Australian Football

Match Report

After winning three of the last four in impressive fashion, many had talked up a potential finals apperance for Brisbane, but the young Lions were handed a harsh reality check by an in-form Sydney side. The Swans jumped up to the top of the ladder with a strong 47-point win. The Lions weren’t disgraced; they led for most of the opening quarter and were in striking distance at half-time, but the Swans proved to be too good in the end. It was a far from ideal lead-up to the game for the Lions, with veteran midfielder Simon Black being a late withdrawal with a knee injury, while Ash McGrath had been ruled out for the remainder of the season during the week. A dominant third quarter where Sydney kicked five goals to one was the difference. A career-high six-goal haul from young Swans forward Sam Reid would have delighted Sydney fans. Reid has suffered from wayward goalkicking in the past, but there were no signs of that during his commanding display against Brisbane.


GOALS

Sydney: Reid 6; Goodes 3; McVeigh 2; Jetta, Hannebery, McGlynn, Pyke, O'Keefe

Brisbane: Karnezis, Rich, Brown 2; Raines, Bewick, Crisp

BEST - SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
Sydney: Malceski, McVeigh, Shaw, Goodes, Reid, Kennedy
Brisbane: Zorko, Hanley, Adcock, Rich, Drummond

BEST - SPORTAL
Sydney: Reid, McVeigh, Goodes, Malceski, Kennedy

Brisbane: Zorko, Hanley, Adcock, Drummond

COACHES COMMENTS John Longmire (Syd): We've got some really tough games coming up, starting with the Eagles in Perth. We need to keep improving to be competitive with some of the best teams in the competition and next week is a good time to do that.

Michael Voss (Bris): It's the same knee issue he (Simon Black) had three or four weeks ago, so he's just got management that he's got to make sure that he does. There was no query on his fitness all week, it was just one of those things where he pulled up and was fairly sore in the warm-up.

Umpires: Farmer, Leppard, Schmitt