The Brisbane Lions will enjoy the weekend with the satisfaction of having turned the clock back 28 years to post their biggest win ever against Richmond.
The 81-point win triumph at the Gabba on Thursday night in the 55th meeting between the clubs surpassed the previous biggest Brisbane win of 77 points in Round 20 1995.
On that day, on a Sunday afternoon at the Gabba in front of a near-capacity crowd of 11,524, the then Brisbane Bears prevailed 24-16 (160) to 13-4 (83).
It was the week before the first night game at the Gabba in Round 21 and three weeks before the club’s first final against Carlton in what was Robert Walls’ last game as Brisbane coach.
Ironically, best afield for the home team that night was Adrian Fletcher, father of Jaspa. The then 25-year-old midfielder had 30 possessions and kicked two goals for three Brownlow Medal votes.
Gilbert McAdam picked up two votes for his game-high and equal career-best 35 possessions, while Darryl White, whose son Darryl Jnr is now at the Lions, received one vote after kicking a career-best seven goals.
Michael Voss kicked five goals and Nigel Lappin an equal career-best four goals in a side which also included Marcus Ashcroft, father of Will, who was a standout on Thursday night with 27 possessions.
Ironically, the 1995 meeting, which saw Craig Lambert play his 150th career game against his former club, and pitted Walls against John Northey, who would replace him at the Brisbane helm the following year after Walls’ retirement.
In another freaky coincidence, the record win on Thursday night fell on Northey’s 80th birthday.
Significantly, too, Hugh McCluggage’s 34 possessions against Richmond was a career-best. It was his eighth 30-possession game and bettered his 33 against Carlton at Marvel Stadium in 2021 and St.Kilda at the Gabba in 2022.
The first of Charlie Cameron’s two goals made him the sixth player to kick 250 goals for Brisbane behind Jonathan Brown (594), Daniel Bradshaw (496), Alastair Lynch (460), Jason Akermanis (307) and Roger Merrett (285). And the quickest.
The electrifying small forward, who suffered a heavy knock to the mouth when he collided with Richmond’s Trent Cotchin at the first bounce and spent an extended period off the ground, reached 250 Brisbane goals in his 118th Brisbane game. Lynch was 121, Brown 135, Bradshaw 137, Merrett 142 and Akermanis 205.
Joe Daniher’s five goals on Thursday night, his second-biggest haul in Brisbane colours behind his six against former club Essendon in Round 9 this year, took his season total to 39 and within striking distance of the lead in the Coleman Medal.
With the remainder of Round 16 still to be played, Daniher trails only Adelaide’s Taylor Walker (43) and Carlton’s Charlie Curnow (42) and is equal with North Melbourne’s Nick Larkey (39).
In a cluttered leaderboard, Cameron, now with 37 goals, is outright fifth ahead of GWS’ Toby Greene (36), Geelong’s Tom Hawkins (35), and West Coast’s Oscar Allen (35).
The 20-14 (134) to 7-11 (53) scoreline on Thursday night, dedicated to former Fitzroy captain and Lions Hall of Famer Matthew Rendell after he died on Thursday, was Brisbane’s second-highest score against Richmond since the big win of 1995.
Only in the 2001 preliminary final at the Gabba, when they scored 20-16-136 to win by 68 points and qualify for their first grand final, have they taken the Tigers for a bigger total.
It was almost Richmond’s biggest loss overall since 2016 prior to the club’s golden era of premierships in 2017-19-20.
The Lions’ 20 goals against the Tigers made them the first club this season to reach 200 goals in total. They now have 214 to lead the way from Geelong (198), Port Adelaide (195), Adelaide (193) and Melbourne (191).
Importantly, the big win increased the Brisbane percentage by 6.1% to 127.2% – a figure that could be crucial in deciding potential homeground advantage in the finals if all goes to plan.
Going into Round 16, ladder leaders Collingwood, who play the Gold Coast at Carrara on Saturday afternoon, have a percentage of 134.2, with second-placed Port, who play Essendon at the MCG on Sunday, at 119.3. Fourth-placed Melbourne, who meet GWS in Alice Springs on Sunday, are at 128.3.
