Australian Football

Match Report

It wasn’t pretty, but the Brisbane Lions snapped a two-game losing streak to defeat "cross-town" rivals, Gold Coast. It was a game full of skill errors and poor goalkicking, particularly from the Suns who cost themselves a chance of victory by kicking 1.8 in the last quarter. Jared Brennan and David Swallow missed gilt-edged chances, while a number of others missed some very gettable shots. The Lions dominated much of the game, but couldn’t quite put their dominance on the scoreboard. The ball was in Brisbane’s forward half for much of the third quarter, but the highly defensive game made for a dour struggle. Gary Ablett (37 possessions) won the Marcus Ashcroft Medal for best on ground after taking the honours against Lions tagger Andrew Raines. Tom Rockliff was the hero for the Lions. Brisbane trailed by a point with three minutes to go, but Rockliff was able to outbody his opponent in the goalsqaure to take a strong contested mark; he then went back and put his side back in front. Lions youngster Rohan Bewick came on as the sub in the final term and sealed the four points with seconds remaining.

GOALS
Gold Coast: Brennan, Lynch, Ablett, Caddy, Bennell
Brisbane: Redden 2; Merrett, Cornelius, Brown, Polkinghorne, Rockliff, Bewick

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Gold Coast: Ablett, Prestia, Dixon, McKenzie, Bennell
Brisbane: Rockliff, Merrett, Redden, Yeo, Hanley, Black

BEST - BRISBANETIMES.COM.AU
Gold Coast: Ablett, McKenzie, Prestia, Dixon, Harbrow, Brennan
Brisbane: Merrett, Rockliff, Black, Redden, Hanley, Polkinghorne

COACHES COMMENTS
Guy McKenna (GC): I walk away thinking … that was the game we probably lost and I haven’t experienced that in my coaching career at the Suns. I think that's a step forward. I think the boys are certainly hurting after that - a game they probably should have won.

Michael Voss(Bris): I don't know where the guys found it in the end. With five minutes to go I thought we were cooked. There's different ways to win a game, sometimes it's brilliant and sometimes it's about toughness and today I think it was about toughness.

Umpires: Armstrong, Ryan, Jeffery