Lions put top eight on notice by withstanding Saints surge
Joe Daniher kicked five goals as the Brisbane Lions secured back-to-back wins for just the second time this season in beating a plucky St Kilda by 20 points at the Gabba on Friday night.
The Lions set up their 19-12 (126) to 16.10 (106) win with a seven-goal first-quarter to establish a big enough buffer to hold off the Saints, who threatened at times to get themselves back into the game before allowing Brisbane to get away from them.
The visitors came as close as seven points in a final-quarter that had the crowd of more than 27,000 on the edge of their collective seats before a 50-metre penalty against Marcus Windhager for encroaching the mark opened the door for Logan Morris to kick his third goal of the night and again give Brisbane some breathing space.
The final margin was closer than what the Lions would have liked against one of the competition’s weaker teams, but in what has been a tough season for a Brisbane side still sitting outside the top eight, any win will be gratefully accepted.
For the Saints, Jack Higgins kicked five goals to match Daniher’s effort, while Windhager did a more than reasonable job in tagging Brisbane star Lachie Neale, whose frustrations led to him giving away four free-kicks.
St Kilda forward Dan Butler was placed on report in the first quarter after ankle tapping Brisbane defender Ryan Lester, who was in possession and charging up field before crashing on the Gabba’s cricket square due to the unsavoury intervention.
Lions put top eight on notice by withstanding Saints surge
With the Lions leading by 12 points in the first quarter, Saints forward Max King had a chance to reduce the margin to just a goal with a kick from in front from just inside the 50-metre zone.
However, King delivered a costly shocker, missing everything in kicking the ball out of bounds on the full.
From what could have been only a six-point margin between the teams, the Lions then proceeded to kick the final three goals of the quarter to lead by 31 points at the first break.
With the Lions threatening to blow the game wide open on the back of their strong finish to the first quarter, the Saints hung tough to reduce Brisbane’s lead to 23 points at half-time.
It was largely thanks to three goals from forward Jack Higgins, who did his best to drag the Saints back into the contest.
Higgins’ three-goal first-half effort was matched by Brisbane’s Joe Daniher in an opening two quarters that produced 107 points, eight more than were scored over two halves in the Saints’ dour win last Saturday over the Gold Coast.
It was another tough night for Charlie Cameron in what has largely been a frustrating season for the livewire Lions forward.
For the second game in succession, Cameron was on the verge of not kicking a goal.
However, a six-pointer in the dying stages allowed him to crack a relieving smile.
Overall this season, Cameron only has 19 goals in 13 games, five of which came in one outing.
BRISBANE 7.2 10.5 15.9 19.12 (126)
3. Dayne Zorko (Brisbane)
2. Joe Daniher (Brisbane)
1. Jack Higgins (St Kilda)