Brisbane's impressive form has rolled on with a dominant 55-point win over Carlton on Saturday evening.
Returning to the scene of its 2023 premiership for the first time since that day, the Lions enjoyed a 9.14 (68) to 1.7 (13) victory under the Ikon Park lights.
In the absence of Orla O'Dwyer on the wing, young-gun Charlie Mullins dominated the game for Brisbane, recording a personal-best 23 disposals and kicking a goal, while captain Breanna Koenen was reliable as ever down back, finishing with 16 disposals and six intercepts.
Carlton opted to send midfield bull Marianna Anthony to Lions star Ally Anderson, keeping the Brisbane gun to just 19 disposals, her fewest of the season to date, but she was still able to win a game-high nine clearances, proving her class even with close attention.
After a downpour during the warmup the rain cleared, but the deck was still soaked through, making conditions tricky especially early in the game. The Blues lived in their front half for much of the opening quarter due to this, bringing pressure around the ball and compounding the slippery Sherrin, forcing errors from a typically clean Lions outfit.
Despite that early territory win, Carlton couldn't make it count on the scoreboard. The home side got some good looks, but faded off target or failed to reach the required distance. It took until the 10-minute mark of the third quarter for the Blues to kick truly via Breann Moody.
Once the Lions settled, and found some calm with ball in hand, the floodgates opened. Belle Dawes (15 disposals, seven tackles) neatly kicked the first from a forward 50 stoppage and got her teammates up and about.
Carlton key defender Harriet Cordner (six intercepts, three tackles) refused to have her colours lowered, even with a relentless barrage of Brisbane attacks to contend with, while Keeley Sherar (27, six clearances) won plenty of ball through the middle of the ground.
But the Blues' best players were, unfortunately, not in attacking positions, so were simply charged with stemming the tide rather than turning it.
Connection between the home side's midfield and forward line was often found wanting, unable to spot up leading targets and instead booting long, high kicks to a congested goal square.
Some of this was due to the work of Natalie Grider (seven intercepts) and Poppy Boltz (six intercepts) off half-back, with the pair making life difficult for Carlton's forwards as they deftly intercepted the ball and turned it into attack.
Inaccurate Lions
While Brisbane made light work of Carlton, it didn't always finish its work in front of goal. It didn't hurt on Saturday evening, but inaccuracy has been a trend for the club this year, and no doubt something coach Craig Starcevich will be hoping to rectify heading into crunch time in the back half of the season. Sophie Conway has been the worst culprit, with 10 behinds for the season, but five of those did come in one game back in week five against West Coast. More positively, the Lions' spread in front of the big sticks was ominous, recording majors via eight different players.
Chucky on top
Last year Charlie Mullins became a premiership player at just 19, playing a crucial small-forward role for the Lions. Still a teenager, Mullins has taken her game to a whole new level with minutes up on the wing. Against Carlton, Mullins got to work. Clean in slippery conditions, she worked hard to offer the Lions some serious defensive coverage while also pressing forward to hit the scoreboard. Her opposition simply couldn't go with her, and it resulted in a career-best 23 disposals and six clearances for the night.
Up next
Both teams will now prepare for their Pride Round match next Saturday, with Brisbane heading home to Brighton Homes Arena to host Gold Coast in the sixth AFLW QClash, while Carlton will travel to Perth to face an up-and-about Fremantle at Fremantle Oval.
CARLTON 0.2 0.5 1.5 1.7 (13)
BRISBANE 1.4 5.8 6.11 9.14 (68)
GOALS
Carlton: Moody
Brisbane: Hampson 2, Dawes, Smith, Hodder, Mullins, Davidson, Conway, C.Svarc,
BEST
Carlton: Hill, Cordner, Guerin, Sherar, Finn
Brisbane: Koenen, Mullins, Dawes, Hickie, Anderson, Conway
INJURIES
Carlton: Hendrie (foot soreness)
Brisbane: Nil
Crowd: 1,452 at Ikon Park
