash against North Melbourne, while Collingwood faces a resurgent St Kilda side.
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QUARTER BY QUARTER SUMMARY
Collingwood manager Craig McRae confirmed to Fox Footy that Jack Crisp would play despite his leaked scandal video and ongoing investigation.
“I’m sure the AFL and the club will see to it what needs to be done,” McRae said on Fox Footy.
“I’d like to think so (he’ll be fine out there). We’re a professional ensemble and he needs to come out and play him tonight.
“And then obviously there are some other things that he needs to take care of after the game.”
The Pies got off to a bright start, with some quick counterattacks ending in a goal for Taylor Adams.
Brisbane missed a couple of chances for their side, and Ash Johnson didn’t make that mistake after taking a free kick from 15 meters from goal.
Cam Rayner made the most of a disputed mark in the Lions’ 50 minutes, scoring the team’s first goal of the night.
Dayne Zorko got under the skin of Nick Daicos, with the pair pushing and shoving midway through the first period, by which time Daicos had amassed a lot of the ball.
Pushed forward by manager Chris Fagan, Rayner delivered some more brilliance for his second goal, with Charlie Cameron taking a free kick on target and adding a third to the Lions’ tally.
Bobby Hill scored his first goal of the game and added another a few minutes later with a brilliant run inside 50.
A smooth shot from Nick Daicos led the Pies to a 13-point lead at quarter of an hour.
Johnson took a big disputed mark early in the second quarter but was unable to convert the resulting set shot, while at the other end, Darcy Wimot kicked for real to cut the margin to less than 10 points.
The Lions’ kicking efficiency was up to par compared to the Pies, with Joe Daniher pulling off a great seven minutes into term and Jarrod Berry dribbling just under six minutes later.
A loud shot from Eric Hipwood made it four straight majors for the hosts, opening up a 10-point lead.
Five goals in a row were scored after a brilliant interception and traffic sending off Jaxon Prior.
After receiving a warning for violating the six-six-six rule, the Pies he gave away two free throws from the center of the box throughout the second trimester.
It was a problem the Pies didn’t need given how dominant the Lions were in the overall game.
A Dayne Zorko major turned out to be the final goal of the half, by which time the Lions led by 22 points.
David King noted the advance by Collingwood, who said on Fox Footy that it was a “Russian roulette” plan that the Lions were exposing at halftime.
Hipwood put pressure on the Feet again to open the second half, with a set shot in the first minute.
The Pies’ risky competitive game came to the fore once more as Cameron stormed into the unopposed goal and kicked the team’s 11th goal.
Rayner was next to run into an open net, kicking the Lions’ ninth straight goal and opening up a 38-point lead.
Eight minutes later, he was awarded a free kick for prohibited contact and scored Brisbane’s tenth consecutive goal and set Rayner’s career best four goals.
Brody Mihocek finally snapped that streak as the Pies began to show signs of recovery.
Mihocek kicked in another nine minutes later, scoring four straight goals for the Feet.
Jordan De Goey had a golden opportunity to add another goal to the Pies’ streak, but his cross went wide.
Cameron kicked a third goal at the other end to stabilize things for the Lions, but Mihocek added a third goal of his own almost immediately afterwards.
That turned out to be the end result of the term, with the Lions holding a 30-point lead at the final turnaround.
Nick Daicos’ third quarter kept statisticians busy as the 20-year-old recorded 16 turnovers.
Cameron kicked a fourth major to open the fourth period with brilliant agility, then kicked his fifth in response to Jack Crisp’s goal for the Pies.
The Pies continued their unruly night in front of goal with two more butts before De Goey and Nick Daicos kicked two of the next three majors, with Daniher kicking the other.
It was enough of a damper to prevent any genuine hope of a return for Pies, who the team made famous throughout 2022.
THE 3-2-1
3) FEET KRYPTONITE EXPOSED AS LIONS FORWARD PROSPER
Collingwood’s approach to the competition proved to be a double-edged sword on Thursday night.
Too often in 2023 so far, the Feet have destroyed teams with their career and there were early warning signs that the Lions could meet the same fate.
However, from the second quarter onwards, the Lions flipped the script and in the process provided a blueprint for how to do damage against the flag favorites.
“If you can win critical contests and come out behind, there’s an opportunity to score and Brisbane have been able to do that a number of times,” Leigh Montagna observed on Fox Footy at half time.
“I loved this about Chris Fagan, he has made some changes to the structure of his forwards. He got his little forwards further up the field.
“If you win that critical contest, because they’re so aggressive with the way they push and swarm, you get numbers everywhere.”
Many of the Lions’ goals on Thursday night came from goal and as a result of some brilliant work later on the pitch in the contest.
Charlie Cameron was one of the main beneficiaries, kicking a career-high six goals as his pace and wit dominated Collingwood’s six.
All of Cameron’s KPIs were up, with his average of 3.3 scoring shares between rounds one through three rising to 11 on Thursday night.
Then there are Joe Daniher and Eric Hipwood, who throughout the week have been in the spotlight externally for middling performances in the first three rounds.
By the end of Thursday night’s victory, the duo had righted the wrongs of the first three rounds with impressive performances.
Daniher, in particular, was everywhere, racking up 20 turnovers to go with two goals and four scoring appearances.
Hipwood finished with two goals from his eight assignments.
It was an excellent response, and as Jason Dunstall said on Fox Footy, “We have to give credit where it’s due, because we’re always critical.”
2) CAM DOES IT RAYN
One of the key moves Chris Fagan made on Thursday night was to move Cam Rayner from 50 defensive to 50 offensive and it worked like a charm.
Rayner had put in some strong performances in the first three rounds, but Fagan entrusted Rayner to play in his natural striker role and it worked wonders.
The 23-year-old was alive in the air, composed in the match and dazzling on the scoreboard, finishing with six goals and 11 goal appearances from his 14 assignments against the Pies.
“One of the criticisms of the last three weeks is that his ability to move his foot has been really poor. I felt like in the front half it was Cam Rayner who gave the energy and almost swept away their biggest and most experienced players,” Lions great Alistair Lynch said from The Gabba on Fox Footy.
“His energy impacted the field. Once you get through that Collingwood press and the connection is right, that’s where you’ll get most of your 50 early tickets… I think this is a real Cam Rayner first half for Brisbane.
“They had problems at ground level for the first three weeks of the season, he came in and made an impact.”
Speaking to Lynch after the game, Rayner said the position change had worked wonders.
“Fages talked to me throughout the week and told me to go and play with my natural foot and try to congratulate the guys down there… It felt good,” he said.
“I have been training very hard during the pre-season, playing on the back line, but the forward position is probably the one that comes most naturally to me. Being able to bring that into today’s game was really nice.”
1) YOUNG STARS GO FACE TO FACE
Two of the most accomplished AFL players came face to face for the first time in many, both oozing class beyond their years.
Nick Daicos and Will Ashcroft lit up the stat sheet, both finishing first and second in discards, respectively.
Daicos took the spoils on Thursday night, finishing with two goals, two delays and 38 disposals, 16 of which came in the third quarter alone, and 12 scoring appearances.
He was a brilliant player and Ashcroft is not far behind in becoming a star in his own right, finishing with 26 transfers and five appearances.
“I think this guy, what he does in traffic for a small frame is significant at 18 years of age, three games,” David King said.
“Many people say that he is already the most professional player in the league because of how he prepares to play.
“Look at him in traffic tonight, he’s way ahead of his age.”
Jason Dunstall added at half time: “I can’t speak highly enough of Will Ashcroft and how clean he is at ground level.”
“When he’s handling the ball in traffic, he’s just clean when others around him are fumbling.”
Recap Brisbane v Collingwood on our blog below!