The young Lions Reserves were unable to contain a rampaging Aspley Hornets, going down 9.16 (70) to 11.7 (73) in Round 4 of the NEAFL season.
The Lions will rue wasted opportunities in front of goal and gave away too many free kicks in the defensive half due to careless errors.
The Reserves were buoyed by the inclusion of Sam Mayes, Dan McStay and Rhys Mathieson which brought the total to 15 AFL-listed players lining up for the Lions.
Their presence was noticeable, in the end combining for 92 of the Lions 291 disposals.
Rhys Mathieson particularly put in a good performance in his first game back from a fractured cheekbone, drawing six free kicks and finishing with 32 disposals.
Ben Keays had another solid game kicking three goals, including the first of the game to give the Lions a strong start.
However the Lions were unable to carry their momentum into the second term, registering their 6th goalless quarter of the season and trailing by six points at the main break.
Nick Robertson played the role of enforcer again this week and led his team from the front, dominating in the midfield and at ground level to get the ball moving forward for Brisbane.
Jackson Paine was also vocal in defense, rallying his troops to push up the ground and stay on their players.
The Lions were able to gain some rhythm during the third term, kicking four goals before poor discipline saw them give away multiple free kicks inside 50, resulting in two Aspley goals.
An obviously frustrated coach, Shane Woewodin, urged his players to stop arguing with the referees and look after each other with a “team-first attitude” going into the final quarter.
The chat seemed to have a positive effect as the Lions surged out of the gates in the final quarter, putting up two goals back to back.
Aspley swiftly replied with three goals of their own while the Lions could only manage three behinds.
A late goal to Reuben William brought the Lions back to within striking distance and gave them some hope before the siren sounded minutes later with Aspley getting home by three points.
Injured Lion Dayne Beams watched from the sidelines and even offered some advice to senior players as they came off for a breather.
“I think the boys did well today, obviously they copped a bit of flack these past few weeks but I thought the effort was quite good regardless of the final score,” Beams said.
The Lions will need to learn from today’s game as the come up against the rampaging first-placed Sydney Swans next week in their NEAFL clash at Coorparoo.
NEAFL LIONS 2.5 2.9 6.11 9.16 (70)
ASPLEY HORNETS 1.2 4.3 8.5 11.7 (73)
GOALS
Lions: Keays 3, Robertson, Hipwood, Hammelmann, William, Mayes, Freeman
Hornets: McKee 3, Nelis 2, Bevan, Stevenson, Grose, Holman, Ives, Leong
BEST
Lions: Mayes, Mathieson, McStay, Robertson, Cormick
Hornets: Ives, Mallan, McKee, Bourke
Graham Road, Carseldine
