Australian Football

Match Report

If ever the cliché "a game of two halves" was relevant to a game of football, then Sunday's twilight match between Brisbane and the Western Bulldogs was it. In the end the Lions won the game by the narrow margin of seven points but the first and second halves of the match could not have been more contrasting.

In the first half, Brisbane looked not so much like a team that had sacked its coach to weeks earlier as a side that was heading towards the finals. They were clean and crisp in their use of the ball and they made the Bulldogs look flat at second-rate. By late in the second quarter, Brisbane led by 57 points and 100+ point margin looked very much on the cards.

The Bulldogs managed a late second-term goal to cut the half time margin to an even 50 points but there was no indication of the major momentum shift that would occur after the long break.

When the third quarter began, that momentum shift was immediate. The first half of the third quarter saw the ball barely get into Brisbane's forward line as a rejuvenated Bulldogs outfit attacked relentlessly. At first that attack translated into behinds only but goals to Dylan Addison and Luke Dahlhaus saw the margin to reduce more significantly. The Dogs eventually scored 4.5 to 1.1 for the term and the margin at the last change was back to 28 points.

The onslaught continued early in the last quarter and by the 10-minute mark the margin was just 10 points. The next 20 minutes was very much an arm wrestle. The Dogs got within a goal at one point but three late behinds to the Lions saw them home by three points in a fascinating encounter.

Best for the Lions included Matthew Leuenberger (22 hitouts, 17 disposals, two goals), Tom Rockliff (33 possessions) and Joel Patfull (21 disposals), while the Bulldogs were well served by Luke Dahlhaus (three goals and 20 touches), Tom Liberatore (27 disposals) and Will Minson (36 hitouts, 15 disposals and a goal).

With Essendon being told that it will not be allowed to participate in the 2013 finals series, it's still possible for the Lions to play a part in September action. The Lions have 10 wins and to make it to the finals will need to beat Geelong at Kardinia Park next Saturday, and rely on Port Adelaide defeating Carlton on the same day.

The Bulldogs have a chance to finish off the season on a high when they take on Melbourne at Docklands stadium next Sunday.

GOALS
Brisbane: Merrett, Rich, Green, Staker, Raines, Zorko, Leuenberger 2; Bewick
Western Bulldogs: Dahlhaus 3; Addison, Giansiracusa 2; Wallis, Murphy, Minson, Griffen, Dickson, Campbell

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Brisbane: Leuenberger, Patfull, Rockliff, Lester, Zorko, Redden
Western Bulldogs: Dahlhaus, Griffen, Liberatore, Minson, Boyd, Picken

BEST - BRISBANETIMES.COM.AU
Brisbane: Rockliff, Leuenberger, Patfull, Zorko, Redden, Harwood
Western Bulldogs: Minson, Liberatore, Dahlhaus, Wallis, Boyd, Griffen

INJURIES
Brisbane: Merrett (ankle)
Western Bulldogs: Cooney (illness) replaced in selected side by Addison;

SUBSTITUTES
Brisbane: Marco Paparone replaced Daniel Merrett (ankle) in the third quarter
Western Bulldogs: Jason Tutt replaced Koby Stevens in the fourth quarter

UMPIRES: Leppard, Schmitt, Fisher

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Fox Footy

COMMENTATORS: Anthony Hudson, Gerard Healy, Brad Johnson, Cameron Mooney