Australian Football

Match Report

Two weeks ago, the blowtorch was firmly turned towards the Fremantle Football Club and its coach Ross Lyon. A fortnight later, after the Dockers defeated Brisbane by 83 points to record a second  thumping win in a row, that focus has moved well and truly away and is now focussing on the Dockers' vanquished team, the Brisbane Lions and in particular their coach Justin Leppitsch. The Lions burst out of the blocks to kick the first three goals of the match and look like world-beaters but then virtually disintegrated in a flash as Fremantle took control to kick 23 goals to six for the remainder of the match and record a crushing win. 

It all seemed ti be going swimmingly for Leppitsch and his charges for the first 10 minutes of the match. The Lions looked more like a top-eight side than a cellar-dweller and goals to Josh Schache, Daniel Rich and Lewis Taylor had them ahead by 19 points. But Fremantle's first goal via Darcy Tucker from a very tight angle broke Brisbane's resistance all too easily and changed the course of the match. Hayden Ballantyne and Matthew Taberner added majors before the siren and scores were level at 3.3 apiece by quarter time. 

A mark and fine goal to Schache from an acute angle restored the lead to Brisbane and created hope of a competitive Lions performance but the remainder of the quarter saw Fremantle take complete control of the match and leave such a notion far behind. The Dockers piled on nine goals over the next 30 minutes, three to Taberner in what was shaping as a break-out performance from him, three to Chris Mayne and one each to Ballantyne, Lachie Weller, and Tanner Smith as they blew the game apart to lead by 45 points at the half. 

The Lions started the third quarter as they had the first and second - strongly - with majors to Rohan Bewick and Ryan Bastinac but unfortunately for the team the rest of the term also followed the same script as the first two, Fremantle taking complete control. The Dockers rammed home another five goals in a row, two to Ballantyne and another each to Taberner, Weller and Smith as the lead jumped out to 66 points. Tom Cutler clawed one back for Brisbane at the 28-minute mark but Fremantle responded through Tom Sheridan to take a 67-point buffer into the last break. 

Unfortunately for the Lions, with the game well beyond their reach, they did not replicate their good starts of the first three quarters in the last. Goals to Fremantle's Mayne and Weller saw the Dockers out to a lead of 80 points after nine minutes and although Brisbane showed some fight after that, the Lions were still outscored by three goals to two over the final 20 minutes to win in a canter. 

Taberner's 36th AFL game was easily his best, with five goals to go with his 17 touches, while Weller's four goals and 22 disposals earned him a Rising Star nomination. For Brisbane, Mitch Robinson played a solid match, picking up 26 possessions and laying eight tackles. 

The Dockers will give themselves a good chance of making it three wins in a row when they take on Port at home next Saturday, while Brisbane will return to the Gabba on the same day hoping to put up a better performance against West Coast. 

GOALS
Brisbane: Schache, Cutler, Taylor 2; Rich, Bewick, Bastinac
Fremantle: Taberner 5; Mayne, Weller, Ballantyne 4; Tucker 2; Suban, Smith, Sheridan, Walters

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Brisbane: Robinson, Bewick, Cutler, Hanley
Fremantle: Taberner, Barlow, Mayne, Weller, Hill, Blakely, Pearce

BEST - HERALD SUN
Brisbane: Hanley, Robinson, Cutler, Rockliff, Schache, McStay
Fremantle: Taberner, Barlow, Weller, Mayne, Blakely, Sheridan, Hill

INJURIES
Brisbane: Nil
Fremantle: Nil

UMPIRES: O’Gorman, Findlay, Ryan

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Fox Footy

COMMENTATORS: Anthony Hudson, Jonathan Brown, Alastair Lynch, Barry Hall