Australian Football

Match Report

Challengers banking on a Hawthorn premiership hangover had their hopes dashed at York Park on Saturday afternoon as the Hawks withstood a third-quarter challenge from a tenacious Brisbane Lions outfit to record a strong. eight-goal victory to open its flag defence.

In a tough, physical encounter, the Lions, with Justin Leppitsch at the coaching helm for the first time, opened strongly with Tom Rockliff opening Brisbane’s season account with a snapshot from 30 metres out. The Hawks finally hit the board with a major from Tim O’Brien setting Alastair Clarkosn’s team on its way. Luke Breust followed suit shortly thereafter but a mark and goal from the evergreen Jonathan Brown returned the lead to Brisbane half way through the term. The remainder of the quarter was somewhat of an arm-wrestle, with new Hawk Ben McEvoy, who had been traded from St Kilda for Shane Savage in he off-season, breaking the deadlock with a goal at the 25-minute mark, allowing Hawthorn to take a five-point buffer into the first break.

Hawthorn asserted its ascendency in the second quarter, with goals to Liam Shiels (two), Jarryd Roughead and Isaac Smith, with the Lions only scoring one through Brown. The 22-point half-time lead was extended to 28 with a first-minute third-quarter goal to Breust and it appeared that the Hawks were ready to career away with the match. But the Lions mounted a strong challenge over the next quarter of an hour with a run of goals to Sam Mayes, Rockliff, Mayes again and then two to former Cat Trent West broken only by another to Breust, and the Hawks’ lead was only two points at the 18-minute mark.

Sadly for the Lions, their resistance ended there and the battle-hardened Hawks kicked the last four goals of the term to take a 25-point lead into the last change of ends. A third goal to Trent West provided a brief flicker of hope to Brisbane at the start of the final quarter but Hawthorn then went into overdrive as the game opened up, kicking eight of the last 12 goals of the match to run out victors by 48 points.

The final margin might have been a bit deflating for Brisbane fans, but the Lions showed enough in this encounter to suggest that they will be a competitive outfit under new coach Leppitsch. The Hawks gave notice that they will take a power of beating again this season and the team which has won 11 flags in 54 seasons will likely be there again come September.

Round two will see the Lions back home at the Gabba, where they will take on Geelong, with whom they had two epic encounters in 2013, while Hawthorn will take on Essendon, who had a first-up victory against North Melbourne, at Docklands on Friday night.

GOALS
Hawthorn: Breust, Roughead 5; Shiels, Gunston, Smith 2; McEvoy, O’Brien, Mitchell, Suckling, Lewis
Brisbane Lions: Brown 4; West, Rockliff 3; Mayes 2; Green

BEST - THE SUNDAY AGE
Hawthorn: Hill, Birchall, Breust, Smith, Gibson
Brisbane Lions: Zorko, Moloney, Leuenberger, Brown, Rockliff

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Hawthorn: Shiels, Birchall, Breust, Lewis, Roughead, McEvoy
Brisbane Lions: Rockliff, Zorko, Redden, Lester, Green, Brown

SUBSTITUTES
Hawthorn: Tim O’Brien replaced by Derick Wanganeen during the fourth quarter.
Brisbane Lions: Michael Close replaced by Lewis Taylor during the third quarter.

UMPIRES: Donlon, Hay, McInerney

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Fox Footy

COMMENTATORS: Dwayne Russell, Alastair Lynch, Mark Ricciuto, Barry Hall