Brisbane Keeps Finals Hopes Alive with Thumping of Western

Brisbane thumped Western yesterday in a matchup of teams right beside each other on the ladder, with Western two points ahead. With just one loss in their past five matches, Brisbane seems to have turned their season around after a rough start.  

Brisbane Works to a Big Halftime Lead 

Western and Brisbane met yesterday with the Lions six points back of their opponent Bulldogs on the ladder; both on the outside looking in at the top eight. As such, the matchup was a pivotal one, especially for Brisbane who with a loss would really lose touch of the five sides battling for the last to finals spots.  
 
Western came out strong in this one. They played on the front foot when the whistle was blown and pressed the Lions.  
 
They found the game’s first goal just one minute in off the boot of Adam Treloar. It was a fluky one that landed well short but took a wild bounce to go through for a goal.  
 
Brisbane then put through a behind and a goal to take their first lead before Western pushed back. Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and Marcus Bontempelli both kicked goals and gave their side an 18-9 lead.  
 
Joe Daniher had the answer for Brisbane with a brilliant strike from the boundary that went through for six. Ugle-Hagan put on more through for Western before the quarters end, but it was sandwiched between two Eric Hipwood goals for Brisbane as the Lions led 27-24.  
 
The second quarter is when the Lions seized the match. After just one behind in the opening seven minutes, the floodgates opened.  
 
Over the next ten minutes, Brisbane put through four unanswered goals. James O’Donnell then scored and goal and put through a behind for Western to get them back to within 21. However, two late goals for Brisbane, Hipwood’s fourth of the match and Lachie Neale’s buzzer beater, stretched the lead to 67-34.  

Second Half Still Belongs to the Lions 

The match was all but over by the start of the third quarter. Eric Hipwood’s fifth goal just two minutes in all but sealed Western’s fate.  
 
Bontempelli and O’Donnell strung together a pair of goals midway through the quarter to get the deficit below 30 but the success was short lived. Brisbane had the answer to everything Western threw at them and ended the quarter still leading by 32.  
 
Rhylee West scored less than a minute into the fourth quarter to give the Bulldogs a lifeline, but Lachie Neale quickly shut it down with a goal of his own.  
 
The two sides then exchanged a pair of behinds over the next ten minutes as time was running out for Western to mount a comeback.  
 
A Zac Bailey goal for Brisbane then put the game out of reach. Bontempelli found his third of the match with ten to play but Eric Hipwood promptly put through his sixth to answer.  
 
114-71 was the final score as Brisbane got the crucial win to move to 22 points on the year, just two back of Western and six back of a spot in the top eight.  

Neale and Berry Play Massive Roles 

Lachie Neale and Jarrod Berry were both pivotal for Brisbane in the win.  
 
Neale ended the game with a dominant line of 38 possessions, 10 clearances, and two goals as he commanded the midfield.  
 
Berry had the impossible task of marking Marcus Bontempelli and did a great job with 23 possessions and five clearances. Bontempelli finished with three goals but only one came in the first half while the match was still competitive and for that, Berry deserves loads of praise.  
 
Along with Neale and Berry, Eric Hipwood showed out, finishing with six goals and two behinds.

After finishing as runner-up’s last season, Brisbane did not experience the start to this year that they expected. However, with their 43-point thrashing of Western, they now have just one loss in their past five matches and are just six points out from the top eight.