Australian Football

Match Report

Greater Western Sydney was brought back down to earth after their first ever win in the AFL in round seven. The Giants were thumped by the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba in a rare Sunday afternoon game in Queensland. The Lions had really struggled in first quarters during the previous three weeks, but they turned the tables to kick the first five goals of the game. Makeshift forward Daniel Merrett amazingly kicked five goals in the opening quarter, to finish with a career-high seven goals. Having played the majority of his career in defence, coach Michael Voss’ decision to send him forward had been highly criticised, especially by Fox Footy commentators in the pre-match of this match. But Merrett combined brilliantly with captain Jonathan Brown, kicking five goals for his best return in 2012 so far. Lions midfielder Tom Rockliff had a day out, finishing with three goals and 36 disposals. The 92-point victory ended a three-match losing streak. Lions triple premiership player Luke Power made his first appearance at the Gabba since switching to the Giants at the end of 2011.


GOALS

Brisbane: Merrett 7, Brown 5, Rockliff 3, Karnezis 2, Rich, Zorko
GWS: Wilson, Giles, Phillips, Scully, Tyson

BEST - COURIER MAIL
Brisbane: Brown, Merrett, Rockliff, Black, Rich, Redden
GWS: Ward, Palmer, Scully, Coniglio, Adams, Darley

BEST - SPORTAL
Brisbane: Merrett, Brown, Rockliff, Hanley, Rich, Black

GWS: Ward, Palmer, Giles, Coniglio

COACHES COMMENTS
Michael Voss (Bris): You're damned if you do and damned if you don't when you're expected to come out here and win the game and win it healthy. There was a few things we wanted to put in place we've let go over the last few weeks and recommit to, and one of those areas was the defensive part of our game and being hard to score against.

Kevin Sheedy (GWS): We're probably the best-travelled team I've ever known in half a football season in my life. We've played away a hell of a lot. This was our ninth game on the road in the last 11 weeks … it takes a lot of energy out of the players.


Umpires: McBurney, Ritchie, Armstrong