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June 23, 2005
Slaughtered @ The Gabbatoir?!
Well, exams & alcohol have killed my brain so here is a report from the enemy
Cats thrashed in the wet
3:45:24 PM Sun 19 June, 2005
Simon White
Exclusive to afl.com.au
The Brisbane Lions have snapped their five-game Gabba losing streak in style, staying within striking distance of the top eight with an emphatic 69-point win over Geelong on a rainy Brisbane afternoon.
Jason Akermanis was the architect of a victory that takes the Lions' season record to 6-7. The 2001 Brownlow Medallist gathered 34 possessions despite spending time on the bench and kicked two freakish goals from the right forward pocket in the third quarter - celebrating with the Gabba crowd in typically gregarious fashion.
He added a further two fine snap goals in the last term to finish with five for the match and put the gloss on a 17.14 (116) to 6.11 (47) victory.
The Lions established the foundations for the win with a free-flowing and attacking first-half that belied the wet, greasy and unseasonal conditions at the Gabba.
With Akermanis effervescent early, the Lions had the opening three goals of the contest and while Geelong rode its luck to reply with three of its own, Troy Selwood's first career major had the home side seven points clear at quarter-time.
Geelong was close to being back on level pegging when Joel Corey dobbed the first goal of the second term but the Lions closed out the half with four unanswered goals - all of them impressive.
The first arrived when an inspired Michael Voss dived on the ball to trigger a move that culminated in Luke Power spotting an open Anthony Corrie 30 metres out with a clever cross-field kick.
Akermanis found McGrath for the second, Power kicked truly from 45 metres for the second and Brown supplied a fourth after marking in the goal square, Akermanis having intelligently pulled the ball back from deep in the left forward pocket.
Several missed opportunities meant the Lions could actually have gone into the rooms more than 30 points up - but there was little doubt which team was in control of the contest at the long break.
While Akermanis, Brown and Leppitsch were all prominent in the first hour of the match, the less prolific Jed Adcock and Robert Copeland were also highly effective. Gary Ablett could manage only four first-half possessions opposed to NAB Rising Star nominee Adcock, with Paul Chapman also being kept to four touches by Copeland. Chapman left the ground late in the second quarter with a knee injury and did not return.
The early exchanges of the third quarter saw the Cats apply more sustained pressure than they had managed at any other stage of the game. But apart from a goal to Kent Kingsley they had nothing else to show for it and when Akermanis added his magic to goals from Brown and Chris Johnson, the Lions were well and truly flying.
By the time the fourth term arrived, both teams were largely going through the motions, although there remained two more opportunities for Akermanis to crown a magnificent individual performance.
Aside from Akermanis, who also registered 10 clearances and 10 inside 50s, the Lions were best served by Brown. Spending most of the match at centre-half-forward and seeing less time in the middle, Brown was still an influential figure and had 21 possessions, 10 marks and four goals.
Justin Leppitsch was close to unpassable at centre-half-back, Voss, Power and Simon Black were all busy and Tim Notting and Adcock continued their good recent turn.
For Geelong, which lacked drive and numbers around the contest, bright spots were few and far between. Joel Corey worked hard for his 28 disposals, Cameron Ling was characteristically honest through the midfield and James Kelly was far from disgraced.
In one blow for the Lions, Copeland came off with only minutes remaining after hurting his arm. Geelong youngster Tom Lonergan was physically ill after an earlier collision with Copeland but returned to the fray shortly afterwards.
Geelong coach Mark Thompson was bitterly disappointed in his team's performance but refrained from using the club's current run of injuries as an excuse.
"I thought we had a team good enough to win up here and we didn't play well enough to win," he said.
"The whole day was disappointing – it was just a day to forget."
BRISBANE LIONS: 4.3, 8.10, 14.12, 17.14 (116)
GEELONG: 3.2, 4.4, 5.8, 6.11 (47)
GOALS – Brisbane Lions: Akermanis 5, Brown 4, Corrie 2, Selwood, McGrath, Power, Johnson, Black, Adcock Geelong: Kingsley 2, Chapman, Haynes, Corey, Harley
BEST – Brisbane Lions: Akermanis, Brown, Black, Power, Johnson, Leppitsch, Notting Geelong: Corey, Kelly, Milburn, Riccardi, Ling
INJURIES – Brisbane Lions: Copeland (elbow) Geelong: Chapman (ankle)
CHANGES – Geelong: King (calf) and Mackie (general soreness) replaced in selected side by Lonergan and Rahilly
REPORTS: Nil
UMPIRES - McBurney, Kamolins, Avon
CROWD - 31,307 at the Gabba
geelongblog.com player of the year award
5. James Kelly
4. Matthew Scarlett
3. Joel Corey
2. David Haynes
1. Cameron Mooney
Top o' the tree:
Chapman - 26
Enright - 22
Corey - 18
Ling - 17
Kelly - 15
Hunt - 14
Milburn - 11
Bartel - 10
David Johnson - 9
Scarlett - 9
Posted by Sammy D at June 23, 2005 12:43 PM